OAK POINT – Another former Oak Point city employee is under investigation, as the town continues to clamp down on its financial controls

Tamara Null

Tamara Null served as city manager until Dec. 22. The city’s attorney, Debra Drayovitch, said Monday night that a criminal investigation was ongoing and that the city was seeking an attorney general’s opinion over an open records request for documents related to Null’s dismissal.

Null filed for unemployment benefits, but after an executive session meeting Monday night, the city council voted to contest her application, Drayovitch said.

Null could not be reached for comment.

Oak Point hired Null as city secretary in March 2007, one month after the city appointed Richard Martin, its former attorney, as city manager. Martin replaced Julie Johnston who resigned to become Dickinson’s city manager.

Police Chief Michael Shackleford said Monday night that his department was still investigating another case begun last year involving the city’s former financial officer, Jennifer Ashenhart-Hawkins, and Martin.

Problems with financial controls over the city’s charge cards and petty cash fund began around August 2007, according to the arrest affidavit for Ashenhart-Hawkins.

In April 2008, Oak Point police arrested Ashenhart-Hawkins and charged her with abuse of official capacity.

Ashenhart-Hawkins had just resigned her financial position to become Rhome’s city administrator. Rhome hired Ashenhart-Hawkins before learning of the criminal investigation, but fired her after the allegations came to light, citing lack of confidence.

According to her arrest affidavit, $758.22 in credit card charges had been identified as questionable, and $314 was missing from the petty cash box.

Ashenhart-Hawkins told police that she was covering for Martin.

Martin resigned after an executive session on April 21 in connection with the incident, but he has not been arrested or charged with any crime.

Martin said Tuesday he resigned because the council held that meeting without him. Attending those meetings was one of the main functions of his job, so that sent him a message. However, the length of the ongoing investigation troubled him.

“I’m trying to move on with my life,” Martin said. “I wish they would make that easier.” 

In the wake of last spring’s scandal, Null stepped up from her city secretary position to acting city manager. The city council later appointed her as city manager. Prior to her employment in Oak Point, she had been a paralegal in the civil division of the Denton County District Attorney’s office and an investigator for Child Protective Services, according to city records.

Financial dominoes continued to fall through the summer of 2008, with the city paying more to finish its annual audit and hiring an outside accountant to help manage its cash-strapped finances.

Strict financial controls were put in place to prevent problems with the city’s credit cards and petty cash fund. During Monday night’s meeting, the council instituted additional controls.

They agreed to a contract for payroll services from ADP. They also agreed that the outside accountant would be the only person authorized to make changes to the payroll, whether it was a new hire or a pay change.

“She’s the keeper of the keys,” Council member Jim Wohletz said.

Oak Point changed from a mayor-council form of government to a council-manager form of government in 2001. Former Mayor T. Jervis Underwood wrote a short essay for the latest issue of the city’s newsletter, The Country Place Bulletin, explaining the change.

“Prior to the adoption of Council-Manager, the city government was largely in the hands of well-meaning but untrained amateurs,” Underwood wrote.

During Monday night’s meeting, council members declined to name another acting city manager after discussing that in executive session as well.

“We’re going to drag our heels on this, since the job has been posted,” Mayor Duane Olson said.

Instead, the mayor and council delegated a few tasks to the town attorney, police chief and accountant, but began volunteering for many tasks themselves, including straightening out longstanding problems with the city’s computer system and developer’s agreements.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com.