WARNING: Reader may detect opinions from author.
The Alexander City Council held a Special Meeting Tuesday, April 25.
The meeting was called by council members Joe Pollard, Harold
Timmerman and Tony Staton.
The goal of the meeting was to try to get enough council members to
accept the bid from McElroy Tops and Floors in Benton so repairs can
begin on the water fountain in the City Park. A second item on the
agenda was to establish a policy for keys to the bookkeeper's office
and begin the process of hiring a new bookkeeper.
Not only was the fountain issue tabled again, but the keys and
bookkeeper hiring was added to the growing list of tabled agenda
items. At the April 17 Regular Meeting the fountain, a request from
the developer of a proposed subdivision to approve connecting to the
Little Rock sewer line, and bids for a fire alarm system for city
hall were all tabled.
Mayor Crystal Herrmann asked Pollard, Timmerman and Staton to begin
the discussion.
"Knowing this gentleman (McElroy) does excellent work,"
Timmermann began. "I think we get him on the job ASAP as soon as
he possibly can, because he's been doing this kind of work. And we've
called other places and they won't do repair work.
"All they want to do is, from the bottom up start,"
Timmermann continued. "They will not dismantle and repair it. A
lot of them we called will not even come this far into the end of the
state. They just do in their areas."
"And I think Mr. McElroy, like I said (at the last meeting),
y'all don't know him like I do," Pollard began. "I have
worked for him OK and I know what he does. He does it for J.D. Hunt
up in Lowell, Arkansas new building up there, stuff, and I had took
stuff up there for him."
"And he does the work and he stand behind it," Pollard
continued. "I know a job he did that nobody ever complained
about him doing."
"I spoke to him Friday and he said he's been pretty much been
doing it all his life," Staton began. "He had done a
fountain for UAMS."
Staton then proceeded to present a second quote from McElroy. The
first quote presented to the council at the regular April 17 meeting
was for $47,020.00. That quote allows for the city street department
using city equipment and employees to dismantle and reassemble the
fountain while McElroy does the repairs.
Also, it does not include the cost of materials. Alexander will be
allowed to purchase them using McElroy's contractor discount.
The second quote eliminates help from the city and replaces it with
having to rent equipment and an operator. Staton said that adds
around another "$22,000.00 per day" bringing the second
quote up to around $68,020.00.
Herrmann then reminds everyone, "And we still don't have three
bids. We only have one bid."
"So, like he (Timmerann) just said, we checked around, several
of us called and there's nobody in this state that can do this work
and get it done," Council Member Juanita Wilson said. "And
what I was told that this man (McElroy) has a window of opportunity
to get it done in the next couple of weeks because of a job that
backed off for a couple of weeks. So it would expedite getting it
finished and getting it working."
"It's my understanding we have to have three bids,"
Herrmann asked. "Am I wrong on that one?"
"For this type of service, ... we have to have three bids for
these kinds of things," said Council Member Joy Gray. "So,
if you all can document that you've made phone calls to XYZ places,
you've made every attempt (to get three bids), then you can (accept
one bid) because that's one of the things that would be sort of like
a sole source where this is the person that does it, that will come
do it."
"Well, I honestly would prefer to at least give me a chance to
get us some more bids," Herrmann said.
Besides only being able to get one bid, another issue concerning some
council members is not having seen any financial statements since the
beginning of the year. Ever since January 3 City Treasurer JoAn
Churchill has not been able to access the accounting software to
print end-of-the-month financial statements.
Churchill attended both the regular monthly April meeting and the
Special Meeting, and no one asked her for the current balance of the
Parks and Recreation Fund. According to the March bank statement the
Parks and Recreation Account had a balance at the end of the month of
$201,789.70. That includes the deduction of the $68,000.00 deposited
into the court fund to pay David Jacks as part of the Eminent Domain
lawsuit concerning the property, which makes up the east end of the
park.
And that brought the discussion to whether Alexander can repair the
fountain even though it's still in litigation over ownership of the
property. This was also a bone of contention at the regular April
meeting.
After the city mowed that end of the park for years, plus made
improvements which includes not only the fountain but the gazebo and
lights, Little Rock resident David Jacks claimed it is his property.
