BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials said Sept. 22 they are being as open as possible about irregularities in the accounting office without interfering with a federal investigation into those problems.
County Judge Bob Clinard said at the end of the Sept. 22 Quorum Court meeting that he read an editorial published in Sunday's edition of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette which called on officials to "provide taxpayers a clearer explanation of what happened, how it happened and what kind of impact, if any, it might have on the county."
Agents of the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service contacted the county about "irregularities" they had discovered involving public funds and asked Brenda Guenther, comptroller, for information from the accounting office. The agencies questioned Connie Guild, the accounts payable and grants manager, a 16-year employee. Guild was fired from her job Sept. 7.
Clinard said the county is limited in what can be discussed and asked Guenther and George Spence, county attorney, to explain to the justices of the peace what they could.
"We're being close-mouthed about this and it's on my advice," Spence said. "I don't want to do anything that could hinder or affect the investigation in any way."
Spence asked the justices of the peace to refrain from repeating hearsay about the case so no one can say the county has put out any incorrect information.
"I don't want us, and by us I mean anyone with the county, repeating things we may have heard," Spence said. "If we put information out there, I want it to be solid."
Guenther and Spence told the justices of the peace the investigators are looking at a travel reimbursement system the county has had in place for many years, with Guenther saying the problem goes back at least as far as 2008. Guenther said the system was authorized in 1992. What the practices were before, Guenther said, she couldn't say.
"I would not be surprised if, when they created this fund, we were using Confederate money," Spence said.
Guenther said she is still awaiting a report on how much money is missing. She said the county is still providing investigators with information they have requested. Guenther said the county is working the state's Legislative Audit Division about policies and procedures and also working with its risk management fund to determine if any losses will be covered.
During the meeting, the justices of the peace named 10 people to a new board of appeals to hear cases where residents challenge decisions of the Planning Board. The county previously relied on special committees of justices of the peace, appointed by the county judge, to hear appeals of decisions from the Planning Board. If a resident remains dissatisfied after a county appeal, he or she can then appeal the case to circuit court. John Sudduth, general services administrator, told the justices of the peace at an earlier meeting the appeals board will also consider appeals related to the building codes adopted by the state and the county.
The justices of the peace also approved spending another $127,964 for the work done on the Spanker Creek Bridge project after hearing a report on the reason for the added expense. The cost of the bridge project increased from $846,100 to $1,102,027 and the county's share increased to $551,014.
The Quorum Court authorized spending $40,000 for a fire alarm system for the F and H pods at the jail and also authorized another $50,000 for work on the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning and air purification system at the jail.
Planning Appeal Board
Benton County is forming a planning appeals board to hear the cases of residents who disagree with decisions of the Planning Board. The Quorum Court Committee on Sept. 22 approved the appointments of seven appeals board members -- Williams L. Holley, Michael L. Hooper, Dietrich W. Bengs, Matthew Zachary, Mark Curtis, Nate Bachelor and Joel Jones -- and three alternates -- Brandon Pinkerton, Nick Jewett and Kim Wilkins.
Source: Staff Report
General News on 10/05/2016