“The taxpayers of Lincoln County, whose lives depend on 911 services, deserve better than this.”
Oklahoma State Auditor & Inspector [SA&I] Cindy Byrd yesterday released her forensic audit of the Lincoln County E-911 Trust Authority. The District Attorney requested the audit after citizens expressed concerns about potential improper payments to the Authority Director.
The audit period covered July 1, 2019 through September 14, 2023.
“Lincoln County’s E-911 Trust Authority created an environment that allowed abuse to flourish,” Auditor Cindy Byrd said. “The Board members were not conducting regular reviews of bank statements and payroll records. They did not require expenditures to be reported to the Board prior to payment. If Board members had followed rudimentary oversight practices, they could have stopped the abuse the moment it started.”
Among the problematic findings are:
- Payroll
- Miranda Smith, the Director of the Authority, altered 85% of her time-sheets. In each instance, she claimed to have worked more hours than she actually had.
- Smith issued 28 additional payroll checks to herself.
- Smith added unauthorized hours to her leave balances.
- Smith received a total of $34,329 in wages she did not earn.
- Board Oversight
- The Authority Board was behind on payments to the Internal Revenue Service, the Oklahoma Public Employees Health and Welfare Plan, and the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System totaling $69,478.
- SA&I Investigators were unable to determine whether the Board was aware of past due payments, as the issue was never mentioned in any Board meeting minutes.
“The taxpayers of Lincoln County, whose lives depend on 911 services, deserve better than this,” said Auditor Byrd. “To fix this problem, the Board must implement strict internal controls and enforce segregation of duties. This is the only way to strengthen accountability and significantly reduce the risk of abuse in the future.”
This is the 186th audit released by Cindy Byrd this fiscal year.