A title search indicated after the property was donated to the city
by its previous owner, the eastern end may have been accidentally
sold to Jacks. Hence, the confusion by city officials.
At the April 17 council meeting Wilson provided an Email from
Attorney Lana Fraser stating that the city has ownership of the
property. Fraser first began working on this issue when she was city
attorney. She has since joined the James Law Firm in Little Rock and
was hired to file the Eminent Domain claim.
According to the filing posted on the Arkansas Judicial website,
Judge Brent D. Houston, 22nd Circuit, Division 3, has already made a
ruling on the Eminent Domain claim.
His ruling states, "After the City deposits $68,000 into the
registry of the Court, the City and its agents or contractors may
take immediate possession of the property described in the City of
Alexander’s Complaint filed on March 22, 2023, and may enter upon
the lands in controversy and proceed with its operation,
construction, maintenance, and ensure safety for the public park.
Ark. Code Ann. §18-15-303(b)(2)."
Timmermann and Wilson point to this ruling as giving the city
ownership of the property and the authority to make the repairs. When
the issue was tabled at the last meeting Timmermann expected Herrmann
would look for more bids.
"No, I didn't say I was going to get bids," Herrmann said.
"We've tabled this because the property is not in our name yet,
and nobody has looked at the financials. This is why it was tabled."
"The judge of the court says that we have the right ... to do
repairs on this property because it is the City of Alexander's
property," Timmermann said.
"I understand that that is still in the process," Herrmann
replied. "It's not in our name yet Mr. Timmermann."
"Once we put down that $68,000 to the court and he (judge) said
that we have the right to that property, we have full use of it, so
we can do whatever we need to going forward with that property,"
Timmermann countered.
Council member Joy Gray asked Herrmann, "Based on your
experience with that kind of fountain, what is the standard pricing
for that?"
"It's, it's very high, especially with the city supplying labor
and equipment," Herrmann said. "So that's a high quote.
That is, that is, very high to me. It, it is a very high quote. What
would be I mean, the materials are most likely going to run anywhere
from two thousand, three thousand dollars.
"And, what I think has happened with the shift, the grout has
fractured, water with the winter that we had, it penetrated, got in,
froze, but makes it worse and it keeps doing so," Herrmann
continued. "It needs to be cleaned out, pulled apart, put back
with a fresh coat grout with a proper sealer, and then it needs to be
waterproofed accordingly with that marble."
"So you're not just throwing in an epoxy sealer over top of
beautiful marble," she said. "There's some special products
for that to do a deep penetration on those groundwater."
Gray asked Herrmann for her estimate on the cost of hiring a company
to repair the fountain.
"I would say probably about 20 (thousand), especially if David's
(Street Superintendent) assisting and maybe even lower than that,"
Herrmann replied. "That's what I'm saying. We can actually
improve. We can actually do that in house with the guidance. I could
have somebody come over and give them the guidance to do it
correctly."
"And I'm concerned about not that we don't want to take care of
the fountain," Council Member Angela Griffin Began. "But I
am concerned about putting certain precedents over fixing something
until we all review the financials, because there are other things
that needs to be taken care of, too, that deals with the financials."
"And so for me to vote on this doesn't mean I don't want to take
care of the fountains," Griffin continued. "But I don't
think it takes precedence over other things at this point, meaning we
have city buildings that are not up to code yet that needs to be
taken care of, that we've also tabled and hadn't voted on."
"But every dime we can save for the park right now is crucial
because we have the eroding culverts over there," Herrmann
chimed in. "We don't have a public restroom. I want to see the
fountain run. I would love to see the fountain run, but I would
prefer the fountain be worked on once the city's name, once the deed
is in our name. Why do we have to rush it?"
"The judge says that the city park belongs to the city of
Alexander," Wilson repeated.
"Is a deed filed at the courthouse in the city of Alexander's
name. Yes or no?" Herrmann asked.
"We have authorization from the judge to do whatever we need to
do in the city park," Timmermann said.
"That's just my opinion," Herrmann said.
"You're not a judge," Timmermann shot back. " Neither
am I. But it says in the papers that we got from the courthouse down
there that we own that property all the way to Highway 111."
