Town of Clarks hires new auditor

by joni taylor

The Town of Clarks voted to hire a new auditor at their regularly scheduled meeting held on May 12.  Clarks’ previous auditor, Carlene Dumas, was not going to be able to work with the town anymore.  Mayor Chad Coates said CPA Jonathon Vercher of The Vercher Group was very excited to work with the town and had been given the last four audits to review.  The council discussed forming a committee to review the town’s finances at regular intervals. 

The minutes from the March 10 meeting were approved after they had been amended in the previous month.  The minutes from the April 17 meeting were approved.

There was no report from the Fire Department. 

The Water/Sewer Department presented their report to the council.  Thomas Benson has received all certifications required to do the DMR (Discharge Monitoring Report) required by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).  Clarks will no longer require the services of the private consultant that had been preparing the DMR’s. 

The Police Report was presented by Police Chief Robert Pearson.  He said that things had been very quiet. He also requested a date for court on future tickets to be issued. 

Jake Dillehay, Meyer, Meyer, LaCroixand Hixson, spoke to the council concerning grants. He said that out of 45 projects that had been approved for funding only one went to streets.  He said the grant funds have been mostly awarded to water and sewage projects. 

Mayor Coates said that he had contacted FEMA concerning the funds that had been returned to the town.  He was told that the monies could be used towards repairing streets.  Mayor Coates said that he is waiting on written documentation to that fact before proceeding with any repairs. 

The next regularly scheduled meeting for the Town of Clarks will be held on Tuesday, June 9 at 7:00 p.m.

For more Caldwell Parish news, go to www.caldwellwatchman.com.