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Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009

Pike asks for audit of water district

The Pike County Fiscal Court asked state Auditor Crit Luallen on Tuesday to examine the Mountain Water District, which has been involved in several controversies in the past year.

A spokesman for Luallen's office said she has not yet received the request.

The district provides water and sewer service in Pike County and gets millions of dollars in public funds. The Herald-Leader reported in August that state Rep. Keith Hall, D-Phelps, has steered state funds to the district while his business won $3.2 million in sewer contracts from it.

Also, federal prosecutors have said the district was used to funnel bribes from highway contractor Leonard Lawson, who co-owns the district's management company, to Bill Nighbert, a former state transportation secretary.

"When these red flags appear, we at the fiscal court have a fiduciary duty to make sure they're looked into," said Chris Harris, the magistrate who proposed the resolution requesting the audit.