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SAYS STATE CONSULTANT
County Violates Law
from front page
out a small balance in the
Revenue Sharing account at
the end of that year and said
expenditures should be com
pared with revenues ‘“on a
reFular basis . . . so as to avoid
a fund balance. Revenue Shar
ing money should be spent in
the period to which it is
allocated.”
EXPENSES ONLY
Powell responded to ques
tions Wednesday morning
from several departiment heads
about proposed 1987 expen
diture “budgets” for their of
fices. Posted on the bulletin
board in the commissioner's
outer office were proposed ex
penditures for tge office of
clerk of court, Powell's office,
roads and bridges, sheriff's
department and jail, property
assessor, tax commissioner
and l‘Probate court.
owever, there was no
listing for a number of other
county departments, including
the ambuf;nce service, district
attorney, probation office and
other agencies. Powell said he
had not completed work on the
ambulance service, voter
registrar's office and other
departments.
No anticipated revenues
were posted.
Powell had advertised the
posted expenditure budgets a
couple of weeks ago but omit
ted the clerk’s office. The com
missioner indicated last week
that his office apparently lost
the clerk's expense budget
before the ad was placed.
January and February ex
enditures for the posted of
?ices were also tacked to the
bulletin board.
SEPARATED
Sheriff Gary McConnell ex
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?resed concern that salaries
or jail and sheriff's office per
sonnel had not been seParated.
Sharon Huskey, Powell's
secretary, said she didn't have
a list of the personnel when the
budget was prepared. McCon
nell said he had submitted a
breakdown but indicated he
would supply the listing re
quested by Mrs. Huskey.
Lann Cordle, clerk of court,
pointed out that his budget
didn't list any utilities but tfiat
his office had been ‘‘charged”
for utilities in both January
and February. Mrs. Huskey
said the original proposal by
Ms. Hollifield and Finney
hadn't listed utilities. She said
courthouse utilities are “‘charg
ed"” equally to seven depart
ments in tfie building.
RAISE
She had algo indicated in
comments to Jon Payne, pro
bate judge, that county
em;})lloyees had received an
eight percent raise from
Powell.
“This budget is going to be
totally useless without the pro
per bookkeepinf to back it
u;])]. .."" Ms. Hollifield said
when contacted at her Atlanta
office shortly after the hearing.
The county is in violation of
state law because it has failed
to list anticipated expenses for
all county agencies and depart
ments, or anticipated revenues,
she indicated.
The county's audit for 1987
could be rejected by the state
unless it has a legafiy adopted
budget, she warned, and
although it has been lenient in
the past, ‘‘they are tightening
up.” If that happens, the coun
ty possibly could be in danger
of losing future state funds
because of increased accoun-
tability reciuirements by the
state, Ms. Hollifield saig.
BREAKDOWN
She and Finney met with
“complete cooperation’’ from
various county department
heads in attempting to develop
a county budiet and bookkeep
infg system, she said. However,
all budget proposals must be
submitted to the ‘‘count
governing authority" (Powell,)
“‘and at that cycle, the process
has broken down,” she
indicated.
Cities and counties may
soon have to meet some type of
state accreditation on their
budgeting and bookkeeping
procedures, she said, ‘‘and no
(state) a7ency will funnel funds
to local governments that
don’'t have proper budgeting
and accounting procedures.
“That's not a balanced
budget,”” Ms. Hollifield
responded when told that the
sheets posted on Powell's office
bulletin board listed only an
ticipated expenditures for
several major offices.
SOUGHT HELP
The commissioner had ask
ed the DCA to help him
develop a balanced budget and
an accounting system to sup
port that budget, Ms. Hollifiel)d
said, but the commissioner has
not indicated he plans to follow
through on recommendations
by DCA or Finney.
‘‘He (Powell,) doesn’t
understand the budget pro
cess,” she said.
A budget is an estimate of
anticipated revenue and ex
penses, she said, but the com
missioner seems to only want
to list money in the bank as
revenue. ‘‘He only wants to list
the (local option) sales tax that
he knows has come in right
now and not the amount for the
whole 12 months, and you
can't operate a county like
that.”
Ms. Hollifield said she
hasn't been formally notified
by Powell that he no longer
wants DCA services but at
their last meeting, he said he'd
“get in touch’ with her if he
wanted help in setting up a
bookkeeping system to sup
port the budgeting process.
She hasn’'t heard from him
since.
PROCESS
At the beginning, shczl and
Finney were supposed to
develo; a proposed%ua?efi'énd
present it to Powell, ‘Ms.
Hollifield explained. At that
point, she said the commis
sioner was supposed to meet
with her and Finney to go over
the figures, as well as with angr
department heads if needed.
