More than $298,000 in city funds are unaccounted for in Wilmot, and former water clerk Mable Block was custodian of those funds, a state legislative auditor told lawmakers on Friday.
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Block was terminated May 29, said Jimmy Locke, a senior auditor for Arkansas Legislative Audit, which was formerly called the Legislative Audit Division. The reason for termination wasn't given. Block could not be reached for comment by telephone Friday afternoon.
Locke told the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee that the audit has been referred to 10th Judicial Circuit Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Deen.
After the committee's meeting, Deen said that on Nov. 30 he referred the audit to the Arkansas State Police for a criminal investigation, and he has not yet received a report.
There is an investigation assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division relating to an audit finding within the Wilmot Water Department, said state police spokesman Bill Sadler.
Wilmot is in Ashley County and several miles from the Louisiana state line. The city is governed by a mayor and six aldermen, Locke said.
Its Water Department provides water service to 315 customers and sewer services to 245 customers, and Block was responsible for collecting and depositing department funds, Locke said.
Arkansas Legislative Audit's routine audit of Wilmot revealed more than $73,000 in unaccounted-for funds in the general fund, and Block was the custodian of these funds as well, Locke said.
The city offered a service for several years through which individuals could pay utility bills and purchase prepaid debit cards at City Hall, according to the audit.
The city began processing these transactions through the general fund in November 2012, opened a separate bank account in April 2013 and discontinued the service in August 2014. In the period from November 2012-August 2014, collections exceeded deposits by $73,010, and Block was the custodian of these funds, the audit reported.
After discovering that the Water Department had not been audited since 2011, Wilmot Mayor Carolyn Harris contacted a certified public accounting firm to conduct an audit for 2012 through 2014, Locke said. Cities typically hire private CPA firms to audit their water departments.
After the 2012 Water Department audit revealed unaccounted for funds, Harris contacted Deen, who asked Arkansas Legislative Audit for its assistance, Locke said.
Arkansas Legislative Audit auditors found that receipts recorded in the Water Department's computer system exceeded bank deposits by more than $225,000 from January 2012-May 2015 and more than $224,000 of that was cash receipts that were not deposited, Locke said.
After Block was terminated on May 29, deposits exceeded receipts by more than $4,000, Locke said.
A Section on 12/12/2015