Oklahoma State Auditor & Inspector [SA&I] Cindy Byrd has uncovered abuse and oversight problems of an emergency services trust in Lincoln County, which in part borders Seminole County to the north.

On Thursday, Byrd released her forensic audit of the Lincoln County E-911 Trust Authority, which was requested by The District Attorney after citizens expressed concerns about potential improper payments to the Authority Director.

“Lincoln County’s E-911 Trust Authority created an environment that allowed abuse to flourish,” Auditor Cindy Byrd said. “The Board members were not conducting regular reviews of bank statements and payroll records. They did not require expenditures to be reported to the Board prior to payment. If Board members had followed rudimentary oversight practices, they could have stopped the abuse the moment it started.”

According to Byrd, Miranda Smith, the Director of the Authority, altered 85% of her timesheets. In each instance, she claimed to have worked more hours than she had. Smith issued 28 additional payroll checks to herself. Smith added unauthorized hours to her leave balances. She received a total of $34,329 in wages she did not earn.

The audit also uncovered that The Authority Board was behind on payments to the Internal Revenue Service, the Oklahoma Public Employees Health and Welfare Plan, and the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System totaling $69,478. SA&I Investigators were unable to determine whether the Board was aware of past due payments, as the issue was never mentioned in any Board meeting minutes.

The audit period covered July 1, 2019 through September 14, 2023.

“The taxpayers of Lincoln County, whose lives depend on 911 services, deserve better than this,” said Byrd. “To fix this problem, the Board must implement strict internal controls and enforce segregation of duties. This is the only way to strengthen accountability and significantly reduce the risk of abuse in the future.”

This is the 186th audit released by Byrd this fiscal year.