Washington County hires former Ecclesia executive as comptroller

FAYETTEVILLE — A former chief financial officer for Ecclesia College, which is linked to a public corruption kickback scheme, will be Washington County’s new comptroller.

Shannon Worthen, of Springdale, will start as the county’s comptroller Aug. 1 with a $60,000 annual salary, according to a county news release. Worthen is a certified public accountant with more than 20 years of experience in his field, according to his resume.

“I hope to do my part to contribute toward a fiscally sound and efficient county,” Worthen said in email Thursday.

The comptroller is in charge of the county’s daily financial operations and budgeting, including tracking expenditures, according to the county’s website. County Judge Joseph Wood fired comptroller Ashley Farber in April.

Worthen didn’t answer questions about his role at Ecclesia or his reason for leaving. County Attorney Brian Lester said Worthen wasn’t involved in the scandal.

Wood, a Republican who was elected in 2016, has cut his ties to Eccelsia, Lester said. Wood stepped down from the college’s board about the time he took office in January 2017, Lester said.

Worthen was employed at the college from April 2000 to January 2015 with duties that included all business and financial aspects, according to his resume.

Ecclesia is among multiple nonprofit groups at the heart of an unfolding public corruption scandal involving lawmakers and others accepting kickbacks from 2013 to 2016 for grants from the state General Improvement Fund. Several state lawmakers and others have been convicted or pleaded guilty for their roles.

Former Ecclesia College President Oren Paris III, pleaded guilty April 4 to one count of conspiracy and will be sentenced Sept. 12.

Worthen has more than 20 years of financial experience, including working for the Internal Revenue Service. He said in email he wanted to be comptroller because the position is more challenging and interesting than his job as a fiscal support analyst at the university.

That UA position pays $34,288, according to a university spokesman.

Wood is pleased with Worthen’s credentials, Lester said.

Worthern received a master’s degree in management from the University of Texas at Dallas and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas-Pan American.

Lester said the county is lucky to have found a candidate with the education and experience Worthen has at the pay the county offered.

Wood has said he fired Farber because she didn’t have a bachelor’s degree or enough professional background to oversee the $68 million budget.

Farber earned $65,000. “I think the county is lucky to have found somebody,” Lester said. “(Worthen) seems to be, qualification-wise, what the county needs in a comptroller.”