Alexander Planning Commission approves by-laws, elects officers

Members of the Alexander Planning Commission held their first meeting this year to approve the commission’s by-laws and elect officers. Since this was also the commission’s first meeting with these newly appointed members Mayor Paul Mitchell, at the request of commission members, acted as interim chairman until the by-laws were approved and the chairman was elected.

Members of the planning commission are current Ward-2 council member Juanita Wilson and former council members Stephanie Beck and Michael Huck. There are still two vacancies to fill on the commission. Anyone wishing to volunteer should contact Mayor Mitchell at city hall (501) 455-2855.

The previous commission was disbanded by the council in 2017 after two members resigned and the council felt there was a lack of interest, by at least two of the remaining members, to cooperate with city hall. Wilson and Huck were appointed by Mayor Mitchell in 2017 and Beck was appointed recently. With three out of five members available they were able to hold their first meeting Tuesday, March 20.

After discussing and amending the by-laws they were approved, “with corrections,” by a three to zero vote. Michael Huck was then nominated for and elected chairman with two “yes” votes. Huck abstained. Unlike city councils a majority of votes is based on those members present, not the total number of positions.

After taking over from Mayor Mitchell, Huck chaired the remainder of the meeting. Juanita Wilson was nominated for the position of vice-chair and was elected with two “yes” votes. Wilson abstained. Stephanie Beck was nominated for the position of secretary and was also elected with two “yes” votes. Beck abstained. According to the by-laws the three officers will serve, “until the next election,” which would normally be at the end of the year.

The by-laws also establishes the commission’s meeting schedule. Regular meetings will be held the second Tuesday in February, April, June, August, October, and December. Planning commissions are required by state law to meet once every quarter in a calender year. Additional meetings can be scheduled when needed.

The planning commission’s first regular meeting will be held Tuesday, April 10 at 6 PM in the courtroom at city hall. The public is invited to attend.

Error found by state auditor already dealt with

Alexander city council members heard a report Monday evening from Mayor Paul Mitchell concerning the audit of the 2016 calendar year conducted by the Arkansas Division of Legislative Audit. The most egregious of the violations listed was dealt with during the January meeting. The violation concerns paying city employees for additional work outside their usual duties without an ordinance permitting the practice.

The audit states, “The City paid the District Court Clerk $842 for cleaning services without an authorizing ordinance, in noncompliance with Ark. Code Ann. § 14-42-107.” The $842 was for one year of cleaning services.

At the regular January meeting council members approved an ordinance, “Permitting council members, officials, or municipal employees to conduct business with the City of Alexander.” The ordinance sets a maximum annual dollar amount of $2,000.

As he did in January, Mitchell explained the court clerk has been paid extra to come in when city hall is closed to clean. Mitchell said hiring city employees for other jobs has been a common practice in the past by other mayors. Since no existing ordinance could be found one was written and approved by the council.

That was the only violation attributed to the mayor and one of several violations attributed to the treasurer. Others listed in the treasurer section included;

"1. Bank reconciliations were not always accurate and approved by someone other than the preparer, as required by Ark. Code Ann. § 14-59-108.

‘2. Invoices and supporting documentation again were not always maintained, as required by Ark. Code Ann. § 14-59-105.

‘3. Fixed asset records were established, but did not include additions, deletions, control totals, serial numbers, and descriptions of property and amounts, as required by Ark. Code Ann. § 14-59-107. A similar finding was issued in the previous report.

‘4. In 2014 Sales and Use Tax monies were not prorated correctly. As a result of these transactions, $42,617 is due to the Police Fund from the General Fund at December 31, 2016. A similar finding was noted in the previous report.

‘5. As noted in the previous report, restricted monies were paid from the Parks and Recreation Fund to the General Fund. As a result of these transactions $46,254 is due to the Parks and Recreation Fund from the General Fund at December 31, 2016.

‘6. Two Rural Fire Protection Fund warrants totaling $16,610, issued to the City on November 21, 2016, were not deposited until January 20, 2017.

‘7. The City did not establish by ordinance a method that provides for internal accounting controls and documentation for audit and accounting purposes for a private contractor, as required by Ark. Code Ann. § 14-59-115.”

Bookkeeper Jo An Churchill told council members half of the $42,617 and $46,254 have been returned to their respective accounts. The two transactions occurred during the 2014 calendar year when Michelle Hobbs was mayor. Because the years 2014 and 2015 were both audited in 2016 the report wasn’t completed until last year, which is when the mayor and council were made aware of the financial errors.

Other “non-compliance” issues listed in the audit are;

District Court Clerk

“Balances remaining in the bank again were not identified with receipts issued for cases not yet adjudicated and payments made on all unpaid time accounts, as required by Ark. Code Ann. § 16-10-209.”

Police Chief

• “A list of all uniform written citation books was established for 2016, but did not include each book.
• ‘Uniform citation books were not issued sequentially.
• ‘Completed ticket books were not turned over to the District Court Clerk in a timely manner.”

“A similar finding was noted in the previous report,” according to the audit.

In 2016 the city had two police chiefs. John Fenton resigned February 12, 2016 and was replaced by Robert Burnett who was hired March 21, 2016.

Mitchell said he has already sent a response to Legislative Audit explaining how the errors will be fixed. That included passage of the ordinance in January. The auditing of 2017 has already begun.

In other action at the March 19 meeting;

Council members approved the Electronic Transfer of Funds between accounts when writing a check is not an option. Bookkeeper Jo An Churchill told council members in December, 2017 money needed to be transferred from the general fund to the fire department fund for a check to clear. Normally she would write a check but no one with the authority to sign it was available so she transferred the funds electronically. Checks must have two signatures. She said she was asking for council approval in case that situation ever occurs again.

The next regular meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, April 16. Meetings start at 6 PM and are held in the courtroom at the City of Alexander City Hall. The public is invited to attend.

Two items on Alexander agenda

Only two items appear on the City of Alexander agenda for Monday night’s meeting. One is a, “Discussion of 2016 audit findings” and the other concerns, “EFT transfers.”

The audit is conducted by the Arkansas Department of Legislative Audit and involves reviewing whether local governmental entities are following financial and other practices according to state law. The audit is normally conducted annually but the last audit was combined to review the fiscal years of 2014 and 2015.

The next regular meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, March 19. Meetings start at 6 PM and are held in the courtroom at the City of Alexander City Hall on Highway 111, across from the post office. The public is invited to attend.