County would welcome scrap tire audit

County would welcome scrap tire audit

Wheeless: ‘ We think that is a good thing’

news@theeveningtimes.com Crittenden County is welcoming the idea of a state audit into its scrap tire management district.

Arkansas legislators have asked Legislative Audit to look into the finances, contracts, and methods of reporting of the state’s 11 scrap tire management districts Rep. Kim Hammer and Rep.

Lanny Fite, R-Benton, who called for the audit, questioned whether the districts are being run properly or efficiently during a recent meeting of the Legislature’s joint Public Health, Welfare and Labor committee.

Arkansas had 11 tire districts. The districts are funded by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality but are locally operated. Funding of each district is determined by population and the number of tires the district reports processing.

ADEQ and some Arkansas legislators are considering changing the laws to require more stricter oversight.

County Judge Woody Wheeless, who was at the meeting, said some districts are inflating the number of tires they have collected in order to get more money from the state.

“You’ve got a couple of districts who are over-reporting their tires by 100 percent of what they actually are,” Wheeless said. “It’s been going on for a number of years. That’s the reason why there is going to be an investigation to see why their tire counts are so out-of-whack compared to everybody else’s.”

The county has a trailer at the county shop on Hwy. 64 where residents can bring old tires to be disposed. The tires are hauled off to West River Valley Regional Solid waste Management District in western Arkansas which operates the state’s only complete tire recycling facility.

“They bring us an empty trailer and haul this one off to their facility in the western side of the state,” Wheeless said.

Local tire dealers dispose of their own tires.

Each month Arkansas Department of Administration and Finance gets a record of the number of tires sold in each county. Wheeless said that is how the state was able to catch the reporting disparities.

“Let’s say that 2,000 tires were sold in August. We should have a tire count similar to that,” Wheeless said.

“So what’s happening in a few districts is they are selling 2,000 tires but reporting 4,000. You get your money from ADEQ for your tire county and ADEQ really isn’t involved in seeing whether everybody is doing it right.”

Wheeless said Crittenden County is not one of the offenders overstating its tire count. The county has a very solid count on the number of tires it is recycling, according to Wheeless.

“Are we 100 percent accurate? No. But we are 99 percent accurate,” Wheeless said. “We’re not catching every tire. But we have a better grip on it than we did a couple of years ago.

Wheeless said he would welcome an audit. “We want to see that happen,” Wheeless said. “We think that is a good thing. I would encourage them to come and investigate us so they can see we are doing it right.”

Arkansas recycled 30,514 tons of waste tires in 2015 or almost 71 percent of its tires in 2015 — up from almost 62 percent in 2014, according to ADEQ figures.

been impossible to accomplish without her.”

Avery has worked with commissioners from the time she announced her retirement until a new manager was approved.

Working with the city’s Human Resources Department and Mayor Bill Johnson, a pool of nearly two dozen qualified applicants was developed for consideration.

After an executive session at the August Airport Commission meeting, Candra Clarke Suiter was approved as the new manager.

Suiter holds a degree in Aviation Management, is a pilot, and multi-engine flight instructor with a proven management skills.

“I am delighted the Airport Commission selected Candra from the 22 qualified applicants,” said Avery. “I can think of no one else I would rather see follow me as Airport Manager. She not only has the skill, but is vested in our community, and will do this job from the heart.”

Suiter’s investment in the community stem from her previous experience in the city human resource department and as a long time resident of the city. She steps away from her job as controller at Allied Steel in West Memphis to begin work at the airport the last week of August.

Avery gave a bitter-sweet farewell to commissioners as she looked forward to retirement.

“While I will greatly miss my co-workers, the wonderful people in the aviation community, and the challenge of putting together the partners and funding for airport projects,” said Avery, “I am really looking forward to spending more time with my family and friends.”

By Mark Randall