Atlanta's police chief says he has nothing to hide in the way his department is handling two cash accounts totaling millions of dollars.
FOX 5 was first to report the findings of an independent audit that says there's not enough oversight over these two accounts.
City Auditor Leslie Ward found two accounts controlled by the Atlanta Police Department. The larger one is a prisoner and evidence account that totals $2.9 million. The second account is unclaimed cash. According to the finance ledger at Atlanta City Hall, that account is supposed to amount to $9,492. However, the auditor found $1.3 million in the account at Wells Fargo Bank.
The city auditor said that the way the accounts are being handled raises the possibility for mismanagement or even theft.
William Perry of the watchdog organization Common Cause Georgia is urging transparency.
"It just sends shockwaves, quite frankly, that a government agency, be it police or whatever, would hide funds from another city agency," said Perry.
Atlanta Police Chief George Turner said there is a legitimate reason why his department – and not city chief financial officer Jim Beard's finance department– has control of the funds.
He said that cash from people arrested does not go into the general fund. He said it takes a process before unclaimed money is transferred into the general fund.
Turner explained the discrepancy between the amount of unclaimed money listed and the amount in the actual account by saying that there is a lengthy time for court cases involving the money to be resolved.
Ward said that she believes the city's finance department should be in control of all funds.Turner said he would discuss the matter with Ward.
Two Clark Atlanta University students who call themselves brothers despite being from opposite sides of the world have graduated as valedictorian and salutatorian.
Two Clark Atlanta University students who call themselves brothers despite being from opposite sides of the world have graduated as valedictorian and salutatorian.
Gov. Nathan Deal says he believes in the right of atheist groups to donate literature for use in cabins and lodges in Georgia's state parks just as Bibles are allowed.
Gov. Nathan Deal says he believes in the right of atheist groups to donate literature for use in cabins and lodges in Georgia's state parks just as Bibles are allowed.
Tuesday, May 21 2013 6:44 PM EDT2013-05-21 22:44:17 GMT
A Jasper County teen was reunited with an EMT who helped save her life 13 years ago.
A Jasper County teen was reunited with an EMT who helped save her life 13 years ago. FOX 5 viewers provided information that led Alyssa Haskew to the moment she's waited more than a decade for: to say thank you to Scott Thomas.
Tuesday, May 21 2013 6:34 PM EDT2013-05-21 22:34:58 GMT
Parents are asking about the safety of the schools in the event of a tornado after the devastation suffered in Moore, Okla.
Parents are asking about the safety of the schools in the event of a tornado after the devastation suffered in Moore, Okla. School and emergency officials insist having kids sheltered in school buildings rather than being picked up is the best solution.
Tuesday, May 21 2013 6:22 PM EDT2013-05-21 22:22:14 GMT
Tea party groups and Georgia Republican leaders are gathered at the state Capitol on Tuesday to protest the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service.
Tea party groups and Georgia Republican leaders are gathered at the state Capitol on Tuesday to protest the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service.
Tuesday, May 21 2013 6:17 PM EDT2013-05-21 22:17:01 GMT
The wives of Atlanta police and firefighters have put up billboards telling Mayor Kasim Reed and the Atlanta City Council to give their spouses a pay raise.
The wives of Atlanta police and firefighters have put up billboards telling Mayor Kasim Reed and the Atlanta City Council to give their spouses a pay raise.
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