By Jamie Miller
A special city council meeting was held Tuesday night immediately following the regularly scheduled[more] Finance and Personnel meeting to discuss a few pending items. A proclamation from Mayor Jill Dabbs was presented to the Bryant Boys and Girl's Club in honor of the upcoming community week as well.
Since the recent retirement of Finance Director Gary Hollis, the finances of the City of Bryant have been somewhat disorganized. "We are running a little thin in our finance department right now," Dabbs said.
An undisclosed individual has been hired for the position but they do not begin until April 23. Until that time, a few people have stepped in to help oversee and organize the city finances, the Mayor indicated.
The financial report that was submitted to the council at the meeting raised many questions, such as why the cash on hand for the city has dropped 31 days in March and why the numbers show that the city is $1.2 million over budget in expenditures and $672,000 over budget in the general budget. The Mayor spoke to the issues saying there has been nothing out of the ordinary as far as spending goes.
The temporary help in the finance department believes it was an error in the reports and expects all of the numbers to add up normally in the near future once more time is allowed to look into it. None of the financial reports from February or March were approved by the council.
Dabbs exercised her right to vote, breaking a 4-4 tie in favor of approving the contract for an Information Technology Consultant. The construction for a Splash Pad at Bishop Park was approved as well.
