A years-long accounting issue has left the city’s financial records out of sync with its bank balance.

The general ledger overstates the city’s bank balance by $234,787.25, Finance Officer Regina Slovensky reported to the Board of Aldermen during the April 6 meeting.

Slovensky told council members that the discrepancy stems from accounting errors and improper use of financial software dating back to 2018. The city’s financial records should match its actual bank balance, but in this case, the books showed significantly more money than what was actually in the city’s main operating account.

“It baffles me how these numbers were generated for the general ledger,” Mayor Terry Beckham said.

Slovensky has been working with a financial consultant since December to review the city’s financial records. A series of adjustments were made between 2018 and 2025 to correct accounting errors and prepare for an audit.

Once this was accomplished, they began working to uncover why the general ledger and main operating account balance had fallen out of sync by over $234,000 and were no longer communicating properly within the city’s accounting system.

“Fraud or embezzlement is not an issue,” she explained. “It is very much so not understanding how the software to make both sides correct (works) and then just bad accounting.”

To resolve the issue, the Board of Aldermen approved making an adjusting journal entry of $234,787.25 to reduce the general ledger and bring it back in line with the city’s actual bank balance of $2,889,380.81. 

“Getting this to where (the records and balance) agree, that I can run a balance daily and make sure that I’m not making any future errors to keep the books clean — that’s my goal,” Slovensky said.

There was also further discussion around the proposed social media and website marketing position that Parks Panel member Kurt Merseal pitched at the last meeting. 

The Parks Panel is proposing that the city hires someone for a trial period of four months this summer to rebuild the city’s website from the ground up, revamp its Facebook page and start an Instagram account. The city could then choose to hire this person if they are pleased with the outcome.

The city’s attorney has raised some concerns about the creation of the position and has suggested that the Chamber of Commerce handles it, rather than the city. Merseal disagreed that the Chamber was the right choice.

“If you look at the Chamber’s website, they’re pushing their members, the people that’s funding the Chamber, that’s who they’re speaking for,” Merseal said to the council. “They’re not speaking for the city. They’re speaking for themselves.”

“My concern is the use of public funds and justifying that with the state statute,” Ward 1 Alderman Curtis Crouch responded. “We’re still looking into it and still exploring it, because I think it is a very much needed position.”

Concerns were also raised about the oversight issues that could come with creating a city-run social media account, with council members leery of legal implications.

“If the city is involved in it, then every statement that’s made on it has to be kept on record and made accessible through the Sunshine Laws and perpetuity, which becomes just another chore that adds into it,” Crouch said.

“I think it’s small challenges that so many other people have overcome,” Merseal responded. “We are just as capable as anybody and we can overcome those small challenges.”

The discussion is expected to continue at a future meeting.

Licenses for two businesses were approved at the meeting. First Down Fizz, LLC, and Shelly’s Smashburgers will now be allowed to bring their food trucks to Steelville. 

First Down Fizz is a sports-themed food truck offering dirty sodas. Shelly’s Smashburgers has six brick-and-mortar businesses, including one in Cuba, and plans to bring one of its two food trucks to Steelville to sell burgers and fries.

In other news, Beckham provided the council with an update on the Jonas Museum. Repairs to the garage have been completed for $4,400 by James Hayes. The city will be receiving a settlement for over $47,000 for the damage done to the building in early January. The payment for the damage to the museum’s antique furniture will be separate, and Beckham estimates it could be as much as $10,000.

Beckham’s opponent in the April 7 municipal election, Duane DeRennaux, will be sworn in as mayor at the next Board of Aldermen meeting at 6 p.m. on April 20 in City Hall.