Council, Hospital air their differences

Eureka Springs City Council met Monday, June 14, and was greeted with a bit of heat from Hospital Commission Chair Sandy Martin and several commissioners who sat silently in solidarity as Martin delivered a report that outlined the hospital’s financials and asserted that city council already possessed the information they were pressing for— and had for months. 

In her opening statement, Martin said she and her fellow commissioners were there “to go on the record with some “factual information about the Eureka Springs Hospital.

“City council requested an array of documents, reports, and information prior to our first joint workshop on April 1,” Martin said. “These two notebooks that Butch [Mayor Berry] has next to him are all of the workshop documents that the hospital commission prepared and were sent to the council by email prior to April 1.

“It includes all monthly financial reports from 2023 and ’24 as well as January and February 2025. March and April were submitted in May of ’25. Also printed are the Forvis annual independent audit, of the hospital enterprise fund which includes annual cash flow, revenue, and balance sheets for the years ’21, ’22, and ’23.”

Forvis Mazars is ranked as a Top 10 public accounting firm.

“On June 9 of 2025 council moved to have the hospital commission provide monthly financial reporting of one P&L, balance sheets, cash flow statements to the city council,” Martin continued. “You were already in possession of all of this information.

“We do not do monthly cash flow. That info is included in our P&L. Annual cash flow statements are done by Forvis and contained in the audits you already received on April 1. On June 23 of ’25, the May ’25 monthly financials were distributed to council in your council packet. On June 23, council motioned to demand financials as labeled in the resolution for the years ’24 and ’25. You already were in possession of this information.

“We’ve come to you this evening to publicly hand over documents that have been in your possession over three months — those that are next to the mayor. Council members, the mayor, city clerk, and city attorney all have thumb drives containing bank balance, revenue usage summary, income statements for the months of January ’23 through May of ’25.

“It has been stated from this council table that ‘it is the lack of transparency from the hospital commission that is creating the entire issue.’

“For the record, we have been compliant and provided all of the information that council has requested of us, not once but several times, and now publicly again.”

Martin continued, “Please council, when referring to the ESH financials, use these certified financial numbers in vernacular. Do not substitute cherry-picked numbers and dates in vernacular that you extrapolate upon as though they are factual. The numbers you have been declaring as factual simply are not. Makes for great headlines and a cover story but they are misleading, dangerous, and have led to false and slanderous accusations.

“The council prepared a chart that led two council members to declare two million dollars missing. That was a bank balance statement. It showed the difference in the starting Aug ’24 balance and the ending May ’25. This is not two million dollars missing. This is two million dollars spent between those nine months. Only use the certified hospital financials, please, that you have been provided, in their entirety and their context.”

Martin concluded with an overview of current possibilities and accomplishments. “If you’ve been paying any attention at all you know that we have serious Medicaid and Medicare cuts coming our way and a lot of unknowns on how it’s going to impact us. Over two thousand people in Carroll County are projected to lose their coverage. We have a lot of work to do with advocacy at the state and federal levels and that is clearly something you as municipal legislators should be helping us with.

“We have a highly qualified and energetic CEO starting in a couple of weeks joining a highly qualified staff of healthcare and administration professionals. We are moving forward with infrastructure improvement, Telehealth services, and acquiring a non-emergency transport van that will also serve as a mobile medical van that will be critical for our healthcare delivery in the future. We are only focused on making sure that the hospital thrives. If you really give a damn about the hospital and providing healthcare to our citizens and visitors, you will join us in our efforts.”

Alderman Rachael Moyer remarked, “Your presentation was quite impressive, however, not completely factual. At one point, the council and the commission had conversation about working together and we showed good faith support in trying to help the commission in whatever capacity we could. We were immediately shut out of consistent financial information.”

Martin interjected, “Not true.”

Moyer rebutted, “That is absolutely true. You are very seasoned at standing in the public and saying one thing knowing that it’s not true. But you and I both know what financials were provided to us never included a balance statement.

“Now, whatever has happened in the past is fine, I’m very happy and thankful to the commission and the mayor to have this (pointing to provided thumb drive). Unfortunately, my computer is too new and can’t take a flash drive so I can’t look at it, but I will be looking at it the minute I get home and I am so excited to see that information so that I can understand what’s going on.

