An accounting firm will soon begin looking into the books of Huntsville’s Eastern League.

The Huntsville City Council Thursday authorized hiring Mauldin & Jenkins to conduct an audit of the league after the arrest of a former city employee accused of embezzling money.

Heather Ann Spier, 51, of Owens Cross Roads, was arrested March 1 on charges of first degree theft of property.

Court documents allege that Spier, from September 2022 through this February, stole $73,225 from the Huntsville Eastern League, a combined youth league overseeing football, basketball, cheerleading, soccer and other sports.

Spier was a landscape management employee for the City of Huntsville. According to a city official, her arrest was not related to her job duties.

The audit will extend through January of 2022 to the business practices and workflow regarding the league’s finances, according to a proposal. The audit will also recommend improvements.