The Henryetta city council will be holding a special meeting Tuesday to go over another request for state auditors to examine local records.
That was announced Tuesday night by mayor Jennifer Clason who said the petition request was filed earlier this month.
The request asks the state to look at seven items that Clason called "vague."
They included:

  • Determining if the city adopted the 2015 audit findings regarding open meetings and open records.
  • Examining any improprieties in use of grant funds to remove dilapidated or dangerous structures.
  • Account for money collected at a Halloween event in October 2015.
  • Bidding procedures for services, contracts and equipment.
  • Use of public funds to pay the lawyer for former city manager Raymond Eldridge.
  • Using city money to clean up raw sewage and,
  • Examine the city's use of asset forfeiture to see if it complies with state law.

Clason said the audit cost to the city would range from $50,000 to $75,000.
The request to the state she said was made by Howard Sheward. He had successfully passed a similar petition two years ago. That audit cost to the city was $40,000. That bill to the city resulted in a temporary surcharge placed on all water bills. "What will end up happening we will have to reduce services to meet the needs of this because we don't have the $50,000 to $75,000 in the budget," Clason said. "You won't get the street overlays, you won't get the parks cleaned the way they should be. There's going to have to be some kind of service take away.
The special meeting will be held at city hall at 6 p.m.
"I would like to see so many people here that we would have to move into the other room," said councilman Ronnie Duke.

Download a copy of the 2015 state audit here: {phocadownload view=file|id=5|target=s}

 

Read the original story about the last state auditor's findings. Click HERE.