Eight days after Landis Mayor Mike Mahaley encouraged locals to file open-records requests and made a verbal commitment to transparency, town staff followed through.

The town added a “transparency” section to its website (accessible via townoflandis.com/transparency). On that page, the town posted financial documents dating back years. First came audits, the current year budget, employee salaries and correspondence with the state’s Local Government Commission, a financial regulatory body. Next, the town posted personnel documents and meeting minutes.

Facing an ongoing probe by the State Bureau of Investigation and scrutiny from local residents, the town took the right step.

Those responsible for getting such a large number of public records posted in a relatively short time frame deserve commendation. For Landis residents who have long wondered about the goings on of their town’s government, it’s a breath of fresh air.

But that’s where the praise ends. Details contained within the documents only bolster the validity of questions with which town officials have been peppered.

For example, as reported in a story on page 1A of today’s Salisbury Post, the town’s unassigned fund balance sat at $26,168, or 0.8 percent of total general fund expenditures. That number should sound sirens for Landis residents, the Board of Aldermen and anyone interested in sound financial management.

A town’s unassigned fund balance is what’s used to fill budget gaps when they arise. Think of it as a savings account for town government.

And while the fund balance may have improved in the months since the 2017-2018 fiscal year ended — June 30 — $26,168 isn’t much in a multi-million-dollar budget if the town encounters tough times financially.

What’s more, correspondence from the Local Government Commission produced by the town of Landis shows that reporting by the Salisbury Post certainly isn’t “fake news,” as Mahaley adamantly stated during a Feb. 4 Board of Aldermen meeting.

Mahaley brushed off financial concerns from speakers during a public comment period and attempted to explain worries away by saying the LGC has sent Landis letters for years — some good and some bad.

But a cursory review of the LGC correspondence shows the “good” letters are praising the town for doing what it should. The “bad” ones certainly shouldn’t be used as an explanation for why financial management concerns aren’t valid.

“The Town continues to have problems with over expenditures of their budget,” stated a 2011 email from Ken Wease, then the senior accounting and financial management advisor for the N.C. Department of State Treasurer. “This has been an issue we have addressed over the past several years. So the statement in the town’s response ‘the town will continue to monitor the funds closely and make budget amendments whenever necessary’ does not give much assurance.”

Sure, letters have been sent during the terms of multiple mayors, showing it’s not strictly occurring under Mahaley’s watch, but he and the incumbent Board of Aldermen bear a large responsibility for ensuring the town’s financial house is in order now and into the future. Taxpayers don’t want to hear excuses when there are accusations of mismanagement.

Two of the most important duties of a town or city council include approving a budget and providing general oversight of town finances. Usually, there’s no need to examine every check, but the responsibility certainly doesn’t end with an annual budget vote.

There are many more questions that must be answered by past and present aldermen, staff and the SBI. Answers must clarify salaries of former Finance Officer Ginger Gibson and Town Manager Reed Linn — who also had the titles of town clerk, fire chief, personnel officer, zoning administrator and subdivision administrator at the time of his resignation earlier this month, according to the town’s website. A listing of employee salaries states that Gibson made $58,937. Linn reportedly made $69,077.

Linn’s salary is close to but still lower than the combined pay of Deputy Police Chief Roger Hosey, also listed as the town’s IT network manager, according to the salary sheet. Hosey’s total salary is listed at $69,340, which seems fair for the amount of work both jobs entail. Still, with the number of jobs Linn was officially assigned, how was his salary $69,077? The salary sheet shows employees were compensated when they took on two jobs. Was Linn content to earn $69,077 working two of the highest profile jobs in a town — fire chief and town manager?

A footnote at the bottom of the salary sheet said the salaries of Linn and Gibson are only what’s been officially approved and that the actual amounts are not known.

Since the investigation started, town staff have done well to embrace transparency, but, whether it’s the SBI, town staff or aldermen, there are still unanswered questions.

Josh Bergeron is editor of the Salisbury Post. Contact him at 704-797-4248.