It is unreasonable to ask for a city-wide forensic audit. The cost and logistics are beyond what is possible for the city.
An audit is also something that will never be approved by the Richmond County Commission. What could and should be approved is a forensic audit of the mayor’s operating and My Brother’s Keeper accounts.
It is time for the county commission to put politics aside and do what it can to restore the public’s faith in the local government. By refusing to audit the mayor’s accounts, commissioners are signaling to the next mayor that he or she can has carte blanche with zero repercussions or accountability. While several of the candidates for mayor have good intentions to keep their hands out of the cookie jar, down the road, temptation might be too much to pass up.
The most recent accusations from the mayor’s wife of 27 years should be the final straw to push the commission to request the audit. The accusation states that Carla Smith has had an ongoing affair with the mayor for years that continues currently.
Elected officials’ personal lives have always been subject to public scrutiny, but this time, the accusation has a more direct impact on taxpayers. Carla Smith has been paid tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer’s money. The circumstances of those payments have been the subject of previous news stories in the last 18 months.
It is time for the city to put this issue to bed once and for all. Regardless of the outcome of the audit, the commissioners will come out on top. If the audit reveals no wrongdoing, then they proved to be prudent and thorough. If it reveals wrongdoing, then they proved that they are concerned about taxpayers over politics. Either way they win. Until commissioners approve an outside firm to do a forensic audit of the mayor’s two accounts though, they will draw the scorn of the citizens of Augusta.
