Amarillo council orders audit committee to vet firms after months-long debate over forensic audit

Mayor Cole Stanley told the council he lacked confidence in current internal reporting and argued for a third-party review to restore public trust. "I don't have confidence that I can tell those people out there that I know where the money's at and that we've secured it," he said, urging the council to seek expert assistance rather than rely solely on internal reviews.

Council members debated whether the audit committee should remain purely advisory or be given a more directive role; concerns centered on concentrating oversight in a subcommittee versus the full five-member council. Internal audit staff explained that forensic audits are specific, typically triggered by whistleblower allegations or suspected fraud, and are far more targeted — and costly — than routine financial audits. Staff and consultants offered a ballpark cost of about $500 per hour and estimated that a narrowly scoped engagement might run in the low hundreds of thousands depending on depth.

Rather than immediately authorizing an audit, the council asked the audit committee to vet and recommend up to three qualified forensic auditors, to provide projected scopes and cost ranges and to return its recommendation at a council meeting in August. The council framed the committee's role as gathering proposals and bringing a recommendation back to the full body rather than committing council to a scope or contract at this meeting.