Oklahoma auditor says agency ‘concerns’ prompt audit request

Oklahoma Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma’s top auditor says financial concerns that led to the resignation of the state’s health commissioner also prompted the Department of Health to request a special audit.

Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones said Tuesday that state auditors have been reviewing the Health Department’s financial records since the agency requested the audit last month. Jones says there are “various concerns” about dwindling resources at the agency and its operating procedures.

The state’s health commissioner, Terry Cline, resigned on Monday after the Board of Health accused him of mismanaging the department’s finances. The board says years of over-expenditure and fiscal mismanagement has led to financial losses in the department.

The agency announced last week it plans to lay off about 250 employees, or 12 percent of its workforce, next year.