Former Alexander employee pleads guilty to “Theft of Property”

Melissa Anthony
Booking Photo

Former City of Alexander bookkeeper Melissa Ann Anthony (AKA Melissa Ratliff) has plead guilty to the charge of Theft of Property exceeding $25,000. Under Arkansas law, a Class B felony is punishable by 5 to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $15,000.

According to court documents the “Negotiated” plea deal was submitted to Judge Karen Whatley - 16^th Division, 6^th Circuit Court on November 6, 2025. The case is still listed as “Open” with the last entry date of November 7. The plea deal includes:

• Seven years probation;
• $1,000.00 fines and court costs;
• Restitution in the amount of $39,817.86 payable at (a) rate of $475 per month beginning December 9. 2025;
• 90 days jail credit to fines and court costs; and
• Probation fees waived until restitution paid in full.

At the November 17, 2025 council meeting, Mayor Crystal Herrmann provided council members an overview of the results and plea deal. She also explained the next steps in being compensated for the remaining funds not covered by the amount of the restitution.

“So we do have a guilty plea,” Herrmann said. “So I will be moving forward and working with (Arkansas Municipal League) risk management as far as compensation on some of the stolen funds.”

Time Line and Circumstances

The theft was only discovered after Anthony was fired by then-Mayor Paul Mitchell. Mitchell had scheduled a drug test for Anthony and another female employee to be taken Monday, October 10, 2022. When Anthony arrived at city hall she was told to wait in her car because she and the other employee would be taking a drug test that morning. Before the other employee could finish what she was doing, Anthony drove off and never returned. She was subsequently fired on Tuesday, October 11 for "Job Abandonment."

Anthony wore many hats at city hall. She was the bookkeeper, human resources director and office manager overseeing city hall staff and operations.

City Treasurer, JoAn Churchill, stepped-in and began going through the books to determine the condition of the city’s finances. Once Churchill realized there were problems with Anthony’s time and pay the state auditor, who was still working on the 2021 audit, was notified and asked to add this to the audit. The following statements are taken from the annual state Audit Report for 2021.

“During the period January 1, 2021 through August 25, 2022, the Bookkeeper received salary overpayments totaling $20,088 and undocumented mileage reimbursements totaling $641."

“In addition, review of payroll records for the Bookkeeper, who was responsible for preparing disbursements and maintaining payroll records, revealed the following:"

• "Wages received in 2021 ($74,913) exceeded budget ($40,040) by $34,873."

• "The Bookkeeper reported working an excessive number of hours on her timesheets."

• "1,602 overtime hours, including as much as 18 hours in a single day and as much as 181 hours during a two-week pay period."

• "945 weekend hours, including as much as 16 hours in a single weekend day and as much as 30 hours during a two-day weekend."

• "The Bookkeeper reported working hours while out of the office."

• "115 hours on eight weekdays while, according to time clock cards, the Bookkeeper was on sick leave."

• "29 hours for attending a three-day conference for which, according to conference officials, the Bookkeeper was not registered and there was no evidence she attended."

• "Hours reportedly worked while the Bookkeeper was traveling on three vacations, according to social media posts."

• "'Time In' and 'Time Out' reflected on timesheets did not always agree with stamped time clock cards."

• "Timesheets were not always signed by the Bookkeeper or approved by her supervisor."

• "As of August 20, 2022, the Bookkeeper had negative sick (-3) and vacation (-26) leave balances. In addition, 51 sick leave hours and 160 vacation leave hours used during the review period were not deducted from her leave balances."

How was this accomplished? It was later discovered Anthony had used Mitchell’s signature stamp without approval.

Anthony was on-the-run five months longer than the time it took to conduct the legal proceedings. About one year and nine months after Anthony was fired, she was arrested by the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office on a felony warrant Thursday, July 25, 2024. She plead not guilty the next day in Pulaski County District Court. The date of the theft was listed as October 7, 2022, four days before she was officially fired by Mayor Mitchell.

