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It might take six months before its starts and a year before completed, and cost the city $24,000, but a state audit of Florissant’s finances will take place.

The Missouri State Auditor’s office has received notification from the St. Louis County Election Board that a petition drive had received more than the necessary signatures to proceed with the audit. A spokesman for the Missouri Auditor’s office said the audit couldn’t begin soon because of a backlog of work.

A group called The Friends of Florissant collected more than 3,900 signatures and 2,681—10 percent of the city residents who voted in the November gubernatorial election— were needed.

The Friends of Florissant cited the need for more police officers, financial problems at the city golf course, the sale of the former Our Lady of Fatima convention, and for what they view as deficit spending.

Mayor Robert Lowery has said all along that the petition drive was political, organized by some of his opponents, and the city can’t legally have deficit spending. The mayor said he wasn’t concerned about the audit, that the city government is running well and he doesn’t believe the audit will show anything seriously wrong with city’s finances.

Lowery contends the audit was prompted by political opponents who are being “negative” about the city. He said any audit like this one will find something to criticize, but it won’t be anything serious.

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