FBI, GBI asked to look into missing funds in Demorest

DEMOREST - The City of Demorest still does not have all the answers about how more than $600,000 in city funds disappeared over the last six years, but they have assured citizens they will continue to put the pieces of the case together.<br /> <br /> Addressing questions at a meeting Tuesday night, Mayor Rick Austin said he's even talked to the FBI about the case. <br /> <br /> "They have indicated that if the GBI does not prosecute this case when the investigation is done, then the FBI, as cleared through the attorney general's office, is going to prosecute this case," said Austin.<br /> <br /> The mayor said he had contacted federal agents a month ago, and he had spoken with an FBI special agent just a week ago about the progress of the local investigation into the missing funds. <br /> <br /> Austin Tuesday night, during the special called meeting, revealed sobering information about the ways city finances have been mishandled since at least 2009, including the co-mingling of SPLOST monies and General Fund monies, failure of city staff to make daily bank deposits and the city's bouncing of hundreds of checks. <br /> <br /> "Over the past two and a half years, I'm sad to say the city of Demorest has bounced 370 checks, resulting in a total fee that was paid by the city for insufficient funds of $13,650," said Austin.<br /> <br /> In addition, Austin said the city had 13 separate checking accounts.<br /> <br /> "One of those accounts had a balance of $1. It required a minimum balance - that minimum balance was not achieved or kept for a series of 23 consecutive months," said Austin. "It cost us $25 a month to pay for the fact that that account only had $1 in it, so we paid $575 of your money in order to deal with that account."<br /> <br /> Austin said all of the accounts are in the process of being consolidated.<br /> <br /> At this point, the investigation is incomplete, mainly because of the recent discovery of another cash drawer GCIC and fine and forfeiture monies from the Demorest Police Department. Austin said the drawer containing checks and cash was left unlocked at City Hall and funds were only deposited twice monthly.<br /> <br /> Austin acknowledged that the investigation has been lengthy, but he said he hopes to wrap up the local part of the case in the next two weeks.<br /> <br /> The mayor has not directly pointed the finger of blame at anyone over the mishandling of city finances, but Austin opened Tuesday's special called meeting with a call for two votes creating a change in the city clerk's post. The first called for the hiring of Marlena Sosebee as Demorest's new city clerk; the second called for the acceptance of the resignation of long-time clerk Juanita Crumley. Council unanimously approved both items. <br /> <br /> <i>Watch for more developments in this story.</i><br /> <br />