Mayor D denies financial misconduct, urges broader audit and public finance transparency in Prichard

Mayor D held a press conference saying the people of Prichard "deserve the facts and not rumors" and denied accusations about the administration’s handling of city finances, calling the claims "false" and unsupported by records.

The mayor said an internal assessment prompted an external, independent audit announced March 18 and that the administration identified a highly qualified certified public accountant to assist. "We have since reviewed in writing...an audit that was performed by the office of examiners and it was sent to us by the chief examiner Miss Riddle," the mayor said, adding that the audit confirmed some of the administration’s findings. The mayor also said the city council has not approved the administration’s proposed agreement with the outside CPA.

Why it matters: the dispute centers on whether financial reports and records were withheld, who is responsible for producing statutory monthly reports, and whether the council or the mayor’s office should lead corrective actions. The mayor invited multiple oversight authorities — "the DA office, our state auditors, the ethics commission, any law enforcement" — to review the city’s books.

The mayor described repeated problems found in audits the city submitted to the state since 2021, saying those reports showed consistent deficiencies: missing records, contracts that did not comply with legal requirements, transfers of funds that "should not have been transferred out," and outdated contracts that continued to be paid. On statutory process, the mayor cited the city’s enabling code (referred to in the remarks as "1143C") and said: "the finance director by the 12th of every month has to have a financial report given to me so that I can present to the council." The mayor said the mayor’s office does not generate the formal monthly report and that the finance director did not supply the required report on those deadlines.

The mayor also defended the administration’s attempts to provide records: staff provided check registries (which show payroll entries) and bank statements on request, the mayor said, and noted that two council members have signatory access to the city bank accounts and can retrieve statements directly. The mayor characterized the current reporting shortfalls as rooted in the accounting system selected by the prior administration, saying that system required manual bank-statement input and hampered reconciliation. "If we can get a software system that we can get those bank reconciliations done, then...we can get those reports out," the mayor said, adding the administration selected a public-facing system to allow residents to view finances in real time but that the council rejected the vendor presentation and only three of five council members saw the demo.

On personnel, the mayor declined to discuss personnel details but said the former finance director, Patricia Scott, is assisting temporarily and that the mayor would prefer the proposed CPA (identified in the transcript as Mr. Hollowman) fill the interim role pending council approval. The mayor said the contract amount is reasonable and covered in the budget. The mayor also said they worked with Dr. Sam Addie (associated with state assistance programs and the University of Alabama) to create a standard operating procedure for the finance office that, the mayor said, the council passed but that staff must adhere to for the policy to be effective.

Exchanges with reporters included questions about the name of the council-hired investigation company (the mayor said they were not certain of the company name and emphasized the state examiner conducted the findings) and whether the mayor was avoiding oversight (the mayor repeatedly said the administration welcomes oversight and wants a broader review covering five years, not just the past seven months).

What remains unresolved: the transcript records the mayor’s denial of wrongdoing and calls for broader audit and transparency but does not include a council response, a formal motion or vote on the mayor’s proposed contract, or further detail on the council’s separate investigation. The mayor characterized the council’s investigation as "not lawfully done" and said the administration disagrees with its basis; the council’s rationale and any formal action are not recorded in this transcript.

The mayor ended by restating a commitment to transparency and fiscal accountability and by asking the council to approve the administration’s proposed interim CPA and the public-facing finance system.