State representative accuses DeSoto Public Library board of procurement irregularities; council agrees to consider audit

State Representative Bill Lucas told the Jefferson County Council during the public-comment period that constituents had raised “waste and fraud and abuse” concerns about a DeSoto Public Library renovation and its bid process, and he asked the council to signal support for an audit.

Lucas said a pre-bid meeting appeared to favor a nonlocal, nonunion contractor, that bidding instructions were not handled through a public request-for-proposal process, and that "they selected the highest bid, which is almost $90,000 higher than the lowest bid, a local union contractor." He told the council he had contacted the attorney general’s office and the state auditor and said, “I want an audit of these people, and I want it.”

Lucas also told the council that library boards are created by state statute and that the city council has no authority over how those boards spend library money, a point he raised while urging the county body for symbolic support. He said minutes from the library board had been removed from the library website after members raised concerns.

After the public comments, a council member moved that the council place a resolution supporting an audit of the DeSoto Library Board on the first meeting agenda in January and work with the mover on the final language. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously, 7-0. The clerk was instructed to prepare a resolution for that meeting.

No formal county audit or findings were announced at the meeting; Lucas said he had contacted state authorities and requested an audit. The council’s action was limited to placing a resolution on a future agenda for consideration and directing staff to prepare language.