"I
received a letter. I received information from Ms. Fraser today,"
Herrmann said. "He still has not been served. And correct me if
I'm wrong, Joy (Gray), did she not say he had to be served for the
process to go through?"
"So
Lana's opinion was that we could do it," Gray began to explain.
"But that paperwork that we looked at with Sharon (Bankhead),
our last meeting that we had, I would say it's kind of up in the air.
Lana said we can do it. She's the acting attorney for it."
Gray
then recaps all the sides of the legal issue.
"But has the deed been filed with the city's name on it? No,
because the process we're in right now is he (Jacks) has to say yes
or no at this point. He's running from the process server,
apparently, and then the judge at this point, we're in the point
where, yes, technically it's ours, but he hasn't been given he hasn't
been given the money."
"At this point. He may not even get $68,000," Gray
continued. "We've written a check for that much. But the judge
may get mad and give him a dollar. I wouldn't stop that. But that's
where we're at. So we don't have deeds, but we're in the process."
This is the same tactic Jacks used when former Mayor Paul Mitchell
attempted to settle the matter. The attorney for Jacks at the time
was the contact person for Jacks. According to Mitchell the attorney
couldn't get an answer from Jacks on any question or offer. It was
essentially a one-sided negotiation.
Gray asked, "Do we know how many weeks he can run from the
process server?"
"Three," Wilson responded. "If the process server
didn't get him last Wednesday (April 19), then from Wednesday till
this Wednesday (April 26) to the next Wednesday (May 3), the next
Wednesday (May 10), it's over."
Wilson reminded everyone that McElroy has an opening now to get the
fountain repaired.
Earlier Timmermann made a motion to accept the bid with Wilson making
the second. The motion failed with Timmermann and Wilson being the
only "Aye" votes. Voting "Nay" were Pollard,
Staton, Gray, Griffin, and
Gina Thomas Littlejohn.
Herrmann declared the issue tabled without a vote.
Unless something changes this issue should be settled at the May 15
meeting.
The bookkeeper; keys and hiring?
The next item on the agenda was to establish a policy for keys to the
accounting office and begin the process of hiring a new bookkeeper.
The policy will give the treasurer, or bookkeeper, sole control over
the keys limiting access to the accounting office.
Council member Juanita Wilson read the proposed recommendations.
"This is for the treasurer," Wilson began. "To
accounting office. All keys to the accounting office; current
location; door, files all locks changed. Personnel files are needed
to be seen in order to do the work required. Only the bookkeeper
needs to see these files, absolutely no one else."
"Accounting should be a viable department with bookkeeper,
accounts receivable, accounts payable, personnel records, and
payroll," Wilson continued. "Department head would be the
city treasurer. Office manager would be the bookkeeper and two
(additional) clerks at a later date (to be discussed) when we get to
the meeting next."
Former
bookkeeper Julie Brown resigned before the April 17 regular council
meeting. Wilson says there was a resignation letter found in the
bookkeepers office from Brown, which tells City Treasurer JoAn
Churchill a flash drive was left on the desk with the letter. Wilson
told council members the flash drive can not be found.
"And,
Mayor Crystal (Herrmann) gave JoAn (Churchill) a key to the office,"
Wilson said. "But she didn't give her the flash drive. So that
flash drive needs to come into Joanne's office because it doesn't
need to be outside (the office)."
Churchill
normally performs her treasurer duties from home. But, with the
resignation of Brown, Churchill is performing bookkeeping duties in
the office used by the bookkeeper.
Herrmann
said, "And Ms. JoAn actually has a home office, and she retired
from the office."
"And
she needs to be doing the bookkeeper job," Wilson explained.
"She's doing double job right now in order to get the city
straightened, because there are some bookkeeping errors that were
found."
"I
absolutely agree, Herrmann said. "There had a lot of bookkeeping
errors."
Wilson
responded, "But they're not Joanne's errors."
Attempting
to throw blame Herrmann said, "With Ms. JoAn in the wheel."
"No,
ma'am," Wilson replied. "It was Ms. Julie. We found proof
of that today, so that will come up (later)."
