Burlington, Vermont - In less than two weeks, people in Burlington will choose a new mayor.
The candidates have talked a lot about how city government needs to be more open and do a better job with taxpayer money.
But the city is still struggling with those issues. State Auditor Tom Salmon says even though numbers can be confusing and overwhelming, that's no excuse for those running city government to be careless with taxpayer money.
Salmon stopped in Burlington Wednesday to talk about numbers, specifically money.
"It's a night for improving financial controls and management," says Salmon.
Salmon and his team travel around the state to talk to government leaders about the importance of audits. He says audits can catch financial problems and make people think more about where money goes.
"Is there a point at which an auditing or accounting professional will say this is not the business government should be in?" says Ed Adrian, D-Burlington City Councilor.
"You have to identify what are the risks and what are the rewards," says Beth Pearce, Vermont State Treasurer.
That could apply to Burlington's troubled utility Burlington Telecom. $17-million of taxpayer money was diverted to BT to keep it afloat and it was done without taxpayers knowing about it.
"Are the people that are in charge of Burlington government, are they watching the money here?" FOX 44's Matt Austin asked Salmon.
"They don't have a history of that culture," says Salmon.
Fixing that will fall to one of three people who will be Burlington's next mayor and all them talked about what they would do to improve Burlington's finances.
Salmon says what they do could make a difference for the city's money issues.
"It sets that tone at the top and that's vital," says Salmon.
Salmon had criticized Burlington for being the only city in Vermont to not turn in a money tracking form to the auditor's office. He says they have finally done it.
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