At Monday’s city council meeting, alderman Bob Thomas presented a chart showing how the city gets its funds and how they are disbursed. He claimed, based on his reading and understanding of a statement by Municipal League lawyers, that city council has an obligation to appropriate funds received from two taxes passed by voters to fund Parks and the Lake Leatherwood City Park Master Plan.
His point was not that the funds were not directed toward Parks and LLCP, but that it was the obligation of council to officially appropriate the funds properly.
Mayor Butch Berry read further from the same Municipal League letter the statement that there was no reason for Eureka Springs to change how it had been operating. He added that no legislative audit had found any issues with how Parks got its funds.
Thomas was steadfast it was a responsibility of council, and clarified he was only suggesting that council authorize Finance Director Lonnie Clark to appropriate the funds to Parks according to the ordinance. Alderman Terry McClung asked if passing the tax itself was not appropriating the funds to Parks, and City Attorney Tim Weaver said that has been his view all along. “The Municipal League says what we’re doing is fine,” Weaver commented.
Thomas again tried to clarify by stating he was suggesting a technicality, not more control of Parks, and insisted council was responsible for oversight of the spending of city funds. He also disagreed that the vote meant the funds had been automatically appropriated.
Back and forth the same very important points were made until Thomas moved to have someone draft a resolution appropriating the funds generated by the two taxes to Parks for the fourth quarter. He said council could decide in January what to do going forward.
Only Thomas and Kendrick voted for the motion. McClung, Schneider, Buford and Greene voted No, so the motion failed.