By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
Federal funding for a proposed transportation mall in St. Francis County and a transfer of other county funds to support that proposal were found to be in violation of state law upon recent completion of the 2002 legislative audit.
Three of the six county offices were found to be in "substantial compliance with Arkansas fiscal and financial laws" while "noncompliance with state law and inadequate internal control procedures were noted" in three other offices.
The St. Francis County audit will be presented to the Legislative Joint Audit Committee on July 9 in Little Rock.
Auditors noted the majority of the irregularities in County Judge Carl Cisco's office with funds designated for county roads, Northeast Arkansas Recycling Company and the transportation mall.
In the report, auditors said the county judge failed to maintain fixed asset records, which are needed to ensure proper accountability of county-owned equipment.
Another matter on which Cisco's office was found to be in noncompliance involved a $25,000 payment from NEARCO to the county road fund for road expenses, and a transfer of $30,700 from NEARCO to the transportation mall fund for mall expenses.
Auditors wrote, "These expenditures are not allowable out of this fund, which is restricted for sanitation use and should be reimbursed."
Cisco said the payment from NEARCO to the road department was actually a reimbursement for sanitation work performed by road department employees. "That was for trash cleanup at illegal dumpsites. The road department has to do some of that work because they have the necessary equipment such as backhoes and dumptrucks, so we reimbursed them for that work" Cisco said.
In order to comply with the auditor's request, Cisco said after the final settlement in November, "We will take it out of the road money and pay NEARCO back."
The transfer of money from NEARCO for the transportation mall, according to Cisco, was to allow the mall project to provide matching funds required for certain project grants. That money will be repaid from county general. "We will use other funds designated for economic development to replace that money."
The judge's office was also cited for maintaining transportation mall and East Arkansas Enterprise funds outside of the treasurer's office. Auditors said receipts were not issued and employees did not utilize the appropriations and claims process. "All applicable county funds should be maintained by the county treasurer and go through the claims/warrant system and budget process to ensure adequate reporting of the county's financial position," auditors wrote.
Federal funds in excess of $300,000 were expended, however, the county judge did not file a compliance audit for these funds as required by federal grant regulations. The failure to file a federal compliance audit could result in the repayment of federal funds, according to the audit.
Cisco said the East Arkansas Planning and Development District in Jonesboro is now handling the money for the transportation mall project. "We were cutting checks here, and they had to go through the treasurer's office and then the clerk's office, and they didn't want to fool with it, so we had it transferred there. This just took it out of our hands and gave it to them. It's mainly just paperwork," he said.
The sheriff's department was cited for violations involving the transfer of funds from a communications account for uniform allowances, totaling $45,600, and for travel advances provided to employees before travel instead of allowing them to be reimbursed upon the return of receipts for allowable expenses.
Sheriff Dave Parkman was unavailable for comment.
The collector's division of the sheriff's department and the St. Francis County Assessor's office were both cited for computer programming problems involving a shared computer system.
According to the audit report, "The access security and application controls for the assessor's and collector's computers are not adequate. Weak access security controls could allow unauthorized changes to be made, which could increase the risk of fraud and inadequate application controls could significantly impact the county's ability to continue routine operations using the existing applications.
Assessor Craig Jones explained the problem, which has now been corrected and is expected to be discussed at the July 9 meeting in Little Rock.
The 2002 audit was the first security audit performed by the state, and according to Jones, St. Francis County is not the only county in which programming errors were discovered.
Jones said the company that supplied the computer program has modified that system to implement the changes suggested by the auditors, and those problems have been corrected. "They (auditors) have come back and checked it and everything now meets the criteria," Jones added.
Auditors reported the offices of circuit clerk, treasurer and county clerk were found to be in compliance with state laws.
Treasurer Ann Harbin said, "I was just very pleased that we got a good audit report. We've gotten a new computer system, and working with it makes it easier to keep up with our outstanding check list and we're now networked with the county clerk's office. It's just a good system and it makes it easier for us."
County Clerk Elizabeth Smith shared Harbin's thoughts, "We've worked really hard to make sure to follow the guidelines and procedures of this office, and I believe that is reflected in the audit report. We're very pleased with it."
Circuit Court Clerk Bette Green said the audit "basically goes back to accountability of our actions. The efficiency of our staff is reflected under my leadership and their team effort reflects well in our audit. Being held accountable to our citizens and adhering to the legislative audit mandates is what we're about."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The St. Francis County Election Commission may soon add a new member to its ranks after the state commission named Lamar Bridges to the county commission Thursday.
