Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 6, 1995 TAG: 9501060076
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Medium
The board, which filed a motion in Circuit Court on Wednesday, contends that Cook is in contempt of a 1992 court ruling requiring him to furnish the board with a monthly statement of accounts by the 15th of the following month.
According to the motion, the last statement Cook sent to the board was for August.
But Cook says the late reports are the result of incorrect data from other county offices that make it impossible for him to file correct reports.
Richard Chidester, attorney for the Board of Supervisors, said the board voted Tuesday evening to take action and asked him to file the motion.
Relations between the board and Cook's office have been strained almost since he took office in 1992, with the board claiming that Cook's information often was late and included unreliable data. Cook complained of a campaign of sabotage and harassment, saying he was not allowed access to the county's general ledger.
But after the court's ruling in August 1992, Cook regularly filed the reports and the board provided a consulting firm to help him update the county's financial books and convert the office to a computer-assisted operation. He was eventually given access to the ledger.
With this week's action by the board, though, it appears the long-simmering problems are headed to a full boil again.
Cook suggested Thursday that the board should "just leave me alone. They've been on my back since day one.'' He said he is tired of taking criticism for incorrect data he didn't enter.
Chidester said the board would leave Cook alone "whenever he starts doing his job.
The motion filed this week states that County Administrator Janet Tuckwiller had asked Cook "on numerous occasions ... to provide [the] reports to no avail."
State statute requires treasurers to supply such reports to boards of supervisors. Chidester said the reports are necessary so the supervisors "can see how collections of revenues are going," and make budget decisions. Tuckwiller said that between July 1 and Jan. 3, when the board met, she had only received two monthly reports from Cook. Tuckwiller received another report Thursday.
"We're halfway through the fiscal year and beginning to plan for the next one," Tuckwiller said, making timely reports all the more critical.
Cook issued the following statement Wednesday night:
"It was the impression of my office that a financially correct trial balance was what both offices were aiming toward.
" ... The trial balance consists not only of collections and disbursements from the treasurer's office, but also from payroll and accounts payables from the County Administrator's Office. In order for the trial balance to actually be in balance, both offices must have input data correctly. At this point, it is not correct from the County Administrator's Office."
Cook said he had explained that to Tuckwiller.
"So if they want to go to court, let's go," Cook said. "As Doc Holliday said in 'Tombstone,' 'I'll be their huckleberry.'"
Tuckwiller said Thursday that auditors told the board this week there were still some problems with postings from the treasurer's office and that she was "not certain what he [Cook] is referring to in terms of possible errors" by her office. "It hasn't been brought to my attention if there are errors. I'm not aware of an increase in problems."
Last May, an auditor's report found deficiencies in several areas of Giles County's financial record keeping, not just in the treasurer's office. The audit for the fiscal year ending June 1993 found deficiencies in tax collections and in posting the general and revenue ledger, but added that no serious problems had yet resulted. A consultant told the board the books were in better shape than in 1992.
by CNB