By Chris Huntington

MILLVILLE -- The city got a clean bill of financial health Thursday night from its accounting firm of Jones, Wright, Simkins and Associates, who performed the 1999 audit.

"I see significant improvement here," said Mike Kidman, speaking of the city's accounting and reporting this year. Kidman said the new accounting software that the city invested in was a very good purchase, and the improvement showed in the annual report.

Kidman praised Recorder Rosemary Jones and Treasurer Tara Hobbs for their work in learning the new program and putting it to use.

"It definitely makes our job much easier if there is a good report prepared for us when we arrive, and we simply check it," he said.

One of the areas that Kidman most praised was the budget. He said there was very little variance from the prescribed budget, and that was good for the city. "There are a lot of cities who are going out of their budget, but that isn't a concern here."

Kidman suggested the city consider putting some of its holdings aside so they could earn interest.

Jones was also honored at the meeting for her selection to the Academy for Advanced Education, an organization within the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. The selection to the academy is significant as only 14 percent of the 10,000 municipal clerks nationwide have attained the honor. Jones is one of 23 clerks to be selected to the academy from Utah.

To be selected to the Academy, a municipal clerk must first be certified as a municipal clerk, and then must complete 30 credit hours of approved work by the institute.

"We have reason to be very proud of our recorder," said Mayor Gale Hall.

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