Alison Lane, a former clerk/treasurer in Emerson, has been charged with abuse of office and misappropriating $35,059 of city funds. Lane made an appearance before Circuit Court Judge David Talley Jr. ’s court on Thursday, May 2, 2024.

Her case was continued until June 6, and she was appointed Public Defender Andrew Best of El Dorado to represent her in future court proceedings. Lane appeared unemotional as she has in prior court appearances.

In a memorandum attached to an Arkansas Legislative Audit report on the case, Emerson Mayor Linda Mullins stated the city’s response about the ALA findings. Mullins’ letter states that “the Town of Emerson does agree with the findings of the investigative report received from the Arkansas Legislative Audit.”. According to the Arkansas Legislative Audit report, the report was issued at the request from the 13th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Rogers for the ALA to review receipts and deposits of the town of Emerson after town officials discovered that department funds were misappropriated.

The document signed by Rogers accuses Lane of theft of property and reads that on or about January 1, 2022, and December 13, 2022, Lane commit the offense of theft of property when she knowingly took or exercised unauthorized control over or made an unauthorized transfer of an interest in the property of another person with the purpose of depriving the owner of the property, specifically, funds belonging to the City of Emerson (AR) Water and Sewer Department, such property being valued at more than $25,000. In the results of the review section of the legislative report the ALA staff found that department financial records revealed unaccounted for funds totaling $35,059.

The report stated that cash receipts that were not deposited made up the majority of the unaccounted for funds. ALA staff noted the 2020 audit report disclosed that the department did not segregate financial accounting duties relating to initiating, receipting, disbursing, and recording cash transactions to sufficiently reduce the risks of fraud or error. According to the report, the ALA found these internal control deficiencies — receipting and depositing duties were not properly segregated, receipts were not reconciled to bank deposits and management did not provide adequate fiscal oversight.

The ALA staff recommend that receipting and depositing duties be segregated to the extent possible and daily receipts reports be reconciled to bank deposit composition by cash and check. In addition, management should exercise proper fiscal oversight, ensure these controls are established, and monitor controls to ensure adherence, the report reads. See Full Report and Response below. It can also be vied on the Arkansas Legal Audit website.

Lane is to appear in court again on June 6,2024. See Arrest warrant and affadavot below.