Mississippi Business Journal » audit

Auditor meets with Foundation over agency-owned boats

MBJ Staff — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:36 +0000

BILOXI — State Auditor Stacey Pickering has met with Mississippi Department of Marine Resource Foundation board members concerning boats owned by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR). The board agreed to meet within the next seven to 10 days to discuss transferring ownership of two boats that were being leased from the DMR Foundation [...]

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Mayor’s request to have repayment reduced is denied

Associated Press — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:34:23 +0000

SOUTHAVEN — A Hinds County judge has denied a request from Southaven Mayor Greg Davis to throw out part of the $70,000 that the state auditor alleges he owes for unsubstantiated personal expenses. WMCTV in Memphis reports Davis’ argues that his reimbursements followed state law and he had the authority to approve his city travel. [...]

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Mayor wants amount state says he must repay reduced

Associated Press — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:20:19 +0000

SOUTHAVEN — Southaven Mayor Greg Davis is asking a Hinds County judge to throw out part of the $70,000 that the state auditor alleges he owes for unsubstantiated personal expenses. The Commercial Appeal reports Davis is scheduled to be in chancery court in Jackson tomorrow. Davis argues his reimbursements followed state law. He says contends [...]

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Auditor returns nearly $100K to county following investigation

MBJ Staff — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:17:35 +0000

IUKA — State Auditor Stacey Pickering has returned $92,583.71 to the Tishomingo County Board of Supervisors following an investigation into former Chancery Clerk Hayden Ables’ misappropriation of public funds. The Auditor’s Office found that Ables used his position as chancery clerk to obtain personal benefit for services he did not perform. Ables submitted false documentation [...]

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City faces retroactive fines for Clean Water Act violations

Associated Press — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:07:35 +0000

STARKVILLE — The city of Starkville faces retroactive fines due to past overflow incidents involving its sanitary sewage system. The Commercial Dispatch reports public works director Doug Devlin did not have a fine estimate for aldermen, but did say a scheduled March conference call with Environmental Protection Agency regulators could shed light on the penalties [...]

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Interim agency director cannot account for $4M

Associated Press — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:13:50 +0000

BILOXI — The interim director of the state Department of Marine Resources says he cannot account for about $4 million in state Tidelands money spent over the past decade. But Danny Guice told the Sun Herald he is not calling the money missing. He said it appears the money was spent on projects. “I’ve never [...]

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Mayor’s civil trial continued, but judge urging settlement

Associated Press — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:04:31 +0000

SOUTHAVEN — Mayor Greg Davis’ civil trial in Jackson has been continued until May, but there are discussions that the judge in the case has urged both sides to settle the matter before then. At the end of yesterday’s hearing, The Commercial Appeal reports a Hinds County chancellor called attorneys for both sides into his [...]

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Auditor says he can’t approve education program

Associated Press — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 19:30:47 +0000

JACKSON — Mississippi Auditor Stacey Pickering is calling on lawmakers to write new, stricter rules on computing how much state money goes to local schools. The Republican told the House Appropriations Committee he can’t approve the Mississippi Adequate Education Program formula, as required by law, because his office has found unreliable numbers on attendance, students [...]

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Auditor subpoenas financial accounts of state agency

Associated Press — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 13:56:18 +0000

BILOXI — The State Auditor’s Office has served a subpoena for access to two key Mississippi Department of Marine Resources’ financial accounts. That’s according to a published report. Assistant Attorney General Sandy Chesnut tells The Sun Herald the auditor wants record from an account that holds disaster-relief money and from the Rigs to Reefs account. [...]

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Audit finds questionable bidding processes at DMR

Associated Press — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 13:14:41 +0000

BILOXI — A preliminary audit by federal authorities says the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources may have skirted laws requiring competitive bidding in awarding more than $600,000 in contracts and an additional $116,000 to a consultant. The Sun Herald reports the U.S. Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General’s preliminary audit questions DMR’s dealings with Barber [...]

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