If the City of Waycross has a forensic audit of its finances it will come at some point in the future.
It was the concensus of the commissioners at last week’s bimonthly meeting that such an examination of the books wasn’t needed at this time. Commissioners Shawn Roberts, Sheinita Bennett and Alvin Nelson formed the concensus Tuesday, September 16, seeing no need for a deeper dive on the city’s standard audit.
The three cited the “clean, unqualified” opinions on the past three audits by the city’s accounting firm of Mauldin & Jenkins as well as no money in the current budget to handle a price tag estimated at least $10,000 or as much as $30,000 a year depending on the level of the examination.
Commissioner Katrena Felder, who had requested City Manager Ulysses “Duke” Rayford gather information on logistics, costs, etc., of a special audit, supported an audit by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Felder said the city had never had a forensic audit. She said conducting one now for the years 2019-2024 would be a show of total transparency for citizens on the matter of recent city finances.
Discussion of an audit grew from charges in a citizen ethics complaint against Nelson filed earlier this month by Martin Gray. The complaint alleged Nelson made false public statements regarding the role of the GBI in a citizen ethics case against Felder currently being studied by an independent prosecutor in Savannah for possible action in Municipal Court.
Gray’s complaint charged Nelson with saying Felder was the lone person in city government in the focus of the GBI related to the complaint brought in mid-2024 by citizen Clayton Nelson against Felder. The Citizen Ethics Board impaneled for that matter recommended, and the City Commission concurred, that the complaint should proceed to Municipal Court for possible prosecution.
City Attorney Cheslyn Green said Gray’s complaint contained 12 pages related to the 2024 city audit and possible problems therein sparking discussion of a forensic audit.
Rayford told commissioners the GBI doesn’t do forensic audits. It only becomes involved if possible illegalities are uncovered by the independent auditors.
He said he could find only two auditors in the southeast who did forensic examinations of municipalities. The one he was able to speak with — Carr, Riggs & Ingram in Tifton — provided him with the procedures and costs.
Rayford said the firm would audit the work of the city auditor. If it was focused, i.e., related only to credit card transactions during the period, it would be $10,000 annually. If it was a total exam of the entire finances it would be at least $30k and possibly more.
He said the firm recommended a focused approach initially, and if that led to a more detailed look, the initial $10k would be applied to the higher amount. He said the city doesn’t have either of those amounts in its current Fiscal Year 202526 budget.
Should the commission find it necessary to do a forensic audit in the future, money could be included in a future budget for that purpose. He also reminded commissioners that since the issue of credit card usage surfaced in the complaint against Felder, the city has taken steps to better monitor that part of the expense and accounting process, provided training to those who use a card, and the city’s new software package facilitates daily reconciliation of expenses.
During discussion of Rayford’s information, Roberts said if the city has received acceptable audits, there’s no money missing, and the city doesn’t have money in the budget, there wasn’t a need for the a greater examination. Commissioner Nelson said he saw no dire needs to be addressed at this time with a special audit.
Felder said in order to maintain citizen trust and accountability the city should have a forensic audit at least every five years. That would cover the period she proposed back to 2019.
Bennett, who conducted the meeting as Mayor Pro Tem in the absence of Mayor Michael-Angelo James, said she believed the issue should be tabled for later discussion. With that she called for the concensus on the issue.
Earlier, Green informed commissioners she had sent a reply to Gray about his complaint. She said she had rejected the action at this time because it was related to the active ethics complaint against Felder.
In her reply, she said she informed Gray he could refile the action later if he felt the need after the active complaint had been settled.
Attorney Caroline Bradley was appointed prosecutor in the Felder action in early June by Presiding Judge Brian Joseph “Joe” Huffman, Jr.
