Delhi mayor had no ‘suspicions’ of city clerk spending

Delhi Mayor Terry Harbach said Wednesday he had no 'suspicions” at the time that a then-city clerk was diverting more than $150,000 from public coffers to give herself extra pay and charge personal expenses revealed in a state audit this week.

Those improper expenditures, the audit found, included $63,226 in unauthorized pay as well as about $88,160 in charges for psychic hotlines, weight loss supplements, satellite TV, trips to Wal-Mart and convenience stores and more.

'I never suspected anything was wrong before this,” Harbach said. 'There was nothing. I was totally shocked (after the audit) and totally disappointed.”

Harbach said he and the City Council asked for the state audit last year when Angela J. Billings resigned as city clerk to take another job. A new clerk was organizing records when she noticed payments to a credit card she didn't know belonged to the city. She also noticed utility billing discrepancies.

'I didn't know it was going to take this long to do the audit,” Harbach said. 'This has been going on for over a year. And there have been rumors out there. I think most know about this. I don't think I, or the council members, have slept for a year and a half.”

Billings, 42, of Anamosa, was arrested Tuesday and faces two charges of first-degree theft and one charge of second-degree theft, according to a criminal complaint filed in Delaware County District Court.

First Judicial District Judge Monica Ackley set an initial appearance for Billings on Jan. 3. A $25,000 unsecured appearance bail was set following her arrest and she was released. Billings isn't required to pay the bail unless she doesn't appear for court hearings or otherwise violates her release.

The special audit uncovered over $500,000 worth of improper or unsupported spending, including that the city's sewer customers were overcharged for six years for a rate increase that was never adopted as a city ordinance.

Harbach said he understands the auditor views the bills as overcharging but said the council approved the rate hike from $10 to $26 per month in 2010 and the city sent letters to residents informing them of the increase.

'The city clerk failed to put that action into a city ordinance,” Harbach said of Billings.

The audit said sewer customers in Delhi - population of about 460 - were overbilled $256,660 from 2010 through April.

Harbach said he hasn't received calls from residents about the sewer rates - only from the news media. He said Delhi residents already knew about the rate hike, which he said was passed to pay for the more than $2 million sewer lagoon.

'I have no idea what the next steps will be about the sewer rate,” he said. 'If we have to give this back to the citizens - I don't know how. We probably still owe over $1 million on the loan for the sewer work.”

Harbach said he has contacted the city attorney about the issue. It probably will be discussed at the next City Council meeting, which occurs every second Saturday of the month.

The criminal complaint against Billings also shows she tinkered with her and her ex-husband's utility bills to lower them by $6,748.

It found she paid only a fraction of the improper charges - $2,420 - with personal checks written to the city's credit card company.