MARSHALLVILLE, Ga. — A secret bank account, lack of checks and balances and ongoing legal troubles could all subject Marshallville to increased fraud risk, an independent audit finds.
The 60-page report released Jan. 15 has the town talking, and city leaders working to overcome the problems it lays out.
"When it costs money to the taxpayers because of corruption, that's where everyone needs to draw the line," resident Jon Campbell said.
The report says "complete chaos has ensued within the city." The town is also angry over possible money mismanagement and cancellation of city events.
"You've got the money for all this other things that you spent money for, but you don't have the money to do something directly for the people in the town?" resident Sarah Summy said.
The audit finds the city's financial statements may not be telling the full story and could be inaccurate. It aims at some of Mayor Al Lane's spending decisions, from cash bonuses to select employees, to decisions to disregard council.
It also finds the city's police department had its own bank account.
"The City did not discover that the Police Department had set up their own bank account and were using the account for unauthorized receipts and disbursements," the report said.
Council member Betty Rackley says the council has been at odds with Lane since his term started. They even took him to court twice. Both times were for unauthorized spending. The case has its own spot in the report.
"There was just no cooperation between the mayor's office and the city council. And our city charter calls for a strong city council and a weak mayor," Rackley said.
Summy says it seems impossible to hold Lane accountable — even though a Macon County Superior Court judge barred him from making city decisions last year. A mayor pro tempore has been appointed to run official city business. It's another weak point noted in the report.
Now, the focus turns to sorting out the money mess. Rackley says the council started a new system after the report came out. She says it's helping keep track of transactions.
"Anybody on the city council that was available could go down when the checks were being written. We could look at the bills. We could look at the checks. We could talk, discuss, question, whatever. And yes, that was working," she said.
That was the process when Lane was out sick the last couple of months. So, she's hoping the new trend continues.
Rackley added the city has plenty of money in the bank, but the problem lies with figuring out where it's spent and who is spending it. She says the council is working to get copies of the audit to the attorney general's office and the governor's office.
They're also calling for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to do a forensic audit.
13WMAZ reached out to city hall to get Lane's perspective. On the phone, a representative in city hall declined an interview.
In-person Wednesday afternoon, they declined again. Lane did not appear to be in the office at the time.