Hoover City attorney Phillip Corley recently disclosed that his law firm, Wallace Jordan, paid $14,586.48 on behalf of the City without reimbursement as "a courtesy to a valued client."
In a statement provided to 1819 News by city council candidate and transparency advocate Robin Schultz, Corley explained the reason for the covert payment: ostensibly avoiding bringing the audit before the full council in a public meeting.
However, the move to evade transparency proved futile. The day after his firm paid the invoice, May 30, 2024, the audit became public when Councilwoman Khristi Driver testified at a public hearing that it was underway.
Corley's statement further proves that City Council President John Lyda's statement on November 18, 2024, to the City Council before the vote to pay the final amount billed for the audit was untrue.
Lyda stated, "I do want to clarify, um the, the false statement was made that Kroll has not been paid; I'm sorry, has been paid. Kroll has not been paid."
As previously reported, Lyda emailed the council about the forensic audit before the work began. In that email, he said, "The cost is estimated to be between $145k and $177k and is expected to take between 60 and 90 days."
The actual cost was $250,738, of which $236,152 was approved by the council, and $14,586 was allegedly paid for without reimbursement by Wallace Jordan.
Beyond exceeding the high end of Lyda's proposed budget by $73,738, the audit wasn't completed until August 24, 2024 — 137 days after the email.
Corley's statement comes as citizens await additional answers to questions posed to Kroll before the year ended.
Council members Curt Posey, Steve McClinton and Casey Middlebrooks held up the second payment to Kroll as they sought an avenue for answering questions when leadership rejected a town hall event.
Apryl Marie Fogel is a Birmingham resident who frequently appears on and guest hosts radio programs around the state. She can be reached at aprylmarie.fogel@1819news.com or on X and Facebook at @aprylmarie.
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