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Residents demand forensic audit as CRA staff outline fraud hotline, asset manager and restitution steps
Summary
Public commenters at the April 14 CRA meeting accused city officials of theft and called for a forensic audit; city leadership said it has hired an asset manager, launched a fraud hotline and website, and expects a hearing April 28 related to a former water field supervisor with restitution of under $10,000.
Several residents used the public-comment period at the April 14 CRA meeting to press for a forensic audit and criminal accountability after an internal audit and alleged misconduct; in response, city staff described a series of measures they said are underway.
Stan Johnston accused city officials of fraud and constitutional violations during public comment and called for recusals; the chair cautioned him for being off-topic and asked him to take a seat. Another commenter, Keith Edwards, demanded a forensic audit and said those responsible should face jail time. "Where's this money gone? Who has covered it up? And why aren't they in jail?" Edwards asked.
City management and staff provided a public update on steps taken in the wake of the internal audit. City Manager Tom said the city has hired an asset manager with prior county asset-management experience and plans to issue an initial physical-asset report in the coming weeks. "We have established a fraud hotline and a fraud website," Tom said, adding the system went live ahead of schedule and that complaints will be monitored by the auditor, the city manager and the assistant city manager.
Staff also said they removed personal property from a former water field-operations supervisor’s site, have tightened P-card controls by lowering single-transaction limits to $2,500, are reducing the number of P-cards, and are scheduling onboarding and fraud-awareness training for staff. The assistant state attorney will hold a hearing on April 28 related to the former field supervisor; staff said they are seeking full restitution and estimated the total restitution at probably less than $10,000.
Board members asked how the fraud hotline works and whether complaints can be anonymous; staff said calls and emails will be transcribed into their system and logged, that those filing complaints will not be required to identify themselves and that three people (the auditor, city manager and assistant city manager) have access to monitor the hotline.
No formal forensic audit motion was recorded at the meeting; public demand for additional investigation remains unresolved pending any future board direction or formal request.
