ODEM, Tx. — Odem Police Chief Gerardo Ochoa last week submitted a letter of retirement, which the Odem City Council accepted in a 3-2 vote on Tuesday.
That retirement coming just over a month after the city received notice from the state that nearly $150,000 in grant money may have to be repaid.
At issue is the police department's required record keeping for Operation Lone Star, a grant awarded by the Office of the Governor.
Ochoa was not a Tuesday's council meeting nor has he responded to repeated requests for comment.
Meanwhile, council members had questions about the state's letter and whether Ochoa would help resolve concerns issued by the state.
"There was $143,953.55 in question. They also referred to no policies or procedures in place to manage these grants,” Maldonado said. “There was no ledger to keep up and track the funds that were being used and the reimbursements that were being asked for.”
Maldonado said that means there was no record of how this grant money was being used.
He said he doesn't know if this was an oversight on behalf of Ochoa but now, he's looking for solutions. If he doesn't, the city will have to pay those funds back to the state.
"The police chief is the chief administrator of the police department so ultimately it would have been his responsibility to make sure it was done correctly,” Maldonado said.
If the city wants to use grants in the future, the Governor’s Office is asking for an action plan with policies and procedures in place.
Also on the agenda was a motion to dissolve the Odem Police Department, that motion tabled.
KRIS 6 News first reported on the budget crisis facing the city last August.
As the city addressed a $200,000 per month deficit, the council approved a budget which eliminated all police department positions, with the exception of the police chief.
As the city considers solutions, deputies with the San Patricio County Sheriff's Office, along with troopers from the Department of Public Safety, will take over policing the community.
City leaders plan to hold a workshop soon so they can decide what to do with their police department.
