Wabbeska, population 172, is a small town in Jefferson County surrounded by flat farmland.
An Arkansas Legislative Audit, released November 13, for the years 2022 and 2023 found several accounting issues within Wabbeska's city government.
The audit stated:
- Cash receipts and disbursements journals were not properly maintained for all funds
- Bank reconciliations were not prepared in 2022, and bank reconcililations were not properly reconciled for all funds in 2023 andwere not approved by someone other than the preparer. A similar finding was noted in the previous 13 reports dating back to 2007.
- Receipt books were not properly maintained for all funds.
- Receipts were not always issued in sequential order.
- Invoices and supporting documentation were not maintained for disbursements of $1,452 and $5,732 in 2023 and 2022 respectively. Due to a lack of documentation, the validity of these disbursements could not be determined, similar finding was noted in the previous report.
- Numerous disbursements were made by debit card rather than a prenumbered check in 2023.
- Electronic disbursements were made without proper approval of the Town Council (by Ordinance ) and without establishing wrtiten policies and procedures to ensure that the electronic funds payment system provides for internal controls and documentation for audit and accounting purposes
In regard to the mayor and recorder/treasurer, the audit showed that $3,000 in rural fire protection funds from the prior year were not transferred from the General Fund to the Fire Training and Equipment (Act 833) Fund.
That wasn't the first time. A similar finding was issued in the previous two reports.
Payroll issues were also a problem discovered in the audit.
City officials failed to remit federal payroll taxes for reporting periods dating back to 2015.
The audit noted a review of Internal Revenue Services (IRS) notices indicated unpaid federal payroll taxes, penalties, and interest totaling $258,473. Of that amount $167,631 was for the town and $90,842 for the Water Department as of December 31, 2023.
The audit stated city officials have contacted the IRS and is
awaiting a response on the matter.
Yet, a similar finding was noted in the previous nine reports dating back to 2012.
Wage issues for city employees were also discovered.
The sum of wages per the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration form AR3 did not match the reported amount on employees' W-2 forms for 2023 and 2022, the audit stated.
City officials did not maintain payroll journals in 2022.
The audit stated "Although, Schedules 1 and 3 of this report show ending General Fund balances of $3,918 and, $7,377 for 2023 and 2022, respectively, review of records revealed hat the Town owed significant amounts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Fire Training and Equipment (ACt 833) Fund. As shown in Note 6 of Schedule 5 of this report, when the outstanding amounts are considered, the General Fund had a deficit balance of $166,713 and $154,090 at December 31, 2023, and December 31, 2022, respectively."
Since 2018, legislative auditors have found similiar findings in four previous four reports.
The city leaders listed at the top of the audit are:
- Mayor: Andrew Goodloe (2023) Linzie Anderson (2022)
- Recorder/Treasurer: Jennifer Moore (appointed January 19, 2023)
- District Court Clerk: Brooke Stayton
- ConSualla Lamb (resigned January 19, 2023)
- Police Chief: Efrem Elliot (2023) D'Carlos Johnson (2022)
