Scott Westfall, a longtime Adrian resident, urged the Adrian Main Street Downtown Development Authority at its Nov. 12 meeting to order an audit of the DDA's finances, saying "it seems this money was spent in very different places than it was originally intended" and citing what he said was more than $15,000,000 in state-funded downtown work that raised accounting questions.

The concern followed recent resignations of the DDA's former chair and treasurer. "These abrupt departures raise even more questions surrounding the potential mismanagement of these funds," Westfall said, and asked the board to follow the city's lead in commissioning an independent audit to restore public trust.

City Administrator Chad Baugh told the board he and the mayor planned to review preliminary findings of an enhancement-grant audit and emphasized the city's intent to pursue "operational discipline." Baugh said staff are coordinating on the audit and described efforts to improve processes tied to grant administration.

Jay, the DDA's Main Street director, said the DDA's finances are part of the city's accounts and "as the city gets audited, so does the DDA's finances go through that same audit," adding the DDA's funds are included in the city's annual audit process.

Kelly Castleberry, a downtown building owner who joined by Zoom, also urged more spending detail from the DDA and warned that weekday street closures complicate access for customers with mobility needs. "When we close streets during the week ... it makes it more difficult for people, that need more accessibility to get into our building," she said.

No formal DDA board action was taken at the meeting on ordering a separate audit; public commenters urged the board to act. The city has already ordered a forensic review of enhancement-grant spending, and DDA staff said they would continue to work with city officials on transparency and next steps.