SOUTHAVEN, MS (abc24.com) - Wondering when the money mess in Southaven will be cleaned up? Not for a long time, according to the state auditor.
It's been more than six months since Mayor Greg Davis was ordered to repay taxpayers over $150,000. He was given a one-month deadline that's long passed. Davis has never been charged with any wrongdoing. The auditor says those looking for an end to all of this have a long wait ahead of them.
"Our first responsibility as auditors is to make sure financially the taxpayers are made whole and are protected," says State Auditor Stacey Pickering.
The money has been the focus for the state since November. Davis still owes more than $62,000 and the state's position hasn't changed.
"We have been in conversation with mayor's bonding company and we will be recouping as much as possible for taxpayers of Southaven and the money owed to them," Pickering tells abc24.com.
How much that amount will be isn't final. Auditors aren't finished looking into Davis.
"There's the potential of some additional money related to mileage that we're looking into," he says. "We're dealing with three or four pots of money. The initial pot was his personal credit card, then the city credit card, then the mileage."
The questionable mileage could add an extra $6,000. That's on top of another $6,000 in city credit card charges.
"Then his salary as it relates to the stipend paid for heading the utility department. Again I'm only addressing the civil side."
Auditors are working with state and federal investigators to determine if and when criminal charges will be filed. But for those wondering if Davis will pay for any wrongdoing, those answers are still a long way off.
"Any penalties, as you said, would not come until the sentencing took place so there'd have to be a hearing and conviction," Pickering says. "We're still very early in this."
