Ethics panel tosses filings on Cave Springs mayor

BENTONVILLE -- The Arkansas Ethics Commission dismissed all complaints against Cave Springs Mayor Travis Lee.

"I'm thankful for them doing a thorough investigation," Lee said.

The commission investigated four complaints filed against Lee by Terry Rakes of Cave Springs. Graham Sloan, the commission director, sent Rakes a letter Feb. 9 informing her that an investigation had begun.

Rakes claimed Lee has three vending machines, two kept in storage at the Fire Department and one in use at City Hall, and doesn't have a business license.

The commission dismissed the complaint and found Lee placed a machine in the employee break room at City Hall, but filled the machine with drinks requested by employees and charged them near or at the cost Lee paid for the drinks, according to commission documents. Two other machines were placed at the Fire Department to raise money for the department, but the machines are not working.

Rakes said Lee uses two Verizon Wi-Fi packs owned by the city. The complaint said Lee used his city cellphone for personal business while he was in Haiti and didn't reimburse the city for those calls.

The commission found that Lee personally paid for the Wi-Fi packs through payroll deductions and appears to have used them solely for city use. The commission found Lee personally paid for any increases from his Haiti trip, according to the documents.

The third complaint claimed Lee received a duplicate city reimbursement of $392. Lee paid the city $392 for the reimbursement on May 11, documents show.

Metro on 06/03/2018

Upcoming Events