CARTER COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower spoke at Carter County’s Financial Management Committee meeting on Thursday.
Thursday’s meeting addressed the county’s second poor audit, which revealed material weaknesses, significant deficiencies and noncompliance within the Office of the Finance Director, according to a report on the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury website.
The report concluded with ten findings, six of which recur from past audits. Two of the findings relate to Carter County Schools and the Solid Waste Department, the report said.
News Channel 11 attended Thursday’s committee meeting.
“The county does recognize that we have a problem,” Carter County Mayor Patty Woodby said. “This is our second consecutive bad audit.”
Auditors said that the Office of Finance Director failed to maintain accounting records properly and failed to spend money within authorized limits. In addition, there were inconsistencies within journal entries, and capital asset records and contractor payments were disorganized, according to the report.
“The finance office in Carter County had misstated its finances by $11 million, more than 10%,” Mumpower said. “That would be a problem around your kitchen table. That’s certainly a problem in the Carter County Courthouse.”
Mumpower said the county’s audit has an above-average number of discoveries.
“Carter County officials should recognize that these audit results are not acceptable,” Mumpower said. “The county had 11 findings last year and 10 this year, which is significantly more than the average Tennessee county. County commissioners, the Financial Management Committee, and the Audit Committee should exercise their authority to provide oversight and accountability.”
According to Mayor Woodby, a plan is in place to fix Carter County’s finances.
“We do have a plan in place, the Financial Management Committee and the commissioners. We’re going to work as a team to make this work great. Carter County is in wonderful financial health. Our financial and fiscal health is wonderful. We have a $92 million budget that’s healthy. There’s no theft, there’s no fraud. It’s just going to take us a little bit more time to correct some issues from the past, and we hope to do that.”
Mumpower said he believes Carter County needs to evaluate its finance director.
“Is she competent for the job that she has,” Mumpower said. “No doubt she’s a nice person. Is she a competent finance director? I don’t see evidence of that. If they continue to have this finance director, they need to be sure that she receives intensive training in basic accounting on behalf of the citizens of Carter County.”
Woodby said the county plans on getting the finance director help from the comptroller’s office.
“We hope to sit down with the finance director and really go over with her what the issues are and maybe get some more training with her,” Woodby said. “We are going to work with the comptroller’s office. They’re going to have more staff coming in to help us and give a little more extra time to Carter County. I think we need to take them up on that offer.”
Mumpower said he wants Carter County to acknowledge and recognize there is a problem, which he said Woodby has stepped up to address.
“The thing that scares me the most is even after we released the second audit in a row with ten or more findings is the silence we heard except from the mayor,” Mumpower said.
Woodby said she is dedicated to the county.
“They’re dedicated to Carter County, and so am I,” Woodby said. “We’re going to work together as a team to make sure that we fix the issues.”
“To the citizens of Carter County, I know you look at Carter County, and you’re the taxpayers out of our community, but we realize we need to get our fiscal house and our financials in order,” Woodby said.
However, Mumpower said the problems within the county lie with the financing.
“That’s why I’m here tonight to talk to them directly. One thing I did was try to talk to the commissioners who were here but were not on the Financial Management Committee. Those commissioners need to understand on a month-by-month basis when they’re asked to make spending decisions, that right now the way things are, they should not have confidence in the finance numbers they’re being presented with.”
“Citizens need to have a confidence when they pay their taxes that their money is being accounted for properly, that it’s being spent properly, and that they’re not being overtaxed,” Mumpower said. “Carter County citizens cannot have confidence today in the accounting system that the commission is allowing to continue.”
He said he encourages Woodby and other Carter County officials to consider financing discrepancies and how financial management would improve the county.
