Details about this story

• Source: Fort Myers News-Press
• Date: July 13, 2008
• URL: Read the story
• Bylines: Chelsea J. Samuel , Mary Wozniak
• Topics: Local Government
• Data Types: Local Data
• Description/Excerpt: The Bonita Springs Parks and Recreation Department kept shoddy records and failed to track revenue of program fees for seven years, an analysis by The News-Press shows. Incomplete records paint a blurry picture of how much money individual programs have brought in since 2001, when the city took over operation of the parks from Lee County. As a result, taxpayers have no idea where the money was coming from or how much individual programs were generating. The News-Press analyzed city budgets, revenue reports, audits, receipts and expense schedules dating eight years, to the city’s incorporation. All the city could provide were end-of-year parks revenue totals for 2001-06.