Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Mayor Julian McTizic of Bolivar, Tennessee, to the newsmaker line to talk about the recent decision of Wall Innovations to relocate its headquarters to his town.
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On Friday, Governor Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) Commissioner Bob Rolfe announced that Wall Innovations, LLC has chosen Bolivar to relocate from Long Island City, New York for its U.S. manufacturing and distribution base.
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Two employees with the Hardeman County Sheriff’s Office received more than $26,000 worth of vacation time, holiday time, and compensatory time they might not have rightfully earned, according to a state audit released Tuesday. This, of course, matters because it’s taxpayer money. Tennessee Comptroller Justin Wilson’s audit did not name the employees, but it did say the two employees no longer work for the sheriff’s office. Wilson’s audit also said this occurred in April and May of last year. “Due to a lack of adequate documentation on file to support these payments, as well as a lack of adequate time and leave records maintained by the Sheriff’s Department, we were unable to determine the validity of these payment amounts,” Comptrollers wrote. “This deficiency was a result of a lack of management oversight and may have resulted in unauthorized compensation.” No one at Sheriff John Doolen’s department returned The Tennessee Star’s repeated requests for comment Tuesday. County officials, the audit went on to say, did not follow their own personnel policy on this matter. “Adequate payroll records and supporting documentation should be maintained to support all payments to employees,” Comptrollers wrote. “Accrued leave records should be accurately maintained to ensure proper…
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Officials in the town of Whiteville took nearly $10,000 of money out of their drug fund and spent it on things they weren’t supposed to, according to an audit Tennessee Comptrollers released Friday. According to the audit, town officials paid $9,230 from the drug fund and bought office furniture and wiring for the new city hall building. By law, they may not use drug fund money on such expenditures, according to the audit. No one at the town of Whiteville’s government offices were available to talk to The Tennessee Star Friday or to explain where, precisely, revenue from the drug fund originates. According to the town’s drug fund manual, town officials can use this money on drug treatment and drug education programs, drug enforcement programs, confidential expenditures, law enforcement expenditures, and automated fingerprint machines. “The police chief told the town recorder these were allowed expenditures,” auditors wrote. Comptrollers also called out town officials for paying employees during their lunch breaks and for giving out overtime to employees who did not work more than 40 hours. “One employee was being paid during lunch, resulting in an overpayment of approximately $81 during a week with four workdays. This would project to approximately…
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