I am not a liar

After the November 17 council meeting adjourned, Mayor Herrmann approached this reporter with the giddy grin of a school girl. She asked if I was going to write an article about her not, “Being a liar.” She claimed during the 2022 election I called her a liar about Anthony embezzling city funds. A review of articles posted at the time only proved Mayor Herrmann has a case of Disjointed History Recall.

The discovery of Anthony’s embezzlement scheme couldn’t have come at a worse time. City elections were held one month after the discovery. With four candidates on the ballot, and no legal winner, a runoff election was held in December.

Prior to the runoff election between Herrmann and Mayor Mitchell, an Op-Ed was posted in The Alexandrian. The commentary was a fact-check of comments she had written on the social media site Nextdoor.

I can only assume this is her point of reference, despite not finding the word “Liar” anywhere in the Op-Ed. The section concerning the October Surprise of the firing and subsequent discovery of missing funds is posted below.

Portion of an Op-Ed entitled, “Opinions disguised as facts, with a side order of mud” originally posted November 27, 2022.

When the news leaked out about Anthony being fired, Herrmann started filing more FOIA requests. Based on the information she received Herrmann declared on Nextdoor Anthony had “Embezzled” around $90,000.00 and Mayor Mitchell “Allowed” it to happen.

Herrmann’s comment, “[I]f they would have performed a background check on her she would not have been hired to handle money,” implies Anthony had a criminal record. Where’s the proof? Does Herrmann know more than city officials about Anthony’s past?

A search for Melissa Ratliff on the website Arkansas Judiciary shows legal cases involving divorce related issues and a lawsuit with a heating and cooling company. No criminal cases were listed.

Where does she get “Liar” out of this?

The entire Op-Ed can be found here.

Three New Business items on Alexander's November agenda

The Alexander City Council has three items listed under New Business on the November agenda. They are:

1. The Proposed 2026 budget;

2. 2023 Leg Audit Findings;

3. Tornado Siren discussion.

Earlier this year Fire Chief Ryan McCormick reported the Saline County Office of Emergency Management had no intention of repairing or replacing the tornado siren at the fire house due to cost. According to information provided in the meeting packet documents the discussion about the tornado siren is actually a request to spend $7,000.00 to have the siren repaired.

The next meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, November 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM. Meetings are held in the courtroom at the Alexander Municipal Complex (City Hall). The public is invited to attend.

New ordinance specifies how votes are to be counted: Those are NOT speed bumps

A new Alexander ordinance establishes how votes are counted when electing council members. In another matter, a resident of 4^th St. tells the mayor and council members the new “Speed Bumps” aren’t speed bumps at all.

After the 2024 elections, it was discovered two Arkansas counties had used the wrong method when counting votes for council members in two separate cities. Votes may be cast in two ways. Either the entire city votes for all the council candidates, no matter which ward they reside in, called voting at-large. Or, residents of each ward vote for the candidates running in their ward. Alexander uses the at-large method.

City Attorney Chris Madison, who is also chairman of the Arkansas Election Commission, was tasked with investigating what had happened in the two elections. He determined that each county clerk had used the wrong method to count the votes. In one county the at-large method was used rather than counting by ward. The other county counted by ward in stead of at-large.

Madison said he contacted other county clerks and asked how they know whether a city is counted at-large or ward by ward. He said in one instance he was told, “We just know.”

Madison worked with the Arkansas Municipal League to get legislation written and approved during the 2025 Legislative Session. Under state law, voting at-large is the default method for a Class-2 city. To use any other method requires passage of an ordinance.

Even though Alexander is a Class-2 city Madison suggested, to be on the safe side, the council adopt the proposed ordinance. Once it is registered with the Saline County Clerk there can be no question how votes are to be counted and how petitions are to be completed to run for city council.

Besides voting at-large, the adopted ordinance specifies that candidates must live in the ward they wish to represent. They must specify, on the election petition, the ward number and whether they are running for position one or position two. All eight council seats are up for election every two years.

During the Public Comments section of the agenda, city resident Robin Schmidt presented evidence to council members that shows the new “Speed Bumps” installed on 4^th St. aren’t speed bumps at all. Instead they are used in construction zones to protect power lines and hoses running on the ground. Much the same way a wire protector is used on a floor to prevent tripping.

