Auditor’s report clears Hancock County sheriff

ELLSWORTH – After months of talk about mystery accounts and a lack of financial accountability within the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, an auditor hired to scrutinize the county’s finances said Tuesday that the records in question were “meticulously maintained.”

Ron Smith, a certified public accountant, informed the Hancock County commissioners of that finding during their meeting Tuesday. The auditor had been analyzing three accounts held by Sheriff William Clark that had been used to fund the county Drug Abuse Resistance Education program and services for inmates in the county jail.

The findings likely conclude nearly six months of discussions between the commissioners and Smith regarding the county’s finances. Smith, at times, referred to possible “fiscal irregularities” created by county officials during that period, then refused to discuss them in open session for fear of implicating those officials.

Throughout the process Clark regularly attended the meetings, but rarely took part in the discussions. Meanwhile, Commissioner Percy “Joe” Brown Jr. expressed strong concerns for the county’s finances, while adding that the county’s fiscal policies needed an overhaul.

Smith informed the panel in October that he had found accounts initiated by Clark which were not under the review of the treasurer. The money in those accounts, Smith said, was being used to fund the D.A.R.E. program. Smith said at that time that the money should be under the review of the commissioners.

“I believe that these are county funds where the Sheriff’s Department should monthly, at a minimum, report to you on it,” Smith told the commissioners in October. Some of the commissioners during that meeting expressed dismay regarding the alleged discovery of the accounts when Smith gave his oral report to the board.

Clark said at the time that the accounts were in fact authorized by the commissioners and should be of no surprise to anyone. In fact, minutes from the August and September 1999 meetings of the Hancock County commissioners record the transfer of D.A.R.E. funds, with the approval of all three commissioners, from the county treasurer’s office to the Sheriff’s Department.

Speaking Tuesday, Smith said his review of the D.A.R.E. funds found no irregularities. “The records were meticulous,” Smith said in describing his review of the sheriff’s accounts. “I feel very, very confident that the D.A.R.E program was properly maintained.”

Smith did recommend that the account be transferred back to the treasurer so that it has greater scrutiny. Clark said he has already returned the funds to the treasurer, largely because of the controversy that has grown out of the reports of mystery accounts.

He also said after the meeting that some frequent donors to the D.A.RE. program have expressed reluctance this year, citing the controversy and saying they don’t want to be associated with anything that could be viewed as improper.

Dennis Damon, one of the three county commissioners, expressed some disappointment with the auditor for not making his findings known sooner.

“This is dated December 7,” Damon said as he lifted a copy of the auditor’s findings for the room to view. “This has been going on for a number of months. I would have liked to have seen this sooner. This could have been a little more timely.”

Meanwhile, Clark said Tuesday that he hopes that the whole process hasn’t tarnished the reputation of the D.A.R.E. program, and added that the review of his accounts was without merit.