WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — A new finance committee in Warner Robins is bringing the discussion of a forensic audit of the city's finances to the forefront.
During the Post 2 and 4 city council races last November, Kevin Lashley and Charlie Bibb both called for an in-depth look at city finances.
"I’m actually going to sit in my chair and the very first week we’re in there, I’m gonna ask, along with some of the other people that are running, we’re gonna ask for a forensic audit," said Lashley, during an interview with 13WMAZ back in October of last year.
Bibb echoed the sentiment saying,"the first thing I'm gonna work on is calling for a forensic audit."
Both men said now that they have taken office, they still expect that audit to happen, it just might look a little different.
"What we are learning going from candidate to actual councilman is where we want to laser-focus this forensic audit," said Lashley.
The council's newly-formed Finance Committee includes Kevin Lashley, Charlie Bibb and Clifford Holmes.
Lashley said they want to look at a few key city departments, like the Development Authority, HR and the Purchasing Department.
He said after serving on the Downtown Redevelopment Agency and Downtown Development Authority, he has some concerns, especially with some projects that were put through with crews from Atlanta.
"I had concerns when I was in the RDA and the DDA about the projects and how they were put together and I just want to make sure we’ve got all our ducks in a row."
Both Lashley and Bibb said these audits are time consuming and expensive, so the first step is bringing in the CPA who does the city's internal audit to get their advice.
"While it would be good to see a forensic audit of the entire city government, there's no way we can afford to do that," said Lashley.
Forensic audits can cost tens of thousands of dollars or more.
Bibb said the three men want to save by looking at specific departments and he has already started looking through documents.
"I’ve already pulled up information from the last three years of the internal audit and we’re going to be going over those, what they have advised the city to do and if they’ve followed through with that or not."
He said Mayor Toms assigned the committee and he's glad to have an experienced member of council like Clifford Holmes working with them.
"We're happy that he put Clifford on there. He's a senior councilman and we're gonna lean on him for a lot of past history and advice."
Both Bibb and Lashley said they want to keep their word to the voters.
"It's something that we've started. I'm excited. This committee is just the start to dive into that to find out the process of making that happen," said Bibb.
Lashley said he hopes to have some answers in the next year and a half to two years.
Both Bibb and Lashley agree, this is not about adding an accomplishment to their resume. It's about making sure the city is functioning properly.
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