(Maumee, OH) There's still no word on why Maumee City Council hired an outside legal firm to look into misspent public money.
At a city council meeting earlier this month, a council member successfully convinced enough colleagues to spend $50,000 to hire Squire, Patton and Boggs to conduct a compliance review of the budget. The law firm is looking for possible misappropriation of public funds, but no one will say what specific area the lawyers are reviewing.
Maumee's mayor took issue with surprise legislation without a staff meeting to discuss the issue first. The law firm has advised city officials to withhold comment until they're done investigating.
Earlier this summer, Maumee City Council asked the state auditor to review a long-standing practice of using city funds to maintain a parking lot owned by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. But that audit has not been completed.