SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::
The Georgia Bureau of Investigations has been requested to investigate to determine if certain city of Griffin equipment is missing.
Griffin City Manager Kenny Smith requested the investigation approximately two weeks ago.
“We have the GBI investigating some – the possibility – of some missing equipment, not necessarily focused on any one individual,” Smith said.
Smith declined to identify what equipment may be missing.
“I’d rather not say while the investigation is going on,” he said.
When asked if the investigation involves a specific city department or missing funds, Smith replied no to both questions.
“We believe it’s an inventory issue, so we began to look at equipment and look at some inventory and we couldn’t get it to match up, so in an abundance of caution, we wanted the GBI to come in and make sure it’s an inventory issue and not a theft issue,” he said.
He also responded negatively when asked if the issue directly related to the resignation or retirement of any city of Griffin employees.
“I can’t tie any employee resignations to it. Of course, we’ve had employees resign and retire, but I can’t tie any to this investigation,” Smith said.
However, Smith later said the issue came to light through a routine inventory process conducted after an employee retired.
“Any time you have a turnover in employees, especially those who are responsible for inventory, it’s responsible to do an inventory to make sure new employees are starting off with the correct inventory,” he said.
Additional pointed questions related to specific detailed information multiple sources have provided to The GRIP resulted in similar responses.
“I don’t want to comment on the specifics of the investigation at this time. Like I said, we think it’s just an inventory issue that came up after some employees retired. I don’t want to say who’s involved in the investigation at this point while it’s going on,” Smith said. “We believe it’s an inventory problem. We purchase new equipment, we surplus old equipment, we sometimes keep old equipment and use parts off of it, so we feel like it’s an inventory issue but out of an abundance of caution, we asked the GBI to come in and make sure there’s nothing missing.”
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