PIMA — Tuesday’s report on the Town of Pima’s financial audit started well, with auditor Jim Usevitch, of the firm Colby & Powell, saying the town was in good shape.
“We’re better off this year. We’ve made money, we saved money, we made a profit. So are we better in 2020 than 2019? Absolutely,” Usevitch said.
However, Usevitch pointed out that the audit wasn’t perfect, and some new policies and training were required to adhere to state requirements.
Council members Sherrill Teeter and Lucas Hoopes honed in on that issue, asking for clarification if expenditures of town funds for personal purchases are allowed, or if towns may lend select employees funds collected from taxes. Usevitch explained those are not allowable actions, and he previously communicated such to the council and town manager.
Mayor CB Fletcher said some new policies are already in place, such as Town Manager Sean Lewis no longer carrying a town credit card.
Usevitch said there were about $5,200 in personal advances, which Lewis is alleged to have made.
“I did some more research on it, the best that I could do. Some things are hard because you don’t have a receipt there or anything,” Usevitch said. “Some things logically made sense. Like, hey, we took all the lifeguards out to dinner, it cost this much and we didn’t have a receipt; it makes sense. Other things, you have a lot of people out for $400 at Olive Garden or something. (So) we just dug into it and that where we came up with this.”
Usevitch also said he wasn’t sure how much has been repaid to date — offering both $2,400 and $1,500 as still outstanding amounts — as his audit cut off at a specific date.
That prompted Hoopes to call for the firing of Lewis.
“So according to the Constitution of the State of Arizona, revises statutes of Constitution Article 9, Section 7, which prohibits the gifts of public monies, including donations or loans of public money to private individuals or organizations, and based off of the findings of our audit, I make the motion that we terminate the town manager’s employment effective immediately, and we start looking for a new town manager ASAP,” Hoopes said.
Teeter seconded the motion but it never came to a vote, as, at the suggestion of Lewis, Fletcher moved the discussion into closed executive session due to the issue involving personnel.
After 57 minutes behind closed doors, the council re-emerged and Hoopes moved to postpone action on his motion to terminate until a special meeting to address the employment status of the town manager can be held.
The meeting will take place Thursday, Aug. 5, at 7 p.m., at Pima Town Hall.
