Jul 14, 2026 · Starting point

Council discusses a forensic audit and directs the audit committee to vet third-party firms

The council discussed the scope of a possible forensic audit covering capital improvement projects, water and sewer, and ARPA funds. The audit committee said it would vet and recommend a third-party firm to the full council before any forensic audit proceeds; staff were directed to call a special meeting in August. Some council members said they had not seen issues with funds.^[1]^[2]

Cole Stanley Les Simpson

What the sources say

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On July 14, 2026 the council discussed a possible forensic audit including capital improvement projects, sewer and water, and ARPA funds. NewsChannel 10 reported that for months council members and citizens had raised questions about past financial records, including where funds came from and where they went.^[1]
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The audit committee said it would vet and recommend a third-party firm to bring before the full council before any forensic audit moves forward, and the council directed staff to call a special meeting in August. No vote count was reported.^[1]
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Mayor Cole Stanley: Mayor Cole Stanley described a forensic audit as 'a formalized audit that digs down deep without some handcuffs' and said the firm should be able to review 'everything years past.'^[1]
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Councilmember Les Simpson: Councilmember Les Simpson said, 'To me, it doesn't matter if it costs $1 or $200,000. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing. If it's not, it's not.' This was a hypothetical range, not a cost estimate; no cost estimate for the forensic audit was reported.^[1]
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Some council members said they had not heard or seen any issues with the funds and did not wish to spend money on an audit they considered unnecessary; supporters said it was needed to rebuild trust and ensure financial transparency.^[1]
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No source reviewed reports an allegation by the City or its auditors of missing funds or wrongdoing. The fiscal 2022, 2024 and 2025 auditor's reports state unmodified opinions (the opinion page of the scanned fiscal 2023 report is not legible), and the City has not publicly stated that the earlier restatements or the software change led to the forensic audit; reported reasons were questions about past financial records, the $43 million CIP figure and the new CFO. The fiscal 2025 single audit's nine federal-program findings report no questioned costs.^[1]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]
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The City's boards page describes the Council Audit Committee as two councilmembers, the City Manager, the Chief Financial Officer and a member of the AEDC, Amarillo Hospital District, Amarillo-Potter Events Venue District or Amarillo Local Government Corporation board, serving as an advisory committee to the City Council regarding financial information, financial reports and communications with the City's independent auditors. It lists the enacting authority as '04-05-16-2; rev. 12-14-21-1', five members and three-year terms.^[8]
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The July 14, 2026 minutes list discussion items 4.1, 'Discussion of roles and responsibilities of Council Audit Committee,' and 4.2, 'Discussion of definition for potential forensic audit scope to include CIP projects, sewer and water, and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies'; each records that Mayor Stanley introduced and presented the item. No vote is recorded on either item.^[2]

Sources

1.Amarillo city council discusses potential forensic audit of past financial records — NewsChannel 10 (KFDA), Jul 14, 2026 · retrieved Oct 9, 2026newsIndependentByline Paige Stockton; page timestamp July 14, 2026 (URL path dated 2026/07/15).
2.City Council Regular Meeting minutes, July 14, 2026 — City of Amarillo, Jul 14, 2026 · retrieved Oct 10, 2026primarySubject-authoredMinutes PDF from the City's CivicClerk portal (meeting date shown as published date). Discussion items 4.1 and 4.2.
3.Water infrastructure and conservation top of mind during Amarillo City Council meeting — Amarillo Tribune, Jun 24, 2026 · retrieved Oct 9, 2026newsIndependentByline Jo Early. Covers the June 23, 2026 council meeting, including the FY2025 ACFR presentation and the request for a forensic audit.
4.City of Amarillo Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 — City of Amarillo, Jun 4, 2026 · retrieved Oct 9, 2026primarySubject-authoredNote 13 (long-term obligations) describes each certificate-of-obligation series; Note 29 (subsequent events) records the Series 2026 and 2026A certificates, the Series 2026 PPFCOs and 2026 water-sewer revenue bonds. Issue dates differ in places between Note 13 and the statistical tables.
5.Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, fiscal year ended September 30, 2024 — City of Amarillo, Mar 25, 2025 · retrieved Oct 9, 2026primarySubject-authoredIndependent auditor's report on CMMS CPAs & Advisors PLLC letterhead dated March 25, 2025. Note 1 describes prior period adjustments. Re-hosted on amarillo.gov in March 2026.
6.Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 — City of Amarillo, Feb 21, 2023 · retrieved Oct 9, 2026primarySubject-authoredScanned document; independent auditor's report dated February 21, 2023 (signature line not legible in the scan). Note 1 describes the GASB 87 restatement. Re-hosted March 2026.
7.Single audit summary, City of Amarillo, fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 (report 2025-09-GSAFAC-0000422027) — Federal Audit Clearinghouse (GSA), Jun 30, 2026 · retrieved Oct 10, 2026primaryIndependentFAC acceptance date June 30, 2026; auditor CliftonLarsonAllen LLP. Summary page lists 81 federal awards, 9 findings, 9 corrective action plans and total federal expenditure of $43,197,490. Program amounts and finding texts read from the FAC public API for this report ID.
8.Council Audit Committee (City of Amarillo boards and commissions) — City of Amarillo (Granicus boards portal), Oct 10, 2026 · retrieved Oct 10, 2026primarySubject-authoredUndated board page; 'published' set to retrieval date. Lists the enacting authority as '04-05-16-2; rev. 12-14-21-1', size 5 members, 3-year terms. The member roster shown was not current as of retrieval (it still listed the former city manager and the interim CFO).