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.