Former Port Arthur city employee Alicia Taylor who is charged with theft by a public official is out of jail on a $30,000 bond.

Taylor, 33, posted bond Thursday night on the third degree felony charge, according to officials at the Jefferson County Correctional Facility.

Taylor was employed with the city as a grants specialist for two years. Investigators contend Taylor falsified payroll records to indicate she was sick when she wasn’t.

She also faces 24 counts of tampering with a government record and each charge is a state jail felony.

“When we find theft in our city we will turn it over to the authorities for appropriate action,” Port Arthur City Manager Brian McDougal said. “We will not tolerate theft of taxpayer dollars in the city of Port Arthur.”

Gary Reaves, Jefferson County assistant district attorney, said the investigation is ongoing.

Taylor’s charge is part of an ongoing public corruption investigation. To date more than a dozen former city employees have been charged in the investigation.

Anyone with information on crimes involving public integrity issues or public integrity crimes in the city of Port Arthur is urged to call Lt. M. Blitch at the Port Arthur Police Department or the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office and speak to an investigator in the Public Integrity Division.

Mary Meaux: 409-721-2429

Twitter: @MaryMeauxPANews