Auditor’s Office
An audit released today by State Auditor Gary Jones questions apparent sweetheart deals and possible fraud perpetrated on the residents of New Cordell by current and former city officials.
The audit questions the legality of the town’s mayor receiving additional salary while also serving in the positions of Acting City Administrator and General Manager of the New Cordell Utilities Authority. The action appears to be in direct conflict with state law, the Authority’s trust indenture, an Authority resolution, and an Attorney General’s Opinion.
The audit also cites the failure of the town to enforce utility billing and collection policies for some customers, including one current and four former town officials, other town personnel, and extended family members.
“Sometimes you look at a situation and it just doesn’t smell right,” said State Auditor Gary Jones. “Here is a town in which the Mayor is able to double the salary of his elected position by persuading the council to let him serve as Acting City Administrator. He then gets an additional $48,000 a year contract from the same board to serve as General Manager of the town’s utility authority. It looks like an effort to do an end run around the obvious conflict of interest that exists. The Mayor also continued to draw his salary after the board chose not to renew his contract with the Authority and that’s just part of what’s wrong in New Cordell.”
The audit is critical of the Mayor’s use of the town’s Fuelman card while ostensibly on official business and questions other payments that coincided with the Mayor’s band, the Damon Jackson Band, performing at various functions for which he was personally reimbursed for expenses and the band was compensated for its performance.
“Some of this appears to be little more than a blatant and deliberate attempt to legitimize feeding at the public trough at the expense of New Cordell residents,” Jones said. “It’s not okay for public officials, at any level, to skirt the law for personal gain by finding ways to do something they are otherwise prohibited from doing.”
The investigative audit report has been submitted to the District Attorney, District #2, for its review. Read the full Special Audit Report at the State Auditor’s website, www.sai.ok.gov.
