BENTONVILLE -- Benton County's sales tax revenue has spiked in the first two months of 2017, exceeding 2016's collection by nearly 20 percent, officials were told Thursday.
Brenda Guenther, comptroller, told the Quorum Court's Finance Committee the county's share of revenue from the one percent sales tax was $829,801 in February, up from $737,542 in the same month last year. For the first two months of 2017, she said, the revenue is about $1.5 million, more than $285,000 more than the same period in 2016.
"We're doing really well," Guenther said.
The county received about $8.3 million in sales tax revenue in 2016 after budgeting for $8 million. For 2017, the Quorum Court has budgeted for $8.1 million.
Kurt Moore, justice of the peace for District 13, cautioned the committee not to project the first two months collection over the entire year.
"This is something we've seen in the past, it tends to even itself out," Moore said. "You can't really tell from a month or two."
The committee heard several other monthly financial reports Thursday and also discussed the 2015 audit report. The report detailed problems in the accounting office involving the misappropriation of more than $1 million by a former employee.
The report states Connie Guild , former senior accounting specialist, was the custodian of the travel fund. According to the report, $1,106,569 in disbursements from the fund were "undocumented and/or posted to the general ledger but not the travel log during the period from Jan. 1, 2007, through Sept. 7, 2016." Guild was fired Sept. 7, according to the audit. She began working for the county in 2000. The report also indicated Guild "appears to have charged $30,037 in credit card purchases without an apparent business purpose during the period Oct. 7, 2015, through Sept. 5, 2016."
The matter is under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI. Those agencies have said their policies bar them from confirming or denying any investigation. Prosecutor Nathan Smith said the federal agencies did the investigation and will handle any prosecution, and he sees no need to file state charges.
Guenther briefed the justices of the peace on measures the county is taking to prevent a recurrence of the theft of money.
NW News on 03/10/2017