Press Release
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Following Mayor Dan Rife’s statements in the August 27, 2024, Carthage City Council meeting, and statements he made in his press release issued September 3, 2024, the Carthage Water & Electric Plant (“CWEP”) Board reached out to City Hall, the Missouri State Attorney General’s office, and the Missouri State Auditor’s office to request more information regarding any concerns or “red flags” involving CWEP and/or the CWEP Board.
After receiving these letters, both the Attorney General and State Auditor responded. Neither office could substantiate the Mayor’s claims. The Attorney General’s office stated in a letter that their office “found no evidence to conclude that any member of this Office voiced concerns about, or advocated for a bill ordering an audit of, CWEP.” Additionally, the Auditor’s office could not produce any additional documentation other than the investigative summary sent to the Mayor in April which, again, states that concerns about the City’s own compliance “would be better reviewed through an audit of the City of Carthage initiated by petition” (emphasis added). When contacted for clarification, the investigator at the Auditor’s office replied that the documentation from their office “does not address any concerns of the CWEP and that the State Auditor’s Office plans to take no further action” regarding CWEP.
We have yet to hear anything further from Mayor Rife pursuant to our requests for more information.
