SOUTHAVEN, MS (abc24.com) - Wait and see. That's what both the Mississippi State Auditor's office and Southaven Mayor Greg Davis are doing.
Five p.m. Friday, December 2, 2011, was the deadline given to Mayor Davis to produce receipts or repay $170,000 to the city. So far, no check's been written.
The dispute revolves around Davis' argument that the money was spent on city business. The auditors say there are no records of who or what Davis spent the money on.
Their lawyers met all day. The 30 day deadline came and went, but the mayor didn't write a check. The auditor's office tells abc24.com they were expecting one. Both now say nothing will happen until the beginning of next week.
"I think they'll either say the number holds or here's the new number or we're still looking at receipts," says Davis. "We have submitted receipts, which we said we would do. We're just waiting on the response from his office."
Late Friday afternoon, the auditor's office released a response saying they want more information on 10 different receipts Davis submitted.
"Until that information is provided to us, and we can validate those people had a meal with the mayor and discussed city business, the number remains the same," says Lisa Shoemaker, communications director for the state auditor.
So the mayor still owes $170,000. Davis says he submitted about $53,000 in receipts to the state, but the auditor claims a different number.
"We have only been able to come up with a total of $44,000 in receipts received," says Shoemaker. "Of that $44,000, what is significant is $18,000 was spent on liquor purchases. While not necessarily illegal, it certainly looks to be excessive."
As to what the mayor actually owes, both sides say more time is needed.
"We're not dealing with a specific number right now, because there's still opportunity to provide additional information on receipts," Shoemaker says. "But we didn't find information on what was submitted that would reduce the total amount in significant fashion."
"That's the worst case scenario," says Davis, "that he doesn't accept any receipts. But that's what he asked for, so we hope that he does."
Davis says whatever number he ends up owing, he'll find a way to pay it. The mayor says citizens have been offering to help him out since the investigation started.
The auditor's office says there's still a chance criminal charges will be filed if the money isn't repaid. They tell abc24.com they will talk on Monday about why the check wasn't written and when one will be.
