,Just over a year ago, on September 26, 2023, Jon Anderson at The Hoover Sun wrote about the city’s proposed budget for the 2024 fiscal year—a budget that has repeatedly been amended, sometimes for tens of millions of dollars. That same news report also described then-CFO Tina Bolt’s response to the BMSS annual audit findings for fiscal 2022. The BMSS audit found material weaknesses and significant deficiencies in the city’s internal controls.
Anderson reported at the time, “Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said he was not alarmed by the findings and noted the city had taken steps to address the areas of concern. He commended Bolt for being transparent about issues that are not always talked about publicly and explaining the issues to the council.”
Though Brocato was “not alarmed,” ultimately, the current CFO, Jennifer Cornett, expressed that there was enough reason to be concerned she insisted upon a forensic audit. According to Brocato himself, Cornett, led the call for the additional audit. In his first public remarks on the audit after months of his office dodging public and media requests, Brocato acknowledged “significant challenges” that the city’s staff faced with regard to its finances. What he did not recognize in those brief, misleading remarks was his role. As reported by Alabama Today, Brocato was solely responsible for the staffing deficiencies that led to the cascade of problems the city has faced.
The mayor was made aware multiple times by multiple people and experts of staff shortages and refused until just this year to request additional personnel in his annual budget. Year after year, no requests were made to fix or head off the crisis even as it worsened.
Nearly eight months after Brocato blew off, and the council ignored the concerns of the city auditor and downplayed the situation, City Council President John Lyda finally acknowledged the “financial disarray” that the city found itself in. In his email to colleagues secretly asking them to approve the hiring of Kroll, Lyda noted that at the time the city couldn’t rule out fraud. Lyda and the city, seemingly in direct contradiction to state law, refused to produce the above-referenced email in a public records request by Alabama Today.
Earlier today, The Hoover Sun ran a story detailing some of the concerns posed by Kroll’s forensic audit report and a citizen-led effort to draw attention to that report. The Hoover Sun again quoted Mayor Frank Brocato, demonstrating his continued lack of self-awareness regarding his failures and the serious issues brought to light in the forensic audit report.
Brocato is quoted in the story attacking the integrity of the citizens he was elected to represent, concerned business owners, and the journalists who have covered this crisis, saying,
- “People raising a red flag are doing so for political purposes with a city election coming up next year.”
- “It is an organized, well-focused attack against us, and it’s just complete hogwash,” Brocato said. While there are financial problems, “the city is in great financial shape, and it’s hurting their narrative.”
- “I wanted everything looked at, and it turned out everything was on the up and up.”
While Brocato may not believe residents care or should care about the problems they face, the residents who have written, called, attended meetings and otherwise have taken action on their own demonstrate otherwise. Ultimately, the forensic audit showed many problems. Problems that can be traced directly back to the mayors’ actions and/or lack of actions. We have covered some of those issues and will continue to do so.
