The City of Dallas is facing mounting scrutiny after repeated claims that it does not possess a general ledger, a master record of financial transactions that is essential for transparency in governmental accounting.
Mark Nunneley, a former chief accounting officer at Ashford Inc., has been pursuing access to the City of Dallas’ general ledger transaction-level details since early 2024 but has received vague responses indicating that such reports do not exist.
A general ledger serves as a comprehensive record of all financial transactions and is vital for generating accurate financial statements.
The City of Dallas provides audited financial statements annually, conducted by a major public accounting firm.
Despite the city utilizing Oracle software for its accounting system, Nunneley argues that the absence of the specific term “general ledger” in Dallas’ system does not imply that pertinent data is unavailable.
“Any enterprise resource planning or financial accounting system — including Oracle — necessarily maintains records that constitute the functional equivalent of a general ledger,” Nunneley explained.
In his pursuit, Nunneley has highlighted the need for a thorough extract of accounting records that would typically make up a general ledger, including specific details such as transaction dates, account numbers, descriptions, and the amounts involved along with relevant reference information for the period in question.
These records would ideally also encompass subledger data from components like Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Fixed Assets.
Nunneley added that he has consistently requested the reports in a format conducive for understanding and reconciling the data, but the city continues to claim the reports do not exist.
“They are fully familiar with what we’re asking,” he commented.
The city’s accounting officials, who Nunneley believes to be well-versed in financial terminology, have repeatedly informed him that “the city does not run a general ledger report.”
Despite his attempts to seek clarity, including requests for various forms of the data, he has only faced similar dismissive responses over the course of the year.
When Nunneley specifically asked for the general ledger data for the full year of 2024, officials redirected him to a database containing vendor transactions yet maintained that no such 2024 General Ledger exists.
City officials have even argued they are not legally required to create new information in response to an open records request.
In a conversation with one city official, Nunneley was told, “a general ledger report is not created or used.”
“It’s just concerning that they’re not making this available to the public,” Nunneley expressed.
As his requests progressed, Nunneley has indicated that officials have started to completely ignore any further inquiries regarding the general ledger report.
“This isn’t a case of simply submitting a request and waiting.
We’ve engaged in discussions with multiple people within the department,” he said.
Nunneley has even offered alternatives such as accessing documents electronically, receiving hard copies, or visiting city offices to review the needed information.
The Dallas Express reached out to the City of Dallas for comment regarding these ongoing issues but received no response prior to the publication.
The situation has drawn criticism from various quarters, including Damien LeVeck, executive director of Dallas HERO, who emphasized the serious transparency concerns arising from the city’s refusal to share financial records.
LeVeck stated, “The city says they’re all about transparency, but they’re not willing to share with us their ledger.”
He characterized the circumstances as troubling, suggesting they may indicate an intentional effort to obscure financial activities.
“Anybody with half a brain knows every organization keeps financial ledger reports,” LeVeck said.
He further asserted that the behavior of city officials implicitly suggests a concern over public scrutiny regarding municipal spending.
“No matter how many excuses they come up with, we have a legal right to know,” he affirmed.
In an attempt to address the issue legally, an attorney for Dallas HERO filed a complaint with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, arguing that the City of Dallas was withholding existing information.
The Attorney General’s office responded with a letter confirming that the city had conducted a good faith search but found no information responsive to the request.
“In cases where a governmental body claims it has no information, we must accept their statement,” the AG’s office wrote, thus concluding their investigation into the matter without an on-site inspection of records.
LeVeck voiced his frustration with this outcome, arguing that the refusal to release these documents is both evasive and unlawful.
“There are laws that give the public the right to request and obtain this information,” he stated.
He reiterated that the request for financial transparency was not unreasonable and urged city officials to fulfill their legal obligations.
Whatever the case may be, the unfolding situation serves as a stark reminder of the necessity for transparency in public financial dealings.
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