Crockett council requires EDC to rewrite corrective action after audit concerns

CROCKETT — At a council meeting, elected officials pressed the Crockett Economic and Industrial Development Corporation to fix repeated audit deficiencies and voted to require a rewritten corrective action plan that includes explicit procedures to prevent checks being signed before payment details are entered.

Public commenter Natriona Hicks told the council she had reviewed audit reports and saw a recurring finding (referred to in the record as code 2022-2 and a similar 2020 finding). "Recommendations are different than requirements," Hicks said, urging a clear, enforceable corrective approach.

Councilors and EDC representatives focused on one central procedural issue identified by auditors: checks signed before the payment information was entered. City officials said that while no checks had bounced and no funds appeared missing, the practice jeopardizes the city’s ability to secure state grant reimbursements. A city official noted the agency had received state letters tying the audit finding to suspended reimbursements and asked for a definitive corrective action the state could accept.

EDC representatives described steps already under way — adding separation of duties, updating signatory lists and working with the bank — but acknowledged turnover among officers had complicated the process of getting current board members on the Prosperity Bank signature card. Councilors and EDC leaders agreed the gap between written policy and daily procedures had to be closed.

A councilor moved that the EDC revisit its corrective action and include formal policy and written procedures; another councilor seconded the motion. The chair called the question and the motion carried. The motion requires the EDC to draft procedures that ensure checks are documented before signatures, present the revised corrective action to the council, and provide the council with the documentation the state requested.

The council’s action was framed as a compliance step: officials said the corrective action must be clear enough to present to the state agency that issued the notice so grant reimbursements can be restored. The meeting adjourned after the motion carried.

Next steps: the EDC board will draft the revised corrective action and procedures, present them to the council for approval, and the council will use that documentation in communications with the state regarding suspended reimbursements.