By Mark Wineka
mwineka@salisburypost.com
The Rowan/Kannapolis Alcoholic Beverage Control board already has reined in its travel, and Rowan County Commissioner Tina Hall said prospects are improving that its revenue distributions to local governments will increase.
Hall, who has been a critic of the local ABC board’s operations, reported to fellow commissioners Monday night that “needed changes are being discussed” under new Chairperson Linda Lowman.
Hall predicted commissioners will see a more efficient operation in the months ahead.
She also expressed hope that local ABC revenue distributions to the county and municipalities will increase significantly.
If Catawba County’s ABC system can distribute $1 million annually, Rowan County should be able to expect half that amount, Hall said.
“I think that’s at least a worthwhile goal,” she said.
A substantial distribution from the ABC system year-in and year-out “should be the norm,” Hall added.
At the ABC board’s September meeting, the members approved a new travel policy.
Travel expenses were a main concern when the ABC board was coming under fire earlier this year.
Part of the new policy says, “Any and all travel must be approved in advance by the entire board and must include location, length of and reason for the travel. No exceptions.”
Other elements of the travel policy add these points:
– Nothing should be charged, paid or reimbursed for travel between an employee’s home and the workplace.
– Nothing should be charged, paid or reimbursed for snacks, tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, clothing, medicine, personal items, personal telephone calls, traffic violations, parking tickets or personal vehicle repairs or maintenance.
– Nothing should be reimbursed for costs incurred by family members.
– Any employee using an ABC credit card must provide receipts for all transactions, including gas.
– Abuse of the travel and expense policy could be grounds for disciplinary action, including firing.
The travel policy says an employee traveling on official ABC business “is expected to exercise the same care in incurring expenses that a prudent person would exercise if traveling on personal business and expending personal funds.
“Excess costs, luxury accommodations and services unnecessary or unjustified in the performance of official business are prohibited,” the policy says.
As evidence that the local ABC board is taking the new travel policy seriously, Hall said it decided not to send anyone to the swearing-in ceremony of State ABC Chairman Jonathan S. Williams and Commissioner A.D. “Zander” Guy Jr. Oct. 8 in Raleigh.
Hall also shared an Aug. 25 management letter from Potter & Co., the firm which recently completed the local ABC system’s audit.
For the second year in a row, the letter noted a deficiency in the ABC’s segregation of duties, which is essential, the auditor said, to a strong system of internal controls “to prevent one employee from performing incompatible auditing functions.”
“Unfortunately, due to the limited number of employees of the Rowan/Kannapolis ABC Board,” the auditor said, “a complete segregation of duties is not possible.
“Because of this lack of controls, it is important that the board members be personally involved in the administration’s records and take an active role in the accounting system in order to have a working knowledge of the ABC’s operations.”
The audit specifically recommended that a board member review bank statements, bank reconciliations and payroll reports monthly.
Hall said the local ABC board discussed cutting travel, reducing store and warehouse inventory, selling a former Spencer store and eliminating an in-house law enforcement officer as ways to save money.
Hall said a board member characterized the $60,000 to $90,000 spent on a law enforcement officer as “chicken feed.”
“In my opinion, that is not chicken feed,” she said.