There are signs the financial audit of the Town of Hennessey may be completed.

“We have not heard anything from their office since the middle of March,” Town Administrator Tiffany Tillman wrote in her April monthly report to the Hennessey Board of Trustees. “I had one trustee inform me that he contacted Mr. Moreley who said that the audit report is completed, and is just waiting on final approval from the State Auditor.

“This trustee also stated that the town will be notified when the audit is released,” Tillman continued, “and I will notify each of you as soon as we hear anything.”

This month’s meeting was set for 6 p.m. Tuesday after this edition went to press.

The state’s forensic audit of the town’s financial records started at Town Hall in late January.

That was after then-District Attorney Mike Fields, Enid, said he made the audit request in mid-October.

That was after Fields told the Times & Free Press that he got a preliminary inquiry from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation that showed “possible financial concerns.”

“The State Auditor’s office came for 3 days last week,” Tillman wrote in her February report to the board. “He met with all 5 board members as well as Shelley Burch (town treasurer and office manager) and myself. We supplied him with documents he requested as well as giving him free rein to look through documents within the office. He verbally recommended some control changes such as locking bank bags, locking cash drawers, etc. that we implemented immediately.

“He also suggested that I bring all the claims we are approving to the meeting, as well as the bank statements. We will have all of them available if you have any questions.”

The current cost to the town for that audit was not available at press time, but the first month it was more than $10,000.

Town Trustee David Jones apparently got the audit ball rolling in June when he contacted the state Auditor & Inspector’s Office. That was after a town employee refused to allow him inspection of personnel records.

“Trustees have the right to view any records,” Mick Dodson told the board during its July meeting. He is the compliance officer and a general counsel at the state Auditor’s Office.

“Just because you have that right doesn’t mean you can share that information with anyone else, except other board members,” Dodson told trustees.

Dodson apparently made that comment because Jones had complained in June that he’d been asked by a family friend to see a police officer’s body cam and it was never produced after several months.

In addition to Jones, other members of the Board of Trustees are Mayor Clif Vogt, Vice Mayor Harold Shaw, Bert Gritz and Randy Bohnstedt.