EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - A state official has asked Indiana State Police to investigate the release of the recording of a conference between state auditors and Evansville city officials regarding the city’s 2012 audit.
“I will actively pursue prosecution of any individual involved with releasing this confidential information,” Indiana State Board of Accounts Examiner Paul Joyce told the Evansville Courier & Press in an email Thursday.
Joyce said he had learned of the recording’s release “secondhand.” Audit results are supposed to remain confidential until they are publicly released. The audit has not yet been released, though city officials expected it to have been made public by now.
Mayor Lloyd Winnecke said a city council member secretly recorded the March 12 exit conference with state auditors and then illegally distributed the recording. He said he informed the city attorney and the state after learning the meeting had been recorded.
“Clearly, this is a breach in the audit process and a violation of trust,” Winnecke said in a statement.
The city has since submitted its response to the State Board of Accounts’ findings. There have been numerous exchanges between the city and the state regarding city payroll funds.
The 2011 audit criticized the council for inadequately overseeing government financial records. After that, the city sought outside help.
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