Mayor Eric Hazelet said during Wednesday's Town Council meeting that former Town Recorder Traci Wright allegedly embezzled more than $240,000 in city funds stretching back to 2001. And he said the town will try to get it back.

"Our No. 1 priority as a council is restitution," Hazelet said. "We will seek the full amount."

Wright, who resigned in August, has been charged with 13 counts of forgery, 13 counts of misuse of public funds and one count of theft. Hazelet said as soon as the irregularities were discovered, the town changed the locks on all town buildings, placed Wright on administrative leave and turned the investigation over to the Utah County Attorney's Office. Wright was later asked to resign.

Previously, prosecutors said the embezzled amount was at least $65,000, and going back as far as 2006.

Hazelet said the loss of money has caused the town to scramble to fund two of its major capital projects. He said the town has taken out a loan to complete the Public Safety Building, and has renegotiated its sales revenue bond for the town cemetery. He said the town is also planning to use the proceeds of a land sale to cover the cost of the loan on the public safety building instead of paying off the cemetery debt as originally planned.

Hazelet said the town is looking for a new auditor as Gilbert & Stuart, the firm that had previously audited the town's books, missed the irregularities.

Resident Sandy Greenwood said this was the most information the town has provided since the charges were first filed against Wright earlier this year.

"We just waited a long time to hear anything," Greenwood said. She's happy that the town is seeking restitution.

Curtis Thomas, another resident, is also pleased to hear that the city will seek restitution. He noted the effect the situation has had on the city, such as not getting a fence around the public safety building. "Times are tough. You have to cut back on luxuries," he said.

dmeyers@sltrib.com