Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell isn’t pointing fingers at anybody. He’s not saying somebody did somethng wrong. He just wants to know how the 13 Shelby County Commissioners are spending their neighborhood grant money.
The Local I-Team first told you of the concerns weeks ago.
Each commissioner gets $150-thousand in taxpayer dollars to donate to worthwhile not for profit groups.
The money goes to all 13 districts.
Commissioner Terry Roland says for once he can help people in his district.
“I live in North Shelby County,” Roland says, “… and traditionally, for the last 50 years, we got nothing. If we did get anything, it was what was leftover.”
Roland says the applications are studied before they are submitted to the commission.
Mayor Mark Luttrell says that’s true, but when it comes to taxpayer money, that’s not enough.
“Anytime that your dealing with money,” the Mayor says, “… you’ve got to have an audit process. You’ve got to have a system of accountability in place. With the grant program, which has been in existence for about two years, there’s never been a mechanism in place to see how that program is working.”
Terry Roland doesn’t have any problem with this audit.
That’s not to say he doesn’t have problems. “I can’t understand why the Mayor pulled himself out of the audit process,” he said. ” I think if they’re going to do it, they need to do it all, you know.”
Mayor Luttrell says, wait a minute. “We’re audited every time there’s an audit done in Shelby County Government, because all roads lead back to the administration.”
The Mayor says the audits normally take two to three months to complete.
