El Dorado City Council members will consider multiple items when they convene for a regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. today — including sorting out the city's new role as the administrative head of the El Dorado – Union County Recreation Complex.
The meeting will be held in the Council Chamber of City Hall.
City officials gathered for a specially-called meeting Wednesday at the behest of Mayor Veronica Smith-Creer, who said she wanted to make sure they understood the terms of the agreement into which they previously entered to take over administrative duties of the recreation complex from the Union County Quorum Court.
"I did want everyone to be aware of what were inheriting," Smith-Creer said, adding that several issues have arisen since she signed the agreement in January.
She said Union County recently forwarded "a batch" of unpaid invoices to the city.
"We didn't know what to do with it and we didn't get a lot of explanation," the mayor said.
Pierce Moore, administrative assistant in the mayor's office, and Bonnie Wyles and Sharon Tucker, city treasurer and accountants payable clerk, respectively, said they visited with county officials in an effort to understand the invoices.
"When this was done, we didn't know what was going on. There were several bills and we didn't know if they were in the budget and I didn't want to pay anything until I knew what I was doing," Moore said.
"We got a budget with expenditures but we didn't have anything with an income," he continued.
Wyles made similar statements, telling council members that said the bills included utilities and payments to the Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado, who manages the complex under a contract for services.
Greg Harrison, a member of the quorum court and chairman of the complex board, said the city and county split the costs of the annual contract — now, $42,500 — pro rata.
Harrison also explained that 50% of the contract payment comes from the county's contribution to the annual operating budget for the complex.
Per the joint operating agreement that was proposed by the county and signed by Smith-Creer last month, the county will continue to pay 50% of annual operating expenses for the complex, up to $100,000.
The BGCE is also contracted to operate the concession stand and submit 20% of the revenue goes to the complex.
Referring to the invoices that were submitted by the county, Wyles told city officials Wednesday that the county did not roll over a bank account from which to track revenues and expenditures for the complex.
"I've got to go about opening a bank account to get all this done. What I want to know … did y'all want me to take so much from the general fund to open this account? I don't know where the revenue comes from," Wyles said.
Councilmember Vance Williamson said since the city is taking on the administrative oversight of the complex, "we need to start from scratch."
He added that the city has committed $100,000 toward the complex budget for 2020 and the county has pledged a maximum of $100,000, with any budget overruns subject to the approval of the quorum court.
Tucker pointed to another issue that she said arose during the meeting with county officials.
"They said we still owe a balance from last year," she said.
Wyles added that because the city has not paid its contribution for the 2019 operating budget for the complex, the county has said it will not pay its portion for 2020.
Councilmember Dianne Hammond, a former member of the complex board, said the county typically sends an end-of-the-year bill that is paid by the city.
"And we haven't paid them for last year, so we still owe them $100,000?" Hammond asked.
"We haven't seen a bill that I know of. We still owe them and so they said that they don't owe us," Wyles said.
"That's being childish, it sounds like to me. They didn't send us an invoice just like they have every year for nine years that I have sat here and we need to pay whatever that is and from here on out, they need to follow by this agreement that they wrote," Williamson said.
"If I need to go talk to [County Judge Mike Loftin], I'd be glad to. I mean, I think we can work this out," Williamson added.
Wyles said the city pays its annual share of complex operating expenses out of the general fund.
Williamson advised Wyles to take $100,000 from the general fund to open the bank account, noting that the operating budget for the complex averages $230,000 per year.
The council later approved a motion made by Councilmember Mike Rice for Wyles to set up a separate line item for the complex.
During the meeting with county officials, Moore said city officials were told that thousands of dollars are pocketed by "one person" following tournaments at the complex.
Harrison explained that the quorum agreed in 2016 to allow league directors to hold onto to league fees to directly pay umpires and scorekeepers, adding that two league directors are following the practice.
County officials agreed then that the move would help clean up the county's books, which, at the time, showed that the budget line item out of which scorekeepers and umpires were paid was running at a deficit.
Loftin explained then that $13,000 was budgeted to pay umpires and scorekeepers and the league fees that came in during the season would be used to reimburse the line item.
The quorum court subsequently agreed to delete line item and allow league directors to pay umpires and scorekeepers directly.
Harrison, who was neither a member of the quorum court nor the complex board at the time, explained that change gave the appearance that revenue had decreased for the complex.
He said he has had to repeatedly explain the issue to quorum court members who periodically inquire about the matter, adding that the county has not assessed league fees for several years.
"I keep getting questions about why that revenue went down from $30,000 to $14,000. They're just doing what the quorum court told them to do," Harrison said.
"We're talking about perception. It doesn't mean that [they're] doing anything, it just looks bad," McGhee said.
Added Councilmember Andre Rucks, "We need credit for all revenue out there."
Harrison said he has spoken to one of the two league directors, who has agreed to turn over league fees to the city, should the city create an account for complex operations.
Rice then made another motion, saying, "Anybody who has any money that belongs to the complex needs to deposit it into that account or bring the city a check."
The motion was also approved.
Additionally, the council voted to dissolve the complex board, per the agreement with the county, and to put the board back into place with the same members.
Rice, also a member of the complex board, said city officials previously agreed to keep the board intact until the master improvement plan has been completed at the complex.
Smith-Creer and Williamson noted that the joint operating agreement called for the dissolution of the complex board.
Harrison said phase one of the two-phase plan is under way and phase two could tack on about another three to five years until completion.
Also on the council's agenda for today is a funding request from the El Dorado Works Board for $29,999 to replace six heating and cooling units for the fire and police departments.
The EWB approved the funding request last week after police and fire officials reported that five heating units were out at police headquarters and a cooling unit had gone down at Central Fire Station.