“My intention this entire time has been to shed light where there wasn’t. So, I appreciate the commission finally coming forward and providing some transparency. Because now more than ever, as you said, transparency in government is of utmost importance. So, thank you for this. I look forward to looking at all documents this body has requested of the commission since April of this year.”

Martin responded, “As clarification, you did receive balance statements for the years ’22, ’23, through February of ’24 in the original documents that were given to you on April 1 in that folder.”

 “I didn’t get the folder,” Moyer replied. “I got emails and I’m telling you that they were not in the email. But I don’t wanna have a public disagreement with you because you and I both know what we had.” 

Later, alderman Susan Gruning circled back with a motion to discuss the hospital budget review and address the resolution passed by council at a previous meeting, 

“To say that the money was spent is great, but we never saw where,” Gruning said. “We did a resolution on this, so I feel like it needs to be carried out. Why is the resolution not being addressed?”

Mayor Butch Berry began explaining that Forvis was the third party, and that he “wasn’t sure whether you can ask for something they don’t have.”

 “We’ve got a bank balance statement that shows so much money has been spent,” Moyer said, “then we have a P&L that shows losses. Those two things over a year’s time, you would expect the reported losses and the reduction in bank balances to match up. If not, that money is going to something else— perhaps liabilities, bills that are owed to someone else that have not been paid so they’re not gonna show up on a P&L. That’s why you look at a balance statement, that’s why we were asking for a balance statement. That’s why it’s so important.

“At the last meeting we passed a resolution to ask for a review and reconciliation of the financials as they are now, so that someone who is professionally equipped, bonded and insured, third party, accountant, can look at the financials as they stand now… a P&L, a balance sheet, all of the primary financial reports, and reassure us that the money is all accounted for. Separate from an audit.”

Mayor Berry responded, “The audit assures us that the money is there— there has been no misspending according to the audits, from Forvis. Forvis is a highly recognized accounting company, that is your third party. That’s the way that I believe the hospital’s looking at it. I’m not sure that’s something the hospital prepares. Once again, I don’t know. When you’re asking for something they don’t have, whether that’s possible or not.”

“Well, that’s what a third party would look at,” Gruning replied.

 “As the mayor said, our third party is Forvis,” Martin responded. “They’re highly qualified, and we’re not gonna do another separate audit, there is no need to.”

City Attorney Justin Eichmann explained that council would need to put out an RFP (Request for Proposal) in order to proceed. Alderman Terry McClung also requested that council set up a meeting, within the week, to review the information provided on the thumb drives.

Public Comments

Three Cross Street residents and neighbors of alderman Harry Meyer came forward with allegations of harassment and abuse of power, which appeared to have culminated in an altercation involving all four parties, a truck, an easement, and of course, parking. 

Ruth Virginia Seymour alleged that Meyer assaulted her with a vehicle, saying he “basically ran over her and didn’t stop.” Seymour said she’d filed a police report and demanded council take action. 

James (Jim) Markle, a next-door neighbor of Meyer’s, said that he and Meyer once got along, but that Meyer was relentlessly seeking revenge on Markle after Markle purchased an adjacent property, one he purported Meyer wanted to purchase. Markle flashed photographs to aldermen and the audience of Meyer presumably trespassing and verbally harassing Markle.

Clyde Elder, who shares residence with Markle, said he had been compelled to install security cameras due to Meyer’s behavior. Elder asserted that Meyer built “an unapproved” fence which defied the laws of the adjoining easement, and concurred that Meyer was abusing his position to “enact revenge” on Markle.

Council usually does not directly address Public Comments in a meeting if the subject of the comments is not on the agenda. 

Other business

• Public Works Director Simon Wiley updated council water waste plant repairs. Wiley and crew are also working to repair several lift stations, which pump water/sewage to higher elevations. Water leaks were reported on Huntsville Rd., Mill Hollow Rd., and Cliff Street.
• Willy Daniels was approved for hospital commission position 6.
• A resolution for a temporary entertainment district during the Rotary Club’s Oktoberfest was approved.