“I don’t talk about church business,” Jones said, going on to add that he had no ability to control the actions of a volunteer.

The audit prompted criticism of Jones and was followed by additional revelations about ties between the church and City Hall. A former city official told The Times-Dispatch he faced political pressure to place a church member in a high-ranking budget position last year. In response to questions, Jones’ press secretary said that six of 58 executive-level city positions were occupied by people affiliated with the church.

Jones repeated Thursday that he believes city hiring decisions have been fair and legal.

“Any (questions) relating to the church (are) inappropriate because the people who work for the city who might possibly be members of my church have been hired by accepted practices,” he said. “They’ve gone through the vetting process, and the question that we should be discussing is qualification, not affiliation.”

Jones said he adhered to a promise he made upon taking office seven years ago not to mix city and church business. “I will say that I have honored that pledge,” Jones said.