After Powell had approved a
proposed budget, a meeting
was to be held with all the af
fected county officials to res
pond to any of their concerns,
she continued. After that
point, a public budget hearing
was to be held to respond to
questions from taxpayers and
Powell was to act on the
budget afterwards.
“The cycle broke down
when we (Hollifield and Finney)
presented the budget,” she
said. The figures advertised by
Powell and posted Wednesday
do not constitute a balanced
budget in the state's eyes, she
said. After presenting the pro
posal to the commissioner, he
‘... more or less left the rest
of it hanging.”
One probfiam Powell seemed
to have was dealing face-to-face
with other county officials in
the budget process, Ms.
Hollifield said. Instead, he
would send her or Finney back
and forth to meet with other
officials.
INTEREST
One of her first recommen
dations to Powell was that he
place the county's funds in
interest-bearing accounts,
esgficially the more than half
million dollar sales tax account.
“‘We never have done
that,’ " Powell responded, ac
cording to Ms. Hollifield. He
never cited any adequate
reasons for not taking that
st,e% she said.
he sheriff, probate court
and clerk of court have asked
her to help them set up a book
keeping system on the sheriff's
office computer to help them
keep up with their offices’
revenues and expenses, Ms.
Hollifield said, regardless of
what action Powe%l takes in
regard to an overall county
budget.
The DCA remains ready to
assist Powell in setting up a
legal balanced budget and
bookkeeping system, Ms.
Hollifieldp said, but the state
agency doesn't intend to force
itself on Powell. ““There are too
many other cities and counties
th;t nzed our help for us to
wdste our time with counties
that don't accept our advice
and suggestions . . . " she said.
IN WASTECAN
. Asked eXVSdgesdgy zibgg(ti
the propos udget develo
by lels.pHollifieldg and Finney,
Powell said, *“...1 throwed
them damn things in the
wastecan because one depart
ment they wanted SIO,OOO to
audit it and I thought that was
most unreasonable and I'll bid
on the audit before I'll ever
give such a price. We might
have some of them laying
around, but not necessarily."”
Asked whether the
Hollifield-Finney budget pro
posal was for the entire coun
ty, and not only a few depart
ments, Powell said, “‘lt could
have and I said I throwed it in
the damn wastebasket.
Now . .. don't rile me up this
morning. Me and you's done
had enough hell and I'll tell you
right now, we can have some
more right damn quick because
I told you just then that I
throwedy most of it in the
wastebasket because there's a
SIO,OOO on one for auditing and
that's ungodly. I wouldn't even
look at it.”
Powell said The News and
an unidentified Summerville
radio station have ‘‘been on my
back’ and ‘‘l'm getting damn
tired of it.”’ Later, the commis
sioner said he never read the
newspaper or listened to the
radio station.
NO LAWYER?
After going into a tirade
against the newsgaper and sta
tion, Powell said, *“...1 told
ou awhile afio that I didn't go
I;y their (Hollifield-Finney)
figures because that woman is
not a bit more a lawyer than I
am. We sent after a lawyer
from the public affairs commit
tee (apparently Department of
Community Affairs) and she
was supposed to be a black
lady and she didn’t come and
sent this girl. Well, I don't
know her or anything about it.
I never did ask. Well, of course,
Jim Finney, he is an auditor.
He's wanting every penny that
he can get and I just didn’t ap
prove of it ... "
Finney's firm (Finney and
Moore, Rome) has almost com
pleted the county's 1986 audit,
according to Powell. However,
he plans to offer this year’s
audxl)t for bids, the commis
sioner indicated.
DISSATISFACTION?
Powell’s apparent
dissatisfaction with Finney
over the budget process ap
parently will mean the county
may have its fourth auditor in
three years. It took months
and two auditing firms to com-
Elete the county’'s 1984 audit
ecause of Powell's dissatisfac
tion with the process in 1985,
when he first went back in
office.
“You asked me what they
put down on that paper
(Hollifield-Finney proposal)
and I didn't accept it,” said
Powell. “Well, they don’t have
to get up the money; they're
not the ones that gets up the
money. I only asked them to
come in and help and they went
far above in some and far below
it in some.”
