Baltimore audit finds $40M in neglected account
Associated Press April 16, 2009 10:33 AM

Auditors have found nearly $40 million in an obscure account
that had been accumulating tax payments for a decade. City officials
disclosed Wednesday in the presentation of an annual audit that Finance
Department employees not been moving money from partial tax payments into
the city's operating budget for years. They blame staff turnover and poor
communication. City Finance Director Edward Gallagher says he was
"embarrassed" when he learned of the oversight. The cash is considered
surplus, meaning, by law, it must go toward reducing the city's planned
bond purchases. Baltimore had been set to borrow $75 million for
renovations at schools, theaters and city libraries. But now Gallagher
says the city will only need to borrow $35 million.