McComb selectmen tried Tuesday to hash out why city financial records are in such bad shape the 2017-18 hasn’t been completed yet.
Selectman Michael Cameron edged the board into the topic by questioning the timing of the city’s year-end budget amendments.
“We’ve been receiving conflicting information,” Cameron said. “I thought, in the past, we made these amendments before the end of the fiscal year.”
“I can attest, the auditor said budget amendments should be done by Sept. 30,” which is the end of the fiscal year, Mayor Quordiniah Lockley said.
City Administrator Dirkland Smith also said amendments should be made by Sept. 30.
Selectman Devante Johnson asked board attorney Angela Cockerham for clarification on when budget amendments are due.
“You just heard from the mayor and the CA,” Cockerham said.
“Can we hear from you?” Johnson asked.
“You just heard from me,” Cockerham said.
“I’m just lost on our finances,” Johnson said, going back to the hiring of a new auditor for the 2017-18 fiscal year at the previous meeting. “The clerk says one thing, and the CA says one thing.”
Lockley said the 2017-18 audit had not been completed because Bethany Stringer of Meridian, the certified public accountant hired to compile the city’s financial statement, had not completed that task and had notified the city she would be unable to continue.
“We can’t complete that audit until we have a financial statement,” Lockley said. “We can’t complete the audit for ’18-’19 till we complete the ’17-’18 audit. By law, the city clerk is responsible for finance.”
Selectman Shawn Williams asked who ultimately was responsible for the problems with financial records, and Johnson laid the blame at the feet of former city administrator Kelvin Butler.
“The CA did not do his job,” Johnson said. “The buck stops in that office.”
Lockley said emails about various records and audit issues had been sent to himself and Butler, and “he should have called in the city clerk. I went to the CA and asked what he was going to do. He said he would take care of it.”
Selectman Ronnie Brock noted that Janice Dillon had served as chief financial officer and as a department head independent of the city clerk in the prior administration.
“We cannot allow the CFO to work outside the city clerk,” Brock said. “We said she needed to work under the city clerk … when we tried to rein her in, she resigned.”
Dillon resigned in August 2019, a little more than a month after this board term began, and shortly after Dillon was stripped of department head status and the title of CFO was returned to the office of city clerk.
With the budget amendments already behind schedule, Brock suggested the discussion be held to the next work session, and the rest of the board agreed.
