Story highlights Barry Layne Moore, the jailed mayor of Hampton, Florida, resigns after audit 
 
 State audit finds rampant corruption, and lawmakers want to dissolve the city 
 
 Moore is accused of selling one oxycodone pill for $20 in November 
 
 Hampton is known for its speed trap along U.S. Highway 301 
 
 The jailed mayor of Hampton, Florida, resigned Tuesday as the embattled city of 477 residents fought to keep its municipal government functioning in the wake of a state audit that exposed rampant corruption and mismanagement. 
 
 Barry Layne Moore had held office for just over a month when he was arrested in November in a sting operation in which he allegedly sold a single 30-milligram oxycodone pill to an undercover informant for $20. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. 
 
 The audit, released last month, found 31 violations of Hampton's city charter, as well as violations of state and federal codes and laws. The allegations included nepotism, sloppy bookkeeping, and failure to maintain records, withhold payroll taxes or insure city vehicles. The audit also found $9,000 in questionable payments to the city clerk, $27,000 in questionable charges on a city credit card and $132,000 charged to an account at a BP gas station and convenience store across the street from City Hall. 
 
 The city has been given 30 days to show it can put its house in order. If the lawmakers are not satisfied that progress has been made, they will proceed in the state legislature with a bill to dissolve Hampton's city charter. Among the conditions the city must meet: All current office-holders and employees must resign. 
 
 The police chief, city clerk, and water manager already have quit, as has one of the five city council members, who are paid $125 a month. Others are likely to follow. The City Council meets Tuesday night. 
 
 Moore's letter was short and to the point, stating, "I, Barry Layne Moore, being of sound mind and body, ask that you would please accept this letter as notification that I am leaving my position with the city of Hampton, effective immediately." ||||| Hampton Mayor Barry Layne Moore, who was suspended from office last November after being arrested on allegations of selling oxycodone following an undercover investigation by local law enforcement, officially resigned from his post Tuesday. 
 
 Moore is still being held in the Bradford County Jail on a $45,000 bond but asked Hampton City Council member Bill Goodge, a sergeant at the Bradford County Jail, to help him go through the process of resigning, Goodge told The Sun. 
 
 "He didn't want to embarrass the city anymore, and if he did, he apologizes," Goodge said. 
 
 Moore's decision to officially resign, even though Acting Mayor Myrtice McCullough has been in charge since his suspension, will allow Hampton to move forward and eventually elect a new mayor, Goodge explained. 
 
 "I was hoping he'd do it," Goodge said. "That way Hampton can go on. Instead of looking backwards, we can go forward with a new mayor." 
 
 Moore's letter of resignation to the city of Hampton, which was notarized Tuesday, is succinct. 
 
 "I, Barry Layne Moore, being of sound mind and body, ask that you would please accept this letter as notification that I am leaving my position with the City of Hampton, effective immediately," it reads. 
 
 Moore's arrest, which came just weeks after he had taken office, isn't the only thing that has drawn attention to Hampton, a 1-square-mile city of less than 500 people in Bradford County. The city was the subject of a scathing state audit that has led to an ongoing criminal investigation as well as talk of dissolving the city's government. 
 
 State Sen. Rob Bradley and state Rep. Charles Van Zant, who represent Bradford County, decided late last month they would move forward with the dissolution process but would visit Hampton within a matter of weeks to determine if the town's residents have come up with a reasonable plan to address the problems raised in the audit, which cited poor records-keeping and financial mismanagement as major issues. 
 
 If the legislators are satisfied with their plan, Bradley and Van Zant may decide against dissolving the city. 
 
 Goodge said Hampton still has more changes to make in order to move forward, but Moore's resignation was a key step forward. 
 
 After the audit was released in early February, Hampton's maintenance operator, police chief and new city clerk all resigned. 
 
 Last week, the city added two new resignations to the list, Goodge said. City Council member Charles Hall, the husband of former City Clerk Jane Hall, a central figure in the audit, resigned, as did City Attorney John E. Maines IV, who worked for the city on a contractual basis. 
 
 A new council member has been appointed, and the city is working with a new attorney for the time being, Goodge said. The city is also looking to hire a new city clerk and maintenance operator, and it has been receiving applications for those positions. 
 
 Although the city no longer has a maintenance operator, Goodge said it does have a plan in place for handling any emergencies involving the city's water system that may arise. 
 
 If the state government decides to dissolve the city, so be it, Goodge said. But he said he thinks the difficult times are now behind the city and that the community just needs to move forward. 
 
 Contact Morgan Watkins at 338-3104 or morgan.watkins@gainesville.com.
– Hampton, Fla., needs a new mayor—unless the state decides to dissolve its "most corrupt town." Barry Layne Moore, mayor of the town of 477 residents, has handed in a one-sentence resignation letter from jail, where he is awaiting trial on charges of selling a single oxycodone pill to an undercover informant, reports CNN. "He didn't want to embarrass the city anymore, and if he did, he apologizes," city council member Bill Goodge tells the Gainesville Sun. Gov. Rick Scott suspended Moore after he was arrested in November, barely a month after taking office in a town known mainly for one of the nation's most notorious speed traps; Acting Mayor Myrtice McCullough has been at the helm since. Goodge explains that Moore's move clears the way for a proper election of a new mayor. The police chief, city clerk, maintenance operator, and one of the five city council members have already quit following a state audit that revealed staggering levels of mismanagement and corruption, though Goodge said he believes the town can still go forward. It has a few weeks to prove to the state it can do just that; otherwise, the legislature will very likely dissolve it. Click for more about the town's many woes, which include an odd bag of cash.