He said Wednesday his of
fice was working on an
ticipated revenue estimates for
1987. “That's exactly what
we're workinfi on right now. I
don't know how long it will
take me or anything about
it ...but I want you to know
one thing. I'm doing the best
damn job that I know how to
do, not maybe that I should do,
but that I do, and I don't
‘——‘N
CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORG 1A
1987 FROFOSED BUDGE T
GENERAL SFECIAL TOTAL
REVENUE
Taxes <y 100, 000 130,000 2, 230,000
Probate Judge Fines g, Forfeitures 20, 000 0 25, 000
Clerk ¢ Court Fings % Forfej tures 375,000 0 275, 000
Ambulance Feeg PO, 000 0 70, 000
Licengsesg - Beer 195, 000 0 195,000
Li Censes Fremi Ums = Jpe ance 200, 000 O 200, 000
Housing py 4 BONPrs ~ Shari g 150, 000 0 150, 000
Misce]) aneous 8, 000 0 8, 000
Georyj a DOAS 60, 000 0 60, 000
Sales Tarxes i 200,000 + 200, 000
roraL REVENUE oI 000 | 2 230,000 4 832, 000
. Gas? e
iXPENDITURES: WG
Commi sgj oner 229,778 0 229,778 .-us: 34y
Roads g Brj dyes 622,360 3 » €OO, 000 1,822,380 439, L 7
Tax Assessor a 9, 653 0 89, 653 T 2 V 29
Tax Commi Ssioner 120,882 0 130,882 wSOO
Clerk of Courts 208, 6b¢ O 208,668 <OO, sex
Probate Judge: 107,489 0 107,459
Sheriff 514,985 O 514,985
Jail 428, 145 O 4'28_.,.‘3-45) 735,303
Ambulance 320, 195 0 320,195 229,743
Probation Office 3000 0 G 4 QOO SN
Superior Courts 26, 540 0 26,560
State Courtg 62, 500 0 62,500
Juvenile Courtg 19, 000 0 19,000
Coroner 5. 000 0 S, 000 Siuy,
Distrjct Attorneys 42y JOOO 0 22,300
Nutritjopn Center 6,000 0 6,000 $%.5
Board of Hega; th 87,000 0 87,000 §¥eoo
ASCS Office 21, 000 O 21,000 0, bir
Public we; fare 26,000 0 26,000 b, 48
Foresty y 2,500 0 2, %00 708
Library 20,000 O 20,000 14 gor
Solid Waste 75, 000 0 95,000 9.7 Ve
Civil Defence 2,000 0 2,000 /‘ll/e
County Doctor 1,000 0 1, 00‘_." Ny,
Recreat; on 40, o(u_:; 1_:) 40’ 00 (~) 2420
Fire Departments ,o,oOU 0 20100"_')
Other F‘articipation 20,00 ) 0 0,000
Contengenci es 51,785 ] G1,78s
Jail Bongd Debt Ret;j rement 0 120,000 130,000
PTAL Expenp; TURES FaROZ, 000 g, 330,000 4 833, 000
\
Zbe ) 000 ;fi’w s‘an'n j available 7':'o'» Last 7f'-
\
apologize to a damn soul in this
county, not a soul.”
; DEBTS
Powell said he had worked
to pay off a county debt of
“millions” of dollars and bills.
Asked if he had been con
gratulated by The News for
that feat, the commissioner
replied, “‘I don’t know; I don’t
read your paper. You have
slung mud at me, you and that
damn radio station down
yonder, though I don't listen to
it and I don't read your paper.”
Powell's outburst was
witnessed by Sheriff McCon
nell,. Clerk Cordle, Judge
Payne, David Tidmore, forman
of the February term Chat
tooga Grand Jury; Leonard
Barrett of the Board of
Assessors; Mrs. Huskey and
Elizabeth Powell, the commis
sioner’s wife.
No taxpayer showed up for
the hearing. '
Car Stereo
Taken From
®
Residence
- A car stereo AM/FM
cassette player valued at $350
and $4 in change was reported
stolen from a Lyerly Rte. 1
residence last week, according
to the Chattooga County
Sheriff's Office.
Dep. Richard Gifford in
vestigated the incident.
Reports said the items were
taken from inside the house.
In addition, Alfred
Chandler, Summerville Rte. 2,
reported that someone had
been beating on his mailbox
last weekeng, the sheriff’s of
fice said.
The sheriff’s office is also
investigating vandalism
against a van at The Summer
ville News, Highway 27. A
back window was broken in the
van and a shot was fired
through a fender into a rear
tire.
Among arrests made by the
sheriff's office last week were
the following:
— Walter Rex Collins, 21,
Summerville Rte. 2, was charg
ed with criminal damage to
property Wednesday. He was
still)in jail near noon.
- (]Jlaude “Bo" Gentry,
Summerville Rte. 2, was charg
ed with possessing beer for
resale without a license Mon
day and released a $4,000
bond.
— Sandra L. Sims, 43, 30
Curran St., Summerville, was
charged last Friday with
writing a bad check and releas
ed on SSOO bond.
— Cleo Powers, 68, 38 Lyer
ly St., Summerville, was charg
ed with two counts of writin
bad checks last Frida ang
released on SI,OOO bon(l’.
IN THIS TOWN.
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The Summerville News, Thursday, March 19, 1987 . . . ..
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