Investigation finds former Lakota clerk did not deposit thousands in payments

     A special investigation into the City of Lakota’s finances finds that several thousand dollars in utility payments were never deposited by the former city clerk. The State Auditor’s office conducted the investigation, which was requested by city officials.

     Auditor of State Mary Mosiman says the investigation identified $7,768.14 of undeposited collections for the period of July 1, 2013 through May 31, 2015. This was the period when Amber (Hansen) Shelton worked as the City’s Utility Billing Clerk.

     Lakota Mayor Doug Price says he and City Council members noticed some irregularities in the finances around May of last year and opened an investigation. At that time, Shelton was already on the way out as City Clerk, as she had submitted her resignation on March 18, 2015, which was effective April 30, 2015. However, Shelton stayed on through May to assist her replacement.

     “We were having problems with people’s accounts being reflected with the proper balances,” said Price. “We knew something was wrong, but we didn’t know what.” He says city officials began asking questions shortly before Shelton left, and the new City Clerk, Pamela Robb, later discovered irregularities between utility funds collected and the amount of money being deposited.

     See story in this week's Tribune.