Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley has referred allegations of misuse of city property against Mitchell Mayor Paul Murrell to the Scotts Bluff County Attorney’s Office.
In a press release Tuesday, Foley said his office had released a letter to the City of Mitchell, detailing results of a recent investigation by his office “into a variety of concerns,” including improper use of municipal equipment and resources for personal use by Mayor Paul Murrell.
Murrell denied the allegations in an interview with the Star-Herald Tuesday morning.
According to Foley, when Murrell was questioned by the state audit team, he denied the allegations and claimed to own a utility vehicle shown in a photo provided to the auditor’s office. Murrell provided a sales tax form to support the assertion.
However, with the assistance of a local farm equipment supplier and the Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Office, Foley said, further investigation by his office confirmed that the sales tax form did not match the vehicle pictured, which he said was in fact owned by the city.
“I am amazed that anyone, especially a government official, would attempt to mislead my auditors — who are second to none when it comes to uncovering financial wrongdoing in Nebraska,” Foley said. “Do they really think that we won’t verify the information provided?”
According to Murrell, allegations of misuse of a city-owned utility vehicle and a skid steer were leveled against him. However, he said he had been assisting city personnel because they were busy. He told the Star-Herald that he owned the skid steer that he been photographed using. He also said he used a personally owned utility vehicle for city maintenance and had provided the documentation on that vehicle to the auditor’s office. He denied that he had been trying to mislead auditors in providing the sales tax form for his personal utility vehicle.
Referencing the photo provided, which shows street signs for Elizabeth Drive and 19th Street near Murrell’s address, he said that his personal utility vehicle had broken down. Because he was doing city-related maintenance, he said, he got the city’s equipment to use. He denies that he was spraying weeds on his personal property.
“I never used any city equipment on my property, period,” he said.
Murrell said he had sprayed weeds throughout the city, including at city entryway signs and ball fields.
“Because I’m the mayor, and people were complaining about weeds growing up in the streets, up in that area, so I went and asked the (city) guys if I could do it,” he said. “They said they were busy, so I jumped on it and they were OK with that, and I went and sprayed the weeds.”
The auditors also took “strong exception” to payments of $47,448, which Foley called “excessive,” to Murrell’s personal business, The Handyman, for work performed at the Mitchell Care Center, an assisted living and nursing home owned by the City of Mitchell.
Foley said invoices from Murrell lacked adequate details of the services provided. Furthermore, he said, several of the payments to Murrell’s business were not presented for the City Council’s approval.
Asked about the invoices to the Mitchell Care Center, Murrell said he had been doing work there over the last three years, which corresponds with his term as mayor.
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Murrell contended that the complaints regarding the Mitchell Care Center were made in retaliation by Stephanie Hahn, a recently terminated administrator who has been charged in Scotts Bluff County Court with theft by unlawful taking, a Class IIA felony. After being arraigned on charges earlier this month, Hahn has waived a preliminary hearing that had been scheduled for this week and is expected to be bound over to Scotts Bluff County District Court to face trial. Hahn is being represented by Scottsbluff attorney Maren Chaloupka.
According to an arrest affidavit in that case, the Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Office began investigation after being contacted by a woman who had conducted an audit of the Mitchell Care Center and found $59,707.71 to have been missing. The auditor described withdrawals made by Hahn as unusual for a care center. A large number of withdrawals were consistent with corresponding deposits into Hahn’s personal accounts over a three-year period.
Murrell said services that he provided for the Mitchell Care Center were legitimate and that his invoices are consistent with those that he provides to other companies he does business with.
“If she (Hahn) had issue with my invoices,” he said, “why did she keep calling me back to work?”
Asked if it could be perceived as a conflict of interest because Murrell had been working at a city-owned facility during his term as mayor, Murrell said other mayors and council members have done work for the City of Mitchell “over the years and there’s never been an issue.”
“I’ve got proof of all of my stuff,” he said, saying that “everything matches up” including having given bids for jobs and Hahn approving them. “If she failed to turn this into the city, that’s her (Hahn) problem, not mine.”
Murrell said he would “take it to the limit” to defend himself against the accusations. According to Murrell, the city’s attorney is currently working on his behalf with the Nebraska State Auditor’s Office.
The Star-Herald reached out to Foley for response to Murrell’s statement that the city’s attorney is continuing to work with his office to resolve the case.
“We believe the evidence is conclusive in this matter and as far as my office is concerned the case is closed,” Foley told the Star-Herald.
Asked whether the city attorney’s defending Murrell is a conflict of interests or if he should retain his own attorney, Foley said whether or not the city attorney continues working on the matter would be up to the city.
Foley said concerned local citizens had alerted his office to some of the issues, prompting him to launch the investigation.
“My office can’t have boots on the ground in every corner of the state,” he said, “so it is comforting to know that citizens are willing to stand up for what is right and report, often anonymously, their concerns through our fraud, waste and abuse hotline.”
Foley said his office is forwarding all of its documentation and other audit evidence to the Scotts Bluff County attorney, the Nebraska attorney general and the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure for further review and legal action if appropriate.
The Star-Herald has also inquired with the Scotts Bluff County Attorney’s Office.
The Star-Herald reached out to Mitchell City Council President Sean Hopkins for comment, but had not received a return call as of early Tuesday afternoon.
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