Schmidt provided information and photos showing what was used on 4^th St. and the intended purpose based on company literature.

“These are electrical cable ramps,” Schmidt said. “And they are only to be used in a controlled setting such as a construction site. They're not designed to be a durable traffic calming device, which is what they call speed bumps.”

Citing engineering protocols Schmidt continued, “And these devices require (an) official traffic study. When you want to put in a speed bump, there should be a minimum of 500 to 1500 vehicles a day.”

The “speed bumps” were installed on 4^th St. after the September council meeting at the direction of Mayor Crystal Herrmann. Since school started, Police Chief Timothy Preator has been providing monthly reports concerning drivers who want to get around school buses using Highway 111 in the morning. According to Preator drivers move to 4^th St., speed down to Alexander Rd. trying to get in front of the buses. Preator has told council members drivers speed past him on 4^th St. while he’s holding a radar gun.

Four of these devices were placed on 4^th St. between Vine St. and Alexander Road. The first is between Vine St. and A.C. Wallace Avenue. There are two between A.C. Wallace Avenue and Main Street. The fourth is between Main St. and Alexander Road.

After her three minutes had expired Schmidt summed up by saying, “It's been, well, these need to be removed. They're not legal. They're not.”

Earlier in the meeting, Mayor Crystal Herrmann reported she is working with Metroplan to fund a traffic study. She said the report resulting from study will include proposed locations for trails, sidewalks and possible ways to improve traffic patterns.

Hearkening back to her earlier report Herrmann said, “We are going to be working on improvements as far as upgrading.”

Other business during the October 20 meeting

Council approves replacing pickup truck damaged by flood

The Alexander City Council approved adding the necessary funds to replace a street department pickup truck that was damaged earlier this year by flood waters. The insurance company reimbursed the city $29,100.00. The truck will be purchased using a state contract. Mayor Herrmann reported the cost of the new truck should be up to $45,000.00.

The Dodge truck will be replaced with a Ford F250 with a diesel engine and extended cab. Herrmann told council members the Dodge had a gasoline engine and a lower weight capacity than the F250.

Creek eroding ground under Central Firehouse

During the past several administrations the creek that carries storm water past the Alexander Central Firehouse, along South Alexander Road, has been slowly eating its way towards the building’s foundation. According to Fire Chief Ryan McCormick the creek is now under the north side and the building has begun to tilt towards the creek. McCormick told council members the solution for now is to excavate dirt from the north side of the creek and move it to the south side to prop up the building.

Fortunately, in November, 2018, the city council approved purchasing the two lots next to the fire house for $8,000. So the city already owns that side of the creek. The council accepted the low bid of $19,975.00 submitted by Josh Penn Excavating in Benton.

Monthly Reports

Planning and Zoning Report

South Alexander Sewer Plant to double capacity

Mayor Crystal Herrmann reported on a public hearing she attended October 4^th. The hearing was held by the Saline County Water Works Sanitary Sewer (SCWWSS) Public Facilities Board as part of the process to apply for, “a grant,” and develop a, “funding package to upgrade their sewer plant.”

Herrmann said they are basing the sewer expansion on the number of, “undeveloped properties” in their service area of South Alexander. She said the SCWWSS is calculating, “the lot sizes being at a half acre.”

“So when those improvements happen,” Herrmann said. “(W)e will have to revisit the lot sizes and make adjustments in our zoning map for that.”

Streets and Parks Report

Fall Fest report

“Beginning I guess Fall Fest went over really well,” Herrmann began. “I think a lot of folks had a good time.”

Prior to the council meeting Herrmann said Police Chief Timothy Preator had estimated the crowd size between 1,500 to 2,000.

Council Member Angela Griffin reported the new locations of vendors and food trucks wasn’t a problem.

Griffin said, “I didn't get any negative feedback from them.”

Parking became a problem this year. Herrmann thanked Council Member Wayne Smith for allowing his property, next to the City Park, to take the over flow.

