County pay held up; blame swapped
Jefferson County officials say employees are being withheld their pay, two weeks after facing a similar situation, while the county judge claims the county clerk and assessor are holding up payment for everyone else.
County Judge Gerald Robinson issued two court orders Friday related to the reduction in payroll of $4,866.65 from the county general fund. In order CC 2024-8, Robinson cited Section 14-14-1102(b)(2) and Amendment 55 Section 3 of the Arkansas Code in his “authority and duty to administer ordinances enacted by the Quorum Court” in relation to authorization and approval of disbursing appropriated county funds.
In order CC 2024-9, Robinson detailed the amount to be reduced from the payroll affidavit of April 30: $3,850.71 from the Reappraisal Fund for payee Yvonne Humphrey and $1,015.94 from the assessor fund for payee Morgan Tillman.
Robinson on April 19 wrote a letter to 11th West Circuit Prosecuting Attorney Kyle Hunter requesting a criminal investigation into “allegations of theft of property, theft by receiving and fraud involving taxpayer funds purportedly committed by individuals associated with the Jefferson County Assessor’s Office,” specifically Assessor Gloria Tillman, Humphrey, Morgan Tillman and Jefferson County Clerk Shawndra Taggart.
Robinson accused Gloria Tillman of nepotism by employing Morgan Tillman, her daughter.
Gloria Tillman has denied any acts of nepotism, adding she did not hire her daughter, nor does her daughter work directly under her but instead two supervisors and a chief deputy assessor. Gloria Tillman also claimed she asked Robinson about having her daughter work in her department and that Robinson, af
ter talking with justices of the peace, wouldn’t have a problem with it. Robinson said he doesn’t recall such a conversation.
Robinson also accused Humphrey of receiving payment despite being on leave since last Dec. 27. According to Robinson’s letter, a printout of Humphrey’s time obtained from Gloria Tillman revealed approximately 675 hours of accrued sick leave and 20 hours of accrued vacation time, which Tillman said was carried over from Humphrey’s tenure under former Assessor Larry Fratesi approximately 14 years ago. Robinson contends the sick leave and vacation time cannot be carried over from her previous employment.
Employees faced a suspension of pay before April 15 when Robinson requested that Humphrey be taken off payroll, but he and Franklin confirmed all employees were paid at the time.
District 5 Justice of the Peace Lloyd Franklin Jr. accused Robinson of refusing to pay $401,744.25 in total salary to county employees. The amount is based on a payroll affidavit, a copy of which Franklin provided to The Commercial.
Both Franklin and Jefferson County Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr. say Franklin is executing a limited judicial authority to execute a role in executive function with regard to payroll.
“I”m in a better situation than most employees because I have other financial means, more than most others, but it’s very unfortunate that it’s come to that,” Woods said.
In a letter addressed to elected officials Friday, a copy of which was provided to The Commercial, Taggart provided an update on the processing of the upcoming payroll.
“As of today, April 26, 2024, the County Judge’s office has not returned the payroll claim to my office for processing,” Taggart wrote. “The initial payroll claim was submitted on Thursday, April 18th, 2024 and was returned denied to our office on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 with the same request from the April 15th payroll to remove two employees. As the County Clerk, I want to reiterate that (I) do not have the authority to oversee another elected official in their capacity as we are all elected by the people of Jefferson County. This means I do not have any legal standing to remove or change any elected official’s payroll submissions for their employees.”
Taggart said the payroll clerk was instructed to attempt a submission of payroll for the second time on Wednesday, adding that claim has yet to be returned for approval from Robinson’s office. The county clerk’s office, Taggart wrote, initiates direct deposit for all county employees two business days prior to the actual payroll to ensure employees will receive their paychecks without delay.
“As of 3 p.m. (Friday), we have not received the approved claim from the County Judge’s office which means that your employees may experience a delay in receiving their paychecks if approved,” Taggart wrote.
She continued: “Despite this decision affecting payroll, it is imperative to emphasize that the Office of the County Clerk remains committed to fulfilling its duties and responsibilities in processing payroll for all county personnel in a timely and accurate manner.
“It has been our sincere commitment to resolve this matter as this affects all county employees. Your cooperation and understanding regarding this matter is greatly appreciated.”
In a follow-up letter to elected officials Friday, Chief Deputy Clerk Tiffany Lowery said the payroll claim was returned to the county judge’s office that afternoon and was returned without approval or signature. That, she said, is the third denial of payroll claim.
“As of 4:30 p.m., payroll for all county employees cannot be processed,” Lowery wrote.
Robinson, who argues the county clerk has the authority to remove employees from the payroll, denies holding up payroll for all county employees.
“I performed my court duties as well as executive and judicial duties,” he said. “(Some county officials are) using this as a ploy to make me look bad.”
Robinson has been embroiled in a battle with Franklin and most other justices of the peace over operations of the Quorum Court since the start of 2023, throughout which the Quorum Court did not pass rules of procedure for conducting business, which is normally done at the start of each year.