City of Jackson hires attorneys to audit Generals spending

JACKSON, Tenn. — A last minute addition to the June City Council agenda: hiring the Crone Law Firm from Memphis to look into the city’s dealings with the Jackson Generals under former Jackson Mayor Jerry Gist.

“I’ve spent a couple of weeks looking at it, and it’s time for someone else to look at it,” said Alex Reed, special assistant to Jackson Mayor Scott Conger.

There were few questions before the vote. David Cisco voted yes, while Harvey Buchanan voted no.

“Let me make it clear: I am not against an investigation into the baseball team, ok? It’s the way it’s done. If they owe the city money, that’s fine. I think we have more important things to do,” said City Councilman Harvey Buchanan.

City Councilman Gary Pickens said he recommended the outside opinion.

“An independent set of eyes, I think, will see or at least find a lot more than what we may know at this point,” Pickens said.

The state comptroller’s office is auditing the city, and local media reports highlighted possible improprieties between the city and baseball team as well.

City of Jackson Mayor Scott Conger says he did not know this was going on before the audit.

“No. Not to the extent we saw,” Conger said. “We went back several years, and looking over different invoices for irregularities. So, just with our staff and a couple of interns, finding 25 or so things, we decided we needed somebody with expertise in that area to do that.”

Conger said he hopes to have the investigation done before the end of the year, but what will it amount to? He says it’s out of the city’s hands.

“If there is something that’s that extreme, then they’ll be the ones to turn the information over to the proper authorities,” Conger said.

In the same meeting, City Recorder Al Laffoon officially resigned. He wasn’t present, and according to Mayor Conger, it was due to health concerns.