Attempting
to get back to the issue of security Wilson continued, "But
anyway, right now, we just need that she has a secured office with
new locks on it, and she's the only one to have the lock, the key. No
one else needs them (keys), period. End of sentence."
To
emphasize the importance of keeping the office locked, Wilson
conveyed advice given to her and Churchill by State auditors a few
years ago.
"Because
the Treasurer's people told Joanne and I at a meeting several years
ago, that anytime you're more than ten foot from that door in that
bookkeeping office, it's to be locked. No one enters. Nobody,"
Wilson said. "That includes anybody. Mayor, council members.
Once it is locked, you can't go in there and see any files."
Wilson
then brought up a problem being caused by Herrmann.
"And
she (Churchill) can't even get into the filing cabinets because they
are now locked," Wilson said.
"They
have been locked," Herrmann said.
"And
they have been locked," Wilson repeated. "But the mayor
says she has a key to them. She shouldn't have a key to them either."
"I
offered to pull whatever file," Herrmann said.
Cutting
off Herrmann Wilson said, "You don't need to be pulling files.
That's not your job. The files are personnel files with people's
Social Security number."
Changing
the subject to hiring a new bookkeeper Wilson said, "We're going
to need another person in that office. And Joanne needs to be the one
trying to hire because Joanne has done bookkeeping most of her life."
"I
make a motion that we do this tonight," Wilson said. "And I
think we ought to give Joanne at least a seven or eight dollar raise
for what she's having to do to get things out of that computer,
because it has been screwed up the day she came back in."
Ever
since January 3 the accounting system has not allowed Churchill to
sign-in. One problem this has caused is not being able to print
monthly financial statements for the council meetings.
Council
member Joy Gray asked what "do this" means in the motion.
"We're
going to give her (Churchill) access by getting new keys, locks made
so that she's the only one that has the keys to get in and out of
that office, because there are several keys floating around here that
nobody's admitting they have," Wilson explained.
"Joy,"
Herrmann began. "They do not want me to have a key to the office
in the city building that mayors generally have a key to. They do not
want me to have access, I'm being denied access to of a FOIable
information as mayor."
"Well,"
Wilson chimed in. "Ms. JoAn just did three FOIA (Freedom of
Information Act) information today because people are requesting FOIA
on top of everything else she's had to do."
"Let
me understand so I can follow what you're saying," said Council
Member Angela Griffin. "So you're proposing that the treasurer,
the elected official, play the role as elected official treasurer and
also play as an employee as the bookkeeper."
"Right.
Now she's doing that," Wilson said.
"So
she would need to do dual role," Griffin continued. "Does
employee and elected official be the only one to have access to
personnel files?"
"Right,"
Wilson again concurred.
"The
only one to have access to personnel file," Griffin again asked.
"And to have the locks change on an office so no one else has
access to it?"
"Not
until she gets a bookkeeper and gets them training," Wilson
said.
"But
she has an office at home that no one would have access to,"
Griffin said.
Wilson
explained the city records needed by Churchill are in the accounting
office at city hall.
"She
doesn't have them at home," Wilson said.
"What
particular records you're talking about?" Griffin asked.
"Personnel
records? All kinds of people's personal information," Wilson
said.
"She
would need access to that so she can take care of like the payroll
and all of that," Griffin interjected.
"Right
now, she's still working with payroll people, trying to get payroll
straight out," Wilson responded.
Arkansas
state law assumes whoever is elected city treasurer is familiar with
accounting and can perform that function. However, it also allows for
the possibility that someone could be elected who either isn't an
accountant or isn't able to be at city hall performing those
accounting tasks on a daily basis if required.
According
to the Arkansas Municipal League's guide "Municipal Law in
Arkansas Questions and Answers,
Revised November 2021" the treasurer's duties may be assigned to
another person or entity. The guide answers the question:
"Q:
May the treasurer’s duties be assigned to someone else?"
"A:
The duties of the treasurer found in the Municipal
Accounting Law (A.C.A. §§ 14-59-101-111 through
14-59-114-118) may be assigned to another employee or contractor if
(1) the treasurer requests the reassignment or (2) the treasurer
fails to perform those duties (A.C.A. § 14-59-115).”
