Comptroller: Former Carter County Solid Waste director had ‘questionable business relationship’ - WJHL-TV News Channel 11

Comptroller: Former Carter County Solid Waste director had ‘questionable business relationship’ | WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather

CARTER COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury investigation found three internal control deficiencies within the Carter County Solid Waste Department (CCSW), including a “questionable business relationship” of the now-resigned department director.

According to a report published by the comptroller’s office, “allegations of malfeasance” led to its investigation into the department. A county official had noted what was described as a “questionable business relationship and questionable business practices at the landfill,” prompting the investigation.

The comptroller’s office looked at records from January 2022 through February 2023 while investigating.

The county’s solid waste department operates a landfill, a trash convenience center and a recycling center. A committee made up of eight members, some of whom are Carter County commissioners, appoint a director of the CCSW.

According to the comptroller’s office, the CCSW director at the time of the investigation resigned from his role in July after his management practices were called into question by other county leaders.

News Channel 11 spoke with Carter County Commissioner Angie Odom, who said when she was newly elected in September 2022, she met with all the county departments and asked for their budgets and financials to familiarize herself with them.

“When I put in that request for the landfill, I got a phone call back that said, from the director, to come up and he would be glad to share them with me,” Odom said.

Odom said she was unable to receive the financials from the solid waste department and was met with opposition, prompting her to call attention to the matter. According to Odom, the county finance director claimed to have encountered similar issues for a period of time.

The 3 Findings

The first of the deficiencies found by the comptroller’s office was the “questionable business relationship” of the former CCSW director.

According to the investigation report, the former director also “owned and operated a junk removal business that maintained a customer charge account at the county landfill.” The comptroller’s office noted that accounting system inaccuracies and a lack of documentation prevented investigators from verifying the legitimacy of transactions to determine if the former director had personally benefited from doing private business at the landfill.

The report cites Tennessee law, which states an elected or appointed county official cannot be directly or indirectly interested in the work they oversee. The comptroller’s office stated Carter County leadership should “closely monitor and account for employee-owned businesses that contract or conduct business with the county” to mitigate conflict of interests.

Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Director of Communications John Dunn said that much of the CCSW’s documentation was in disarray.

“We weren’t able to determine whether or not, for example, the former director’s junk removal business was being charged and paying bills in the appropriate way,” Dunn said.

The second deficiency found was that the CCSW’s financial policies and billings were insufficient, which created accounting inaccuracies. Those led to flaws in collections, deposits and customer charge accounts, the report states.

Dunn said that the financial management at the CCSW was not taking place at the level that it should have been.

“The records were in just such disarray that we weren’t able to determine whether or not customers were being charged correctly, or were paying correctly,” Dunn said.

Tennessee law requires counties, municipalities and solid waste authorities to adhere to “generally accepted accounting principles” in order to properly keep track and detail all transactions. The comptroller’s office recommends the CCSW establish, approve and put into practice clear and complete financial policies and procedures.

The final deficiency identified was the solid waste department’s insufficient documentation for customer charge accounts.

The comptroller’s office states the CCSW uses a computer system to keep track of landfill fees, but the former director reportedly did not provide sufficient documentation when investigators looked into the monthly customer charge accounts. The comptroller’s office stated the department properly document and maintain records of all charge accounts for customers so possible misappropriations can be identified in the future.

Going Forward

According to a signed letter prefacing the report from Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Jason Mumpower, copies of the report were sent to several state and local leaders. Those include Gov. Bill Lee, First Judicial District Attorney General Steve Finney and state legislators.

The report noted at its conclusion that Carter County leaders indicated to the comptroller’s office that they either have corrected or intend to correct the three deficiencies.

“My hope is just that this committee, now there’s some new, there’s some that have been on there forever, is to for one get a better system in place. I do understand the director quit through this,” Odom said. “He said he quit because I turned him in to the state. He blamed me, and that’s why he resigned. That was stated in a meeting some time back.

“My hope and my desire – my desire was never for [him] to go anywhere. Like to quit over me, I have questions. I just want that department to be run to where people, all people, regardless of what family you’re in or what business you’re in, you pay the same amount. It doesn’t change on who you are on a buddy system, and that there’s a track record of all income.”

A new solid waste director, Chris Schuettler, has since been appointed.