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Ridgecrest fires town clerk
The Ridgecrest Town Council fired Town Clerk Dana DeLaughter during its meeting Thursday night.
The council had placed DeLaughter on administrative leave without pay in late 2011.
The decisions came as the Legislative Auditor's Office conducts an investigation into the town's finances. State auditors have seized two town computers since December.
Mayor Dwayne Sikes said DeLaughter's termination was due to a $5,000 debit transfer from the road fund to the general fund made by DeLaughter without council authorization, and because of accounting questions involving cash payments for water bills.
"We had people complaining that their accounts were not being credited and they brought in their cash receipts to prove it," Sikes said. "We had another 12 to 15 people who came in who said they had paid cash for their bills but were not credited. They didn't have their receipts but signed statements saying they had paid the clerk."
Sikes said his water bills were also inaccurate at times during 2011. He said one bill indicated he "had two month's worth of bills due at one time."
He said he promptly paid all of his water bills in cash and retained all of his paid receipts.
"I told the head auditor that mine was not the only bill that was wrong," Sikes said, "but she already knew it."
At Thursday's meeting, the Council voted 4-0 to fire DeLaughter. Supporting the termination were Wanda Smith, Jamie Harrison, Cindy Halford and Robert Maples. Courtney Thompson abstained.
Sikes also noted that 10 certificates of deposit (CDs) amounting to $52,072.52 were closed out in 2010 without the knowledge or authorization of the town council. He said those transactions were made on the signature of former Mayor Kevin Graham.For the full story, subscribe to the The Concordia Sentinel's NEW E-Edition! |
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