JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After a meeting Monday afternoon to discuss a forensic audit of the Police and Fire Pension Fund, City Council and Pension Board members are now pointing fingers at each other over what they're calling mismanagement of the fund.
The audit was released last week and questioned investments by the board and its transparency when it comes to sharing records. Monday was the first day both sides came together to talk about the findings of the audit.
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Now, Lynn Wenguer -- the woman who was in line to take over as the board's executive director after John Keane, the current director, came under fire for what some said is an excessive pension and travel pay -- has refused the job after the audit's release.
Board members said that things are different now and are still trying to convince Wenguer to take over the job.
Monday's meeting was called by Larry Schmitt, the Chairman of the Police and Fire Pension Board, who said he wanted the council to know how he feels about the audit report.
"The problem is, it wasn't an audit. There was no investigation. He didn't examine anything. There was no auditing standard. There was a lot of opinions," Schmitt said.
The auditor, pension expert Ted Siedle, of Benchmark Financial Service of Boca Raton, cited a lack of transparency on the board and suggested that it was time to ask the governor, the FBI and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the board.
Siedle said the board failed to provide oversight and made poor investment decisions, adding that the board and staff might be personally liable for the problems.
On Friday, Florida Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina, said she was contacting the FBI and the governor's office again to see if they will get involved.
The council's Finance Committee has subpoenaed pension board members to appear before council, but those subpoenas have not been served.
Schmitt said that changes are being made, though, and said the board is being more transparent and has hired personnel to make copies of any record requests. He also said they were limiting travel for the executive director, who was criticized in the audit for spending too much money.
"Those are things that the board has been doing and will continue to do," Schmitt said.
Finance Committee Chairman Bill Gulliford said the council hopes to meet with those involved in public and resolve the problems before taking the board to court.
READ: Forensic audit of the Police and Fire Pension Fund
Gulliford, who pushed for the audit, said it shows there are problems but the meeting Monday shows they are ready to move ahead.
"I hope we accomplish something positive, that we will move ahead and get some solutions. You know you can say what you want, they were somewhat critical of the report. But the message I got out of it (is) let's participate in a little positive action on their part regardless of what they say," Guilliford said.
The audit, which cost $85,000, suggested that the council should subpoena more information from the board.
The Pension Board has been scrutinized for high payments to Keane, who recently retired but is now a consultant to the board. The board is also under fire for setting up a special pension account for Keane and two other people.
Siedle's report questioned Keane's pension plan, which allows him to take home over $227,000 his first year.
"In this case, we found breaches of fiduciary duty and hidden and excessive fees, and we also found potential violations of law," Siedle said. "But until we have the full evidence, we do not know."