The town of Norway has completed a forensic audit into its books, an audit that has identified as much as $100,000 missing from the public’s pocket.

There are three copies of that audit. Norway Police Chief Rob Federico has a copy, as does the town’s attorney and the District Attorney’s Office. The document is, according to law enforcement officials, considered part of an ongoing police investigation and is shielded from public view under the state’s Criminal History Act. What that means, according to Town Manager David Holt, is the contents of the audit will not be released until the investigation into criminal allegations of missing money is resolved.

Former Community Development Director Deborah Wyman is the subject of that criminal investigation, and the forensic audit was conducted strictly to examine Wyman’s financial decisions and actions as the town’s community development director. Wyman has been charged with stealing at least $10,000 in federal grants from Norway between January 2003 and January 2006 and is awaiting trial in Oxford County.

According to Holt, while he had access to an early draft of the audit, selectmen have not seen a copy of the document and none is available at the town office. Copies will not be made available to selectmen or to the public- intentionally – until after the criminal proceeding is resolved, which could take years of discovery, trial and appeals.

We understand the worry about releasing too much information, especially since the criminal investigation is active and Wyman’s attorney is entitled to examine the audit document and exhibits as part of the discovery process, but delaying release of basic revenue and expenditures to the public doesn’t serve the town or the public interest in the town’s operations.

We propose a compromise that could preserve the investigation and protect the public’s right to know: the town’s attorney, with the cooperation of the town manager, could produce an executive summary of the audit with enough detail about revenue, expenditures and how and when money went missing to be accountable to the public interest. It doesn’t have to specify precisely what checks were written to whom and deposited when, but it should contain enough information to track missing public funds.

Holt said he has nothing to hide, and we believe him.

If there is nothing to hide, though, then why hide it? An executive summary would provide the public with evidence it needs to understand what happened, and the town could cleanly separate itself from Wyman’s alleged activities.

While sorting out the missing money, Holt has asked KeyBank to help pay for the investigation into the missing funds since checks written on town accounts are alleged to have been deposited into Wyman’s personal account at that bank.

Does the bank have to help? Absolutely not, but it definitely should.

The town has the public interest to protect, but the bank has the public trust to protect. As a for-profit entity, KeyBank must help pay for this $40,000 investigation to assure its customers that it takes its banking practices, and any criminal attempt to circumvent them, very seriously.