According to the legal notice, the bankruptcy case began with the town filing a petition on Dec. 20. The filing of the petition, the notice explains, halts proceedings to collect debts from the town by outside parties.
"The filing of the petition constitutes an order for relief under Chapter 9...," the notice states.
Objections to the petition may be filed by a party in interest no later than 45 days after mailing of the published notice by the town to all creditors, special taxpayers and other parties in interest, according to the notice.
Your TIMES was told by town employees that William Bentley, chairman of the Moffett town council, was the only one who could speak to Your TIMES about the bankruptcy. Bentley did not return phone calls to Your TIMES.
Your TIMES was also unable to reach the town's attorney, Chris Blankenship of Stigler, for comment about the case or what prompted the town to file bankruptcy.
In December, the Moffett Police Department was ordered to stop traffic enforcement on a four-mile strip of U.S. Highway 64. The ban is indefinite.
The OHP's investigative division audited the town's revenue from speed enforcement after the department received a number of complaints about the town being a speed trap.
OHP officials said that Moffett violated a law, enforced by the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, that states that the revenue a town or city gets from traffic fines can't exceed more than 50 percent of the town's operating budget.
The audit of the town's 2003 and 2004 budgets revealed that 78 percent of the operating budget was from traffic tickets in 2003, and 84 percent of its operating budget came from traffic tickets in 2004, OHP officials said.
