Six local cities speak to NewsWest 9 after Texas’ AG says they have “failed to be transparent with taxpayers” due to late or missing audits.

SNYDER, Texas — On Thursday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent letters to over 130 cities statewide, claiming they “failed to be transparent with taxpayers.” Paxton states that an April investigation found Alpine, Balmorhea, Big Spring, Crane, Grandfalls, Kermit, Lamesa, McCamey, Snyder and Wickett “out-of-compliance with audit requirements.”

But Snyder’s Deputy City Secretary Brad Overcash explains their inclusion is a misunderstanding.

“Immediately, there was some confusion because we knew that we actually were in compliance, and so, we just began reviewing our submissions and that’s whenever we noticed the clerical error,” said Overcash. 

Snyder’s City Council approved its latest financial report on March 24th. However, Overcash believes the city accidentally dated the document incorrectly, giving the AG’s office the impression that they violated Senate Bill 1851. The new law prohibits property tax increases above the no-new-revenue rate if audits aren’t up to standard.

“As soon as we realized the error, we began calling the Office of the Attorney General,” said Overcash.

“No one from their legal team was immediately available, and to date, we’re still waiting to hear back from them.”

But it’s not a clerical issue for a handful of neighboring cities. Alpine and McCamey both sent statements to NewsWest 9 admitting their outstanding files.

“The City [of Alpine] has been transparent regarding the status of its audits and has discussed the matter publicly during open meetings of the City Council,” said City Secretary Geoffrey R. Calderon. “The City has also communicated its plans and ongoing efforts to bring all audit filings current,” 

McCamey City Secretary Patty Jones said, “The City of McCamey is currently working with our City Auditor to complete the required audits and get back on schedule to comply with the new requirements of Senate Bill 1851 that became effective in September 2025.”

“McCamey completed a system conversion in February 2024, which delayed the FY 2023-2024 audit,” Jones added. 

Big Spring received their audit 15 days late, according to City Manager Todd Darden in a press release. Kermit City Manager Mike Arismendez also wrote to us via email that, “the City will work with the Texas Attorney General’s Office to determine why these documents, previously submitted, are not reflected in the AG’s records.”

We were unable to hear from Balmorhea, Crane, Wickett, and Lamesa on the status of their audits.

Paxton’s list is comprised entirely of small towns, and Grandfalls City Administrator Margo Magness believes that’s not a coincidence. She explained why her city isn’t “fooling their people” despite its most recent audit being from 2020.

“You don’t have a lot of income, and auditors charge a lot of money…; therefore, you know, it’s just one of those things that when you’re going through tough times, you might just kinda put on the back burner,” said Magness.

While the Attorney General’s investigation continues, many cities argue that this is not a transparency issue and are working on solutions.