INSIDE...page 7 Thank you for giving: WORDS TO LIVE BY... A wise teacher makes learning a joy. Proverbs 15:2 Elevate Branson blood drive sponsored by Branson Globe Highs in the 80s. WEATHER...page 12 Your source for local news and entertainment May 29-30, 2020 • Vol. 1, Issue 91 Alderman raises red flag regarding public safety tax fund By Gary Groman, a.k.a. The Ole Seagull During the Aldermen’s reports of the May 26, 2020, Branson Board of Aldermen Meeting, Ward II Alderman, Larry Milton said, “My report this week is very troubling for me and should be for this BOA [board] and concerned citizens in Branson. I am raising a red flag regarding the public safety tax fund.” In his report, Milton first gave the background of the public safety tax. He said that the city has been collecting the tax since April 1, 2018, voters “were promised that if they passed this tax that there would be an oversight committee, and there would be no supplanting from the general fund.” Milton, a member of the city’s Budget and Finance Committee, began having concerns as a result of Betsy McConnell raising questions to the board about expenditures from the public safety tax fund and its oversight committee. He sought to get more information about both spending from the fund and the operation of its oversight committee. He said that he asked Alderman Bill Skains, a member of the public safety tax fund oversight committee (Committee,) three simple questions. “Does the oversight committee have scheduled meetings or do they meet as needed? How often did the oversight committee meet during 2019? Does the oversight committee review the financials for this fund?” Milton’s report indicates that he was “dumbfounded” when Skains refused to answer these simple questions except to say, “Contact the chairman of this committee.” The report goes on to say that Milton contacted the chairman of the oversight committee, Dick Gass, asking him the same three questions. His answer to the first two questions was that they met as needed, probably four or five times during 2019. When asked, “Does the oversight committee review the financials for this fund?” Gass said, “No. They only compare the tax collected for the public safety tax fund with the tax collected for the transportation tax to make sure these were close to the same amounts due to the transportation tax being collected the same way.” Milton said that he then asked city officials, “Who reviews the financials for the public safety tax fund?” He was told that the Budget and Finance Committee is the oversight committee that reviews these financials. This alarmed him because he is on the Budget and Finance Committee, and they have not acted as an oversight committee for this fund. He said, “…I recall at each meeting reviewing a 1-page summary report of this fund, but in no way were we acting as an oversight committee looking for possible supplanting of funds.” Milton said that he began asking questions about the fund. “I will admit that my frustrations starting building as many of my questions were met with resistance and deflecting. There were no straight answers,” he added. One example was the difference between the $142,000 ending balance in 2018 and the beginning balance for 2019. Recently, Jamie Rauch, Branson’s Finance Director “said that she knows where that difference is; however, I could not find it in our 2019 or 2020 Annual Report. She said that she would provide me with the $142,000 SEE RED FLAG, PAGE 3 BATTER UP! BASEBALL IS BACK IN BRANSON. Baseball returns to Ballparks of America. Here the Willard Tigers square off against the Nixa Eagles in a practice game Wednesday. (Branson Globe photo) SEE STORY ON PAGE 2.
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