Gorin Mayor Opens Records for Inspection, Audit Petition Filed with Missouri Auditor’s Office
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By Echo Menges
The Mayor of Gorin has granted a request by the Memphis Democrat to inspect three years of public meeting minutes and financial records. The request was granted on Thursday afternoon, March 21, 2024, at the Gorin City Hall by Mayor Teresa Norton and Council member Katie Lamb.
The inspection request was granted in accordance with Missouri Revised Statute 109.180, which went into effect in 1961 giving all citizens of Missouri the right to inspect public documents on site. The law is older than Missouri’s Sunshine Law, which was designed to ensure public documents remain accessible.
The request was made on February 23 following a volatile Gorin City Council meeting, and after a group of citizens began voicing concerns about how money was being spent, how city equipment was being operated, and pushing to obtain public records from the City.
Norton and Lamb provided three years of monthly bank statements including canceled checks, bank balance information on two Gorin accounts kept at the Exchange Bank in Memphis. (Note: The Bank of Kirksville has recently transitioned into the Exchange Bank. All of the statements provided were under the Bank of Kirksville name.)
The two bank accounts inspected are used for the City of Gorin General Revenue Fund and Gas Tax Fund. Scans of the statements were not made by this reporter due to the inclusion of sensitive account information – bank account and routing numbers, which would have been a challenge to redact for public release.
The General Revenue Fund held between approximately $6,000 and $10,000 over the three year inspection period. Between January of 2021 and December of 2023, payments were made to the following entities and individuals from the General Revenue Fund:
● Ameren
● Waste Management
•US Cellular
•Gorin Fire Department
•Hawkins Harrison Insurance
•John Deere Financial
•Z&Z Propane
•Memphis Democrat
•Parson’s Pipe Co.
•MidWest Overhead Door
•Parson & Nunan
•Rex Norton (reimbursement of $80 paid to Rick Gibson)
•Orkin Pest Control
•Potty Express
•Rose Hardware
•NEMO Regional Planning
•Ginger Bass (former City Clerk)
•Batina Dodge, Scotland County Clerk
•Zimmerman’s
The Gas Tax Fund held between approximately $500 and $3,000 over the three year inspection period.
Between January of 2021 and December of 2023, payments were made to the following individuals and entities from the Gas Tax Fund:
•Potty Express
•Waste Management
•Hopkins
•Britt Crawford (mowing)
•Hometown Animal Health
•Postmaster
•IRS
•Department of Revenue
•Harold Martin
•Blank check for $25 (11/21/21)
•Klopfers
•John Deere Financial
•Martin Rock Hauling
•Clayton Kline
•Craig Pflum
•Rex Norton (window $39.29)
•Joe Doubet
•Dutchman’s Store
•Z&Z Propane
•USPS
•Gene Berry
•Ameren
•McAfee Auctions
The minutes inspection revealed a sporadic collection of handwritten meeting minutes dating back to 2017. Several of the documented meetings held within the last three years contained very minimal records and noted several Gorin City Council meetings were canceled due to a lack of quorum and sickness.
Norton reported to the newspaper very few meetings were held since the time of the pandemic shutdown in 2020, and the lack of minutes do reflect those statements.
The most recent Gorin City Council meeting minutes recorded in 2023 consist of a date and only one sentence.
Older minutes, from beyond 2021 are more detailed.
Gorin City Council Meeting Minutes from 2023 and 2024
Jan 15, 23
Pledge, full Board. Had Christmas supper.
Pay bills.
Feb. 18, 23
No meeting. I showed up only. Board members were sick.
Paid bills.
April 18, 23
No meeting – Jamie has COVID.
Pay bills – called.
May 15, 23
Met at Park – Pledge – read minutes – pay bills.
July 18, 23
Reg. meeting. Pledge – Read minutes – paid bills. Frank yea, Jamie – yea
Sept 18/23
Pledge
Only 2 came, Frank and I called and paid bills. Went home.
Oct 15/23
Pledge
Swore in Glen & Katie.
Nov 18/23
Pledge
Full Board, read minutes voted to pay bills.
Dec. 15/23
Pledge
Gift exchange, supper & voted to pay bills.
Feb 22/24
Pledge
Chaos!
Gorin Voters Petition for Audit
According to Teal Pflum, organizer of the Gorin Community Group pushing for more transparency from the City, a petition to audit the City of Gorin was turned into the Missouri Auditor’s Office on March 14, 2023. Pflum reported obtaining 25 signatures from Gorin residents for an audit of the City. Eleven signatures of registered voters living within the city limits were required by the Auditor’s office to force an audit of the City of Gorin.
If all 25 signatures are from registered voters living within the city limits, that would account for fifty percent of Gorin voters.
Scotland County Clerk Batina Dodge confirmed there are 50 registered voters living within the City of Gorin.
According to Norton, she will stay on as Mayor as long as she can, through the audit if possible, but will not likely run for the office again due to health issues. She has been advised to resign from the position because of the stress of the situation, which has negatively affected her health.
None of the Gorin City Council members are paid for serving on the board.
According to Lamb, she will stay on as a Council member as long as Norton remains as Mayor. If Norton resigns early, Lamb said she will also resign.
“She hasn’t done anything wrong,” Gorin City Council member Katie Lamb told the Memphis Democrat. “I’ll stay as long as she does.”
A short Gorin City Council meeting was held on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, which went into closed session shortly after the meeting was called to order. A video of the meeting is available on our website memphisdemocrat.com.
The remainder of the Gorin City Council meeting minutes will be uploaded to our website memphisdemocrat.com for public inspection by the end of this week.
This is a developing story. More information will be released as it becomes available.
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