Police Report

Monthly activities report; Police cars jumping tracks

With Police Chief Timothy Preator out on vacation, Sergeant Myers provided the September police report.

“145 calls for service. 42 reports. 297 traffic stops. 119 of those citations. 178 warnings.” Myers began. “We had ten warrants served. 3-D-W-I arrest. 13 felony drug arrest and 10 misdemeanor arrest. That's some pretty impressive numbers.”

Council Member Juanita Wilson asked Sergeant Myers about two separate instances when two different police cars were seen driven over the railroad tracks on Highway 111 fast enough to cause the cars to “bottom out.”

“But when you get these police cars, and then we have to start replacing them, and those were gotten with the grant,” Wilson said.

Mayor Herrmann interjected, “I think that sounds more like a complaint, Mrs. Wilson, and maybe you should visit with the chief on that one.”

Fire and Rescue Report

Monthly report; FEMA grant; I don’t want to

“So we responded to 65 incidents and calls,” Fire Chief Ryan McCormick said. “We did complete a 40-hour in-house road rescue check for six of our members. That was a very more of an aggressive, growth class that we did.”

McCormick continued, “We had one member in Camden and a Chief Officer Development class for 40 hours of this week.”

“Over 400 hours of training as well for this past month that we conducted in-house,” McCormick said.

“Exciting news,” Chief McCormick announced. “We were awarded a FEMA grant. And so the award was $22,534.”

“And that goes towards equipment,” he explained. “Purchases is outlined in the grant that as fire hoses, fire nozzles. And one other thing was an air monitoring device for different types of carbon monoxide. It's a four gas monitor.”

Providing more details McCormick said, “It's normally a 5% match for any type of FEMA grant. Our basically, for $20,000 we have to pay $1,073.05. It's less than $5% to take care of. We are waiting at the moment because of the government shutdown to proceed.”

Council Member Juanita Wilson told Chief McCormick she has been asked by some residents when the new fire chief’s pickup truck will be lettered the same as the other fire department vehicles.

“We're not going to,” McCormick responded.

“Why,” Wilson asked.

“We're not going to,” McCormick insisted. “This is an administrative vehicle.”

Code Enforcement/Animal Control Report

Attended code enforcement and animal control classes

According to Code Enforcement/Animal Control Officer Joshua Dodson the major accomplishments this past month was attending two training classes. One involved how to conduct code enforcement, “on nuisance properties.” The other involved animal control.

Dodson said the class on nuisance properties included, “(H)ow to properly handle them, the proper procedures, the legal side of it, what you have to do to take care of those.” Dodson reminded council members the process includes the council voting on whether a property is a “Nuisance.”

Dodson also attended a class given by the Arkansas Association of Animal Patrol Officers for chemical capture. The 8-hour class involved training on the use of tranquilizer guns.

Financial Report

Treasurer Jennifer Hill provided the monthly financial report. The report includes the end-of-month fund balances for September and the total amount collected for the three one-cent city sales and use taxes.

“Okay, so for the month of September, your general fund reconciled at $1,917,989,” Hill began. “Your police fund reconciled at $446,649.16. Fire is $308,934.45. Parks is at $261,380.77. Streets is at $308,676.13. Your payroll reconciled at $117,209.66. And your events (fund) was at $587.07. Your fall-fest raffle brought in $311.00. That goes to that events account. And your dunking booth that the police department did for the Shop With the Cop did $245.”

It was noted the dunking booth broke down ending what would have been a very financially successful day of dunking Police Chief Preator.

On the revenue side Hill reported the three 1-cent city sales taxes, “(F)or August … well they were all, $76,316.00 (each) for (a total of) $128,948.39.”

Moment of Silence

After the meeting was adjourned a moment of silence was offered in recognition of the passing of former City Council Member Harold Timmerman. Harold died Friday evening Oct. 3, 2025. He served on the Alexander City Council from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2024. Harold was also a founding member of the Alexander American Legion Post 28.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, November 17, at 6:00 pm in the courtroom of the Alexander Municipal Complex (City Hall). Meetings are open to the public.