July 4 – Muskogee City Council members are expected to vote on a possible independent audit of four issues affecting the city.
The council will vote on requesting the audit during a special meeting held Monday at 5 p.m. at City Hall.
Mayor Patrick Cale said at a news conference Wednesday that the resolution calls on the Oklahoma Auditor and Inspector’s Office to conduct an audit in four areas:
— Determine whether the properties in the “Three Corners Development” of US 62 and US 69 were properly acquired and whether the financing related thereto was properly executed and paid for.
— Determine whether anyone with a conflict of interest has received a sales commission in connection with the “Project Sunshine” development plan.
— Determine whether the contracting with the company for the development of properties along the Shawnee Corridor was executed properly/sensibly and whether any financing related thereto was properly executed and paid for.
— Determine whether there were any conflicts of interest in the distribution of proceeds from the Downtown Revitalization Multi-Grant Program.
Cale said he and Councilwoman Melody Cranford are co-sponsoring the resolution for the investigation.
According to him, the resolution is a response to residents’ concerns about transparency within the city government.
Earlier this week, a group of residents circulated a petition calling for a state audit of the four points.
Cale said residents have been asking for a “full city audit” for about a year.
“A full audit of the city would cost over $2 million,” Cale said.
Some people at the press conference shouted “wrong” and “it’s $40,000 to $80,000.”
Cale said it would cost $40,000 to $80,000 to conduct an audit of the four items.
“Now that we have what we want these citizens to look at, I’m happy to help them,” he said. “I think it’s entirely appropriate to investigate these matters.”
