State Auditor’s Office halts pursuit of City of Guthrie audit; however special petition may

Update Jan. 9 at 11:30 — Petition to audit City of Guthrie falls short by 69 registered votes

Original Story — The State Auditor’s Office has reviewed documents and at this time have not pursued an audit on the City of Guthrie due to cost-prohibitive concerns following inquiries and comments they received from an individual in the Guthrie area. However, a citizen petition request could call for a special audit. An audit that may cost the City thousands of dollars.

The individual (name not given publicly) supplied inquiries and comments to the Auditor’s Office ranging from possible irregularities in city purchasing policies and procedures to questions concerning the Guthrie Water Treatment Plant.

Among some of the questions proposed by the citizen, included the construction of the city’s water treatment plant, current indebtedness, construction of water line to service Town of Coyle residents, possible irregularities and/or potential circumvention of city charter in obtaining an Oklahoma Resources Board loan without submitting the question to a vote of city residents, possible abuse, misuse, mismanagement, or misappropriation of fees related to the operation of the Guthrie Public Works Authority and possible irregularities in the repair, maintenance, and possible disposition of the Excelsior Library building and roof repair to the Guthrie Library building.

Recently, individuals circulated a citizen petition request in an effort to require the State Auditor’s Office to conduct a special investigative audit at the cost of the City. Guthrie News Page has learned the petition was received on time and the signatures are now being confirmed.

According to Trey Davis with the Office of the State Auditor and Inspector, If the Logan County Election Board certifies a sufficient amount of signatures from the citizen petition for the special audit, that his office will conduct the investigative audit to the concerns in the petition.

“Whether or not the audit is warranted will only be determined after it is conducted,” Davis said in a message.

The petition states the estimated cost of the investigation to the City would range from $30,000 to $50,000 based on audit hours and travel expenses.

“The City of Guthrie has been very cooperative with our office in an effort to resolve issues without the cost of a special audit.” Davis said.

On the City’s website, they layout each question and answer them with readable documents. Click here to view all 20 inquiries.

“In this document, we do our best to answer concerns and questions from a few citizens. The City’s intention is to always be forthcoming and transparent, and to provide equal access to information to all citizens,” City Manager Sereniah Breland said.