Garrett: To hire lawyer now seems ‘peremptory’
The city of Cumby will not seek additional legal counsel for their forensic audit, although the legal counsel they contacted “rescinded the request,” according to Mayor Doug Simmerman at a special meeting on June 15.
A forensic audit is different from a financial audit. A financial audit examines the rigorousness of current accounting practices, whereas a forensic audit reconstructs past transactions to see if fraud has taken place, according to Small Business Daily.
Cumby previously received the results of their regular financial audit on June 12, and according to city council member Julie Isham Morris on social media, may receive their forensic audit sometime in July.
The results of the regular financial audit from K. Evans and Associates outlined more than 13 areas of concern for the city ranging from payroll to credit card payments and inventory. The audit found that although the city takes in approximately $1.2 million per year, they currently have approximately $80,000 in unpaid bills, not accounting for debt service.
“Until we receive the results of the [forensic] audit, we won’t know if any legal action is required,” city attorney Jay Garrett told the city council members during the June 15 special meeting. “If there are any cases of malfeasance [wrongdoing], that would be referred to the district attorney anyway.”
Garrett said hiring additional legal counsel ahead of the results of the forensic audit “seemed peremptory.”
“If it’s something with a subpoena or a search warrant, we can get that through law enforcement,” Garrett told the council.
Simmerman told the council additional attorney fees could cost as much as $5000 to $6000.