MARBLE HILL AUDIT DRIVE IS SUCCESSFUL

MARBLE HILL -- A petition asking the state auditor to investigate spending by the city of Marble Hill has been successful in forcing the city to pay for a state audit, Marble Hill Administrative Assistant David Jackson said Tuesday.

City officials twice have tried to invalidate the petition by asking people who had signed it to remove their names. In both cases, enough signatures were declared invalid that those behind the petition had to go out and solicit more.

But because petition supporters were successful a third time in pushing the petition through, Jackson said he and the board of aldermen have little choice but to "wait and see."

"If they are going to do it, we have no choice," Jackson said. "If you talk to a lot of the people who signed it, you'll find they didn't know what they were signing."

The cost of the audit will be between $4,000 and $12,000.

Jackson, who contends the audit is unnecessary, said it is unfair that 105 people, the number of valid signatures required to force an audit, can dictate that a city of nearly 1,500 residents pay for a state audit.

But supporters of the audit say the cost involved would be money well spent.

The petition questions the use of a $700,000 trust donated to the city to build a city pool. City officials have been accused of misusing the funds by planning to build a city complex that would house city offices and the police station along with a city pool.

But, Jackson said, the city is audited by an independent CPA each year, and those reports are sent to the state auditor's office. Those city audit reports show none of the money, donated between 1988 and 1990, has been spent on anything except the pool so far. The trust fund has earned more than $150,000 in interest since it was given to the city.

But some citizens are convinced the city has misused the money and have openly supported the petition audit. Frank Killian, a member of the board of aldermen, said the audit is worth paying for because it will clear up any doubts about alleged misused funds.

"I think it's a good thing," Killian said.

Mayor Adrian Shell, who took office last month, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Only 105 signatures were needed for the audit to be done by State Auditor Margaret Kelly.

Jackson said the city had 30 days to contest the latest petition, which was turned in April 12. Because the 30-day deadline has expired, Jackson said the state auditor's office will likely notify him in the coming weeks when the audit will begin. By law the city is required to pay for all costs associated with the audit.

"It's a no-win situation," Jackson said. "The sad part is that we really have no say in this. We could have fought it again, but they would have just gone back and gotten more signatures. It would never have ended."