At its special meeting on September 27, 2017, The Eutaw City Council voted to move $50,000 from its special ’Capital Improvements Fund’, funded by monthly distributions from electronic bingo to its ‘General Fund’ to pay current bills from August and September.
Mayor Steele requested that the City Council allocate $30,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund to the General Fund to pay bills. Several council members asked if this was enough money to pay bills including for repair of city equipment like the knuckle boom truck and two back hoes which were at the repair shop. The Mayor said the $30,000, he was requesting was to help pay bills at the end of the city’s fiscal year.
Councilwoman LaTasha Johnson moved to reallocate $50,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund to the General Fund to help pay bills and get the needed equipment out of the repair shop.
The motion was approved with Councilwoman Sheila Smith voting against. “ I cannot vote for this transfer of bingo funds from capital improvement for other uses without seeing a full accounting of the uses of the bingo funds since the beginning of the year,” said Smith.
Based on numbers provided by the City Clerk on all city accounts, Councilwoman Smith said that the reported August 31, 2017 balance of $88,418.25 in the Capital Improvements account “was below the amount it should be based on monthly contributions from bingo.”
Smith asked for a full accounting of the Capital Improvements Account for 2017, showing all deposits and withdrawals. Mayor Steele said he would work with the City Clerk to provide this information.
The Mayor also distributed to the City Council proposals from Mason and Gardner CPA’s for two projects, a compilation report of income and expenses for the fiscal years ending September 30, 2015, 2016 and 2017, based on bank statements and other available data.