State Comptroller’s Office releases Decatur County report; lists 19 issues
DECATUR COUNTY, Tenn. — A 200-page report released from the state Comptroller’s Office on Thursday shows 19 issues with the Decatur County government, many of which officials said have been there for years.
“Eight of the 19 findings are repeat findings, which means those issues have gone uncorrected for at least a year, and in some cases we found issues that have gone uncorrected for several years within Decatur County,” Public Information Officer for the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office John Dunn said Thursday in a Skype interview.Those issues include more than $750,000 in audit adjustments that were needed by the state, something the Comptroller’s Office said shows bad accounting.
Another large problem deals with the county’s sheriff, Keith Byrd, and his management of military surplus equipment.
“Our auditors were able to find that some of this military surplus equipment was actually on the sheriff’s personal property and not being used for legitimate law enforcement or drug control activities,” Dunn said.
The state Comptroller’s Office said Decatur County has the most findings of any report they’ve filed in the last fiscal year in the state of Tennessee.
Taxpayers WBBJ spoke with said it’s troubling the city has so many issues.
“That’s always concerning,” Decatur County resident Mark Jennings said. “Whenever you hear something like that, you never want to come in last. It makes you kind of wonder about some of the politicians and what’s taking place.”
Decatur County Mayor Mike Creasy issued the following statement Thursday afternoon:
“As the County Mayor, I strive, in all things, for the highest standards. The Comptroller’s office, though, has found that, in the past, our County Mayor’s office hasn’t achieved those highest standards. Indeed, the vast majority of the issues that the Comptroller’s Office cited happened under the previous County Mayor’s administration. I assure Decatur Countians and the Comptroller’s Office that my office will take immediate steps to correct every issue. In fact, my office has already fixed most of the problems, and the remaining ones will be fixed as quickly as possible. And so, even though my office didn’t create most of the problems, I will fix them.”