Bridges, a member of the Democratic Central Committee, was one of five members submitted to the commission for approval at a meeting Monday of the county DCC.
"I'll have a lot of learning to do, but I'll do my best," Bridges said Thursday.
"I've been a member of this community for more than 30 years, and I look forward to working with the commission and serving this community," he said.
While Bridges spoke as if he were taking the position, longtime election commission member Bettye Proctor said she was unsure whether he would accept the post.
"I just spoke with him, and he was surprised to be named to the commission. I'm not real sure as to whether he'll take it or not. I just don't understand why the state went over the local DCC and decided not to accept the decision of the local DCC after we selected Joe Young for the spot," Proctor said.
On Monday, DCC members voted to place Young's name at the top of the list of those wanted for the position. Young was joined on the list by Frederick Freeman, Ed Chauvin, Maceo Hawkins and Bridges.
Young recently issued a letter of resignation from the election commission after St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco decided to move the commission from an office in the St. Francis County Courthouse. Cisco reversed his decision last week, choosing to separate an office in the building which was to be used for mapping services by the St. Francis County Assessor's office. At Monday's meeting, DCC members refused to accept Young's resignation and voted to submit him as the lead candidate for the third spot on the commission.
As the dominant party in St. Francis County, the Democratic Party is allowed to fill two of the three positions on the election commission. The third spot must be filled by a male member of the party since the other Democrat member of the commission is female.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A position in county government which has no definite description of its roles and responsibilities may bring more questions for St. Francis County Circuit Clerk Bette Green in her efforts to get raises for the five employees in her office.
Last month, Green approached members of the St. Francis County Quorum Court and the St. Francis County Budget Committee with a request to transfer $62,000 to the county's general account from an automation account established by state law for her office. The funding, in part, would pay the salaries for the employees of her office. The funding would also offset the cost of raises for the employees of the circuit clerk's office.
During the June meeting of the Quorum Court, Justice Regan Hill told fellow justices that he felt Green's request should be honored based on the fact that she had shown fiscal responsibility after the loss of her chief deputy in 1998. According to Green, the position was not filled for several reasons.
"At the time, I felt that we could help save the county financially by not filling the position. The deputies in the circuit clerk's office have positions that require them to do many tasks. Each deputy is assigned to a specific court and have other responsibilities they are in charge of. There just has not been a need to fill the position, in that each person is competent in their duties and they are all capable of filling in at other positions when needed. They are all experienced at working the different courts, and I didn't feel that one person needed the extra burden of knowing all of the different positions," Green said.
According to Hill, Green had saved the county close to $180,000 by not filling the position.
Six of the county's seven chief deputies receive a salary of $27,851.20 each, while the seventh receives a salary of $34,278.40. There are three chief deputies in the sheriff's department one each for tax collections, the sheriff's department and the county jail. There are also chief deputies in the county judge's office, the county clerk's office, the county treasurer's office and the county assessor's office.
Green is the only elected county government official who does not currently have a chief deputy.
According to St. Francis County Personnel Committee Chairperson Earlene Smith, while each official has different roles for the chief deputy, the position is a supervisory role.
"I understand that the county's handbook doesn't have a description for the position, but having been a chief deputy, I know that the chief deputy is responsible for assisting the elected official and taking on various responsibilities and supervisory decisions when the elected official is not available. The position requires a certain amount of trust between the elected official and the chief, and that is why the position is at-will. That gives the elected official a certain amount of freedom in the running of their office as long as they stay within state guidelines," Smith said.
According to Green, she has not had to make such a decision in the past. When questioned on what would happen if she had to be out for an extended period, she said. "That's a decision that I would have to make at that time."
County employees received a 3 percent across-the-board raise effective April 1. Green's request would provide an additional raise for only the employees in her office.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
Forrest City, and St. Francis County as a whole, have suffered a sizable decline in population numbers since 2000, according to the recently released 2003 U.S. Census estimates.
Forrest City's population was listed as 14,774 in 2000. The most current figures have the city losing 423 residents in the four-year reporting period from 2000 to 2003.
St. Francis County's population in 2000 was listed at 29,329 and dropped in three years to 28,517. That is a loss of 812 residents.
Forrest City Mayor Larry Bryant said he feels that the population numbers are incorrect due to the methods that the Census Bureau uses to compile their statistics.
