Atlantic Beach is in financial trouble, showing budgetary discrepancies that include possibly missing money.
Atlantic Beach’s town council was to have a full council meeting on Monday night that was to include a discussion about its annual Atlantic Beach Bikefest. But because only two of the four council members showed up there was no quorum and no formal meeting could be held.
No reasons were given for why Mayor Retha Pierce and Councilman Jake Evans did not attend the meeting, and no decision was made about when Bikefest would be discussed again.
However, the town’s finance committee did have a discussion Monday about town revenue, including money that comes from the Atlantic Beach Bikefest.
Town finance manager Calvin Blanton told council members the Rev. Wendy Price and Carolyn Cole that there is more than $138,000 in revenue from the last half of the 2011 fiscal year that is unaccounted for, and that Bikefest last year netted the town only $4,600 that can be accounted for, while it had expenses of $38,000.
Cole asked if some of the unaccounted for money might be from Bikefest, but because of the town’s accounting practices Blanton said that is unclear.
The Bikefest grossed $80,000 in 2010 with expenses of $37,000, leaving $43,000 in revenue. In 2009 Bikefest grossed $72,000 and there was $34,000 in expenses, leaving a net of $38,000. In 2008 the Bikefest grossed $69,000 and had expenses of $36,000, netting the town $33,000.
Price said she was surprised at the discrepancy between 2011, and the previous three years.
But Bikefest has not always generated revenue for the town because in 2007, the town took in $31,000 but recorded expenses of $120,000, and in 2006 the event reportedly took in more that $200,000 but expenses far exceeded that leaving the town with a deficit of $45,000.
This is where town accounting practices have gotten the town into trouble because, Cole and Price said, no one has been able to get a handle on what’s been coming in and going out.
For the 2012 fiscal year Atlantic Beach has a $900,000 propjected budget, but for the first six months of the fiscal year, which began on July 1, the town has only taken in about $200,000.
Cole said the town needs to have a conversation about Bikefest within itself, but also with the rest of the Grand Strand.
``We need a year-round economy,’’ Cole said. ``We need to be about the business of the vision for this municipality.’’
Blanton said the town also has unpaid debts of $334,000 and warned Cole and Price that this is a critical juncture for Atlantic Beach.
When asked directly if he thinks anyone is stealing from the town, he said ``that’s a hard accusation to try to make.’’
He attributed the problems to poor accounting and a lack of accountability, and said that if Atlantic Beach is going to succeed as an independent municipality it must adopt a new way of managing that includes ``fiscal austerity.’’
Asked if he thought it was too late to turn things around, interim town manager Benny Webb said he doesn’t think it’s ever too late as long as Atlantic Beach has strong management and other sources of revenue besides Bikefest.
Price would not say that someone was stealing for the town, but she acknowledged that there was money missing, and that she, Cole, and other town administattors are trying to figure out what’s going on.
E-Mail
Print
The Sun News Terms & Conditions and Commenting Policies can be reviewed here.