Multiple council members urged the city to seek deeper review of financial activity after audit presentations highlighted inconsistent accounting and unreconciled fund transfers.

"We have violated penal code 32 45, in my opinion, in several different ways," one council member said during the workshop, arguing the city's use of funds and lack of designated transfers could amount to criminal misuse of accounts. The council member said the concern was not necessarily that funds had gone into personal pockets, but that the handling of accounts represented intentional or reckless misuse.

Interim City Manager Robert Eads and consultant Laurie Langford said the auditors would have reported fraud if they had found it during their engagement; Langford told the council she had not seen evidence of fraud in records she had reviewed since January. Langford explained the difference: "Messy accounting is inconsistent accounting practices... Fraudulent... would be when somebody is actively trying to deceive or defraud the business that they work for."

Outside investigation: The city's police chief told council members that the supervisor for the Texas Rangers said the Rangers would contact the city next week to arrange a meeting to discuss expectations for any inquiry. The chief said he had not yet been contacted by the state comptroller's office.

Calls for action: Council members debated whether to go into executive session to discuss personnel or legal matters; staff advised keeping personnel details out of open discussion and noted that some separation or confidentiality agreements might limit public conversation about individual employment matters. The council did not vote to pursue or authorize a specific forensic contract during the session but several members stated they supported obtaining a forensic audit and further legal review.

Provenance: Relevant remarks begin with council debate about legal consequences (around 01:26:31) and the police chief's report that Texas Rangers would contact the city (01:23:31).