Missouri State Auditor Announces Petition Audit of Odessa on October 27 After $1.3 Million Electric Billing Error
Odessa, Lafayette County, Missouri — The city's operations will undergo a full state-level audit. Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced on October 27 that his office has begun a petition performance audit of the City of Odessa at residents' request, formally commencing with a meeting with city officials on October 26. It is the first time Odessa has been audited by the State Auditor's Office. The audit stems from the city's March announcement that it had discovered a miscalculation in its Energy Cost Adjustment charge; the city finance director estimated the error at $1.3 million, covering overcharged electric bills from May 2019 through January 2026, and the city offered credits to eligible electric customers. Hundreds of residents who wanted more transparency signed a petition requesting a state audit, gathering enough signatures within a few weeks — 434 valid signatures certified by the Lafayette County Clerk, against a threshold of 392 — to trigger the petition audit. Fitzpatrick said the people of Odessa have spoken loudly and clearly, and that the audit will spend the coming months reviewing city operations in detail, with the goal of making the city more efficient, effective and accountable.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：密苏里州议会大厦（资料图）。KTrimble at English Wikipedia 摄，CC0，来源：Wikimedia Commons / Photo: The Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City (file photo). By KTrimble at English Wikipedia, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