Wilson
then wanted the council to give Churchill "the sole right to
hire a bookkeeper." And that's when it really hit the fan.
Council
Member Joy Gray reported on what she found under State law in regards
to who hires
employees.
"I
looked today in the Municipal League rules and regs on that,"
Gray began. "In one book, it was on page 17, and another book,
it was on page twelve. I don't remember which one was which. But
basically we would have to go back through, and I didn't have time
today to look at the Organization of City Council, to see (if) it's
not in there."
"So
the mayor can nominate department heads and then we can say yay or
nay and vetoed if we don't like it," Gray continued. "Now,
for basic people that work in the building, there's not necessarily a
concrete state[ment] here."
"There's
not a statute that I can find that gives us direction on this,"
Gray concluded.
After
several minutes of discussion, which included the idea of hiring a
temp service, Griffin asked Herrmann for her recommendation.
"While
there's a vacancy, I propose that you all let me work with entering
the payroll and getting that combined," she began. "Let me
work with Ms. JoAn on turning over the numbers."
"Her
and I can go over the payroll," Herrmann continued. "The
hours together with the time sheet doing the report, like I emailed
you about today, and Proliant (payroll company) is really cordial.
They will call and walk you through it. And meanwhile, I can either
do the temporary service that just does it for us, or me and Joanne
can work together and get through it."
After
several more minutes of discussion Council Member Harold Timmermann
recommended hiring a temporary bookkeeper until the next council
meeting.
"I'd
like to suggest that you (hire) temporary till the next city council
meeting next month and make a decision then," Timmermann said.
Herrmann
responded, "Okay, so you're saying meanwhile, if I have a temp
and when I have some good applications and resumes that you don't
want me to hire my office (staff)?"
"It
is not the mayor's position to hire those positions," Timmermann
replied.
"Nothing
says that it's not Mr. Timmermann," Herrmann said. "Other
mayors across Arkansas hire their staff. It's not an uncommon thing.
Paul Mitchell did it. Ms. Johnson did it. It happens every day."
"Mayors
lose staff and they hire new staff, Herrmann continued. "Happens
all the time, usually around election."
"Look
where the position of the records are at today, Herrmann said before
being cutoff. "They're so screwed up because we let other people
do it instead of doing ... ."
"In
all fairness, Ms. Churchill is our treasurer and she has been the one
guiding even Julie (Brown) and Melissa Ratliff," Herrmann
countered. "So the stuff has been screwed up. It's been screwed
up for a long while. It's going to take a lot of digging out to get
it fixed."
After
Timmermann made the motion to table this issue until the next meeting
and Wilson seconded, six council members voted Aye. Two voted Nay.
Before
the meeting adjourned, gray expressed her frustration at how the
evening had progressed.
"I
mean, at this point, I'm, I'm just, I'm so exhausted," she said.
"I get it. That everybody is, is tense and hates each other. I
get that. But we're, we're supposed to be doing stuff with the city
moving. So if you hire somebody that is transparent about the process
of who they are, can everybody just grow up and move on with it?"
"We're
not going to hire somebody because I'm going to take my ball and go
home," Gray continued. "I literally have contemplated just
not even beyond counseling more, because this is hundred dollars (a
month), and if she (new bookkeeper) sucks, then we can but in
addition to a bookkeeper, we probably need to pay an outside
account[ant]. Leg Audit (Arkansas Legislative Audit) is not our
personal audit service."
"And
it's embarrassing that they (Leg Audit) come in and speak to us,"
Gray went on. "That whole Melissa thing is shameful. And I want
the record to say that I'm utterly ashamed that ever happened. And I
hope she sees the inside of a prison cell for it."
Former
City Bookkeeper Melissa Ratliff/Anthony was fired in October, 2022
for failing to take a drug test. When Churchill began looking through
the books it was discovered Ratliff/Anthony had written several
checks to herself. She also used former Mayor Paul Mitchell's
signature stamp plus her own signature to meet the two-signature
requirement. Under state law it is illegal for a government employee
to sign a check made out to themselves. According to the Arkansas
Judicial website, as of this writing, there have been no legal
filings on this issue.