"They look at existing housing and construction, and that is not accurate," stated Bryant. "They got the numbers wrong the last time, and that means the numbers can be bogus. They give us a low count in the Delta. How can you respect a number when we don't really know what was counted to get that number. Did they count the prison? I don't know. We have offered in the past to help them with their count, but they refused and said it was a 'conflict of interest.' Personally, I feel comfortable with our numbers. We may have lost population, but I don't trust those numbers."
SFC Judge Carl Cisco said that the numbers, while bad, were not unexpected. "Basically, we knew that the population was going down," said Cisco. "Due to the closing of factories and loss of jobs, the population is going to go down. I think there are many areas in the Delta that have lost population because of the same reasons.
"We have got to turn this around, and we have got to get more jobs here. That is what it takes to get people to move to an area and to stay in an area. We have to create jobs here. That is the reason we are working on economic development. That was the key to what is happening in Northwest Arkansas. They have Tyson and Wal-Mart there and are having a lot of growth. We must create jobs and bring in businesses to the county and to the Delta."
Cisco added that the loss of population also means a loss of revenue for the county. "The tax revenue turnback from the state is based of population," he said. "With a loss in population, we will certainly lose tax money, and that will certainly hurt the county and all of the cities. When we lose population, we lose money in more ways than one."
Forrest City, the county's largest city, suffered the bulk of the population loss, but it was not alone. Hughes lost 97 residents, Madison lost 43, Wheatley's population lost 16 and Widener saw a loss of 10 residents.
Three of the eight incorporated cities in SFC saw a slight rise in population. Palestine has 13 more residents than they did in 2000. Caldwell added four residents and Colt had an increase of one.
The statistics used in this story can be found at www.aiea.ualr.edu.
Job fairs will be held in Forrest City and Wynne for people interested in employment at the Federal Bureau of Prisons' medium security facility at Forrest City, on Wednesday, July 7.
The locations will be the Forrest City Public Library and East Arkansas Community College in Forrest City, and at the Wynne Chamber of Commerce and the Cross County Library in Wynne.
Short briefings about local opportunities will run continuously throughout the day, from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. at each location.
The event is open to the public.
Employment interviews will not be conducted during this event. However, job information will be available. Additional information regarding the Bureau of Prisons can be obtained on the Bureau's Internet website at www.bop.gov. Internet access will be provided at each of the host sites mentioned above.
According to a press release, employment at a Federal Bureau of Prisons institution is limited to individuals who have not yet reached their 37th birthday.
The entire hiring process takes up to 12 weeks. It is anticipated interviews for employment will begin in mid-summer and staff will be hired on a gradual basis beginning in the late summer and early fall of 2004.
According to Gary Bowers, only about 71 out of a potential 301 employees have been hired so far for the medium security facility.
With the Fourth of July holiday landing on Sunday this year, many government buildings will be closed on Monday in observance of the holiday.
The Forrest City City Hall will be closed Monday, July 5, as will the St. Francis County Courthouse. The United States Postal Service will also be closed on Monday. All three will reopen at their normal times on Tuesday, July 6.
The Times-Herald will also be closed on Monday. The newspaper will resume production at its normal time on Tuesday.
One daily service, garbage collection, will go on as usual on Monday. King Disposal will not be closed and will run its regular garbage pick-up routes next week.
Permits for building projects valued at a total of $284,733 were issued during June, according to the mayor's office.
Several business or commercial projects were included. An addition for Attorney Alvin Simes at 1702 S. Washington is valued at $60,000. Larry Bryant is putting up a new building at 308 E. Hill valued at $25,000. Bokker Used Cars at 825 W. Broadway is getting a sign valued at $8,500.
Several churches received permits for projects during June. Bethel Baptist at 1025 N. Izard has a siding project valued at $25,000. The Assembly of God at 1705 S. Washington's roof project is valued at $9,000. Redeeming Christian Spiritual Church #1, located at 411 W. Cross, is involved in a remodeling and roof project valued at $14,000.
There were also several projects by private home owners, including two remodelings, one window project, a room addition, two siding projects, one fire damage repair project and one screened patio.
Two men are being held in the St. Francis County Jail after their arrests on drug charges this morning by the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department and members of the First Judicial District Drug Task Force.
According to a report from the Sheriff's Department, 21-year old Steven Allen Jones of Wynne, and 19-year old Lewis G. Tiner, 319 Wolfe St., Forrest City, were arrested on Old Madison Road this morning at 2:15 a.m., on charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver .
For Tiner, who is also facing charges of fleeing and reckless driving, his arrest Friday was the second in as many weeks on drug charges. On Saturday, June 19, officer's arrested him on charges of possession of a controlled substance.