Peabody has flouted budget law since ’16
Staff writer
For at least nine years Peabody has knowingly violated Kansas law to publish an accounting of money, amount received and expended from each fund
Since at least 2017 the town treasurer of Peabody, a third-class city, failed to publish its annual statement showing the total amount and the total amount expended from each city fund.
KSA 12-1608 requires all third class cities, like Peabody, to publish the aforementioned in January, and city auditors have warned Peabody annually that it was breaking the law by failing to do so.
Peabody missed the deadline in 2025, and according to the city’s own independent auditors it has not published other annual statements in January since at least 2017.
Peabody did provide the information to its auditor, but did not publish it as required in the city’s official newspaper.
Knudsen, Monroe & Co. LLC auditor Daryl Wedel said the town had been notified repeatedly of the statute.
“The town was informed about this statutory requirement,” Wedel said. “The lack of publishing was cited as a statutory violation in the notes to the audited financial statements for years that this was not done.”
He said the town had been in violation for some time.
“We didn’t spend a lot of time searching through our old records, but it appears this has been cited since 2017,” Wedel told the Record.
The annual statement is required to show the amount of outstanding, temporary notes, bonds and other obligations and liabilities of the city.
Peabody switched auditors this year. But the new auditors, the Loyd Group, also noted a violation for 2024 data.
KSA 12-1609 states city treasurers violating any provision of this law can be found guilty of a misdemeanor, fined $25 to $100 and be sentenced to 60 to 90 days in jail.
Peabody City Clerk Paul Leeker told the Record he was not comfortable answering any questions relating to the violations.
Mayor Catherine Weems has admitted the town did not publish timely statements the last two years.
“We acknowledge that this put us out of compliance. However, no penalty was issued,” she said. “Since then, we have worked closely with our auditing firm to resolve the underlying issues.”
She said the treasurer’s Report was being incorporated into the city’s monthly financial statements.
However, this does not satisfy statutory requirement, that the statement be publicized for the general public.
“It is important to understand the context behind this delay,” she said. “When I stepped in as Mayor in August 2024, we discovered that the city’s financials had not been balanced since February 2024, and the annual audit had not been completed until September.”
“Today, we are fully caught up, balancing accounts monthly, and have systems in place to ensure ongoing accuracy, timeliness, and as with everything we do, keeping what is best for Peabody in the forefront at all times. I do not anticipate any issues with compliance moving forward.”
She did not offer any reasons why the financials had not been published in years before she took office.
The annual statements not published in 2024 and earlier were before she was elected mayor.
She also could not explain precisely who might have decided not to issue a penalty for failing to publish the notices.
Repeated calls and text messages to County Attorney Michelle Brown, who would determine whether charges were to be filed in the case, were not returned, with her office saying she was not available. She was on vacation last week.
The question of who would investigate the case also remains unanswered, as there are no bodies to go to because the statute sets the procedure.
The Department id Administration reported it just files reports and publishes them on its website.
Attorney Max Kautsch, who provides local guidance to Kansas newspapers and broadcasters, said to enforce publications the police would might need to conduct an investigation and recommend charges.
The Peabody police department is employed by the city, so this is highly unlikely to occur.
“Ultimately, if there is inadequate political will to correct this behavior at the ballot box or there are no political options, that just is what it is,” Kautsch said.
The law applies to third-class cities. Second-class cities, like Hillsboro, Marion and Florence must publish similar notices quarterly and generally meet this requirement,