Cave Springs' City Council hired two men Wednesday night it hopes can help right the ship after a month of infighting.
Aldermen voted unanimously at a special meeting to hire former state legislative auditor David Williams as a financial consultant and to offer Jay Williams the position of city attorney.
"It was a good meeting," Alderman Marc Williams said Thursday. "We had consensus on our issues. There wasn't a negative vibe or any of the nastiness or controversy there has been lately. It gave the council and the mayor a chance to reset and come together without contentious issues."
Mayor Travis Lee used humor when referencing the meeting's civility among both city officials and community members in attendance.
"We had a really productive meeting. No one yelled at me, (so) that's a plus," Lee said Thursday.
David Williams served as a state legislative auditor for 34 years, Lee said.
"He's going to look at the books and find the errors if there are any errors and instruct the city treasurer to fix the errors," Lee said.
City finance management has been a heated issue in Cave Springs.
Lee sent Kimberly Hutcheson, the city's treasurer and recorder, home on Sept. 1. He said he did so in part because she was not paying the city's bills, the city's insurance had almost expired and the city was months behind in paying taxes.
Accusations also flowed toward Lee, with Alderman Mary Ann Winters saying during a Sept. 27 meeting the city had overspent with the Police Department and payroll. Winters questioned whether the city was missing nearly $900,000, reporting she couldn't find $650,000 set aside in a reserve account and $250,000 in an emergency account.
A Finance Committee designed to administer checks and balances on city spending was authorized by the council during an Oct. 11 meeting. Larry Fletcher, who is head of that committee, said he looks forward to working with David Williams.
"(He) will help us determine mistakes we made in the past and how we can correct them, but also tell us the good things we've been doing," Fletcher said. "It's not all doom and gloom. We just need some guidance here."
Winters said she has confidence in David Williams.
"I met him when I first came to Benton County; he was the auditor who did our books," Winters said. "I learned most of what I know about accounting from him. I know he's honest and has the highest integrity."
Winters said if David Williams looks at the city's finances and finds her suspicions are unfounded, she will apologize publicly.
Jay Williams of Gentry-based Williams Law Firm was one of three candidates the council interviewed for the city attorney job, which R. Justin Eichmann resigned from in early September, citing disagreement with Lee over the city's direction.
Jay Williams also is the city attorney for Gentry, Highfill and Elm Springs, Lee said.
Marc Williams said he was highly impressed by Jay Williams, and his only concern is because Jay Williams represents so many other cities, he will not have time to handle Cave Springs.
NW News on 10/28/2016