State agency returns $450,000 unspentState agency returns $450,000 unspent
Washington, DC,
August 5, 2015
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By Cyd King of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Mike Preston, the new executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, said Tuesday that he won't spend leftover money in the commission's budget for the sake of balancing the books. Any unspent funds should and have been returned to the state's coffers, he said...
"This is a new day in Arkansas. Let's think a little differently," Preston said. "If this copier still works, why do we need to go out and buy a new one? Those are tax dollars from the taxpayers of the state, and if we're saving money at the end of the year, it's going to go back to the state and give those monies back to the taxpayers however the governor and the Legislature feels [it should be done.]" Preston's remarks about accountability caught the attention of one particular Rotarian, U.S. Rep. French Hill. "I thought it was refreshing that an agency director in the state said that he would not spend all the money authorized and would turn it back, whether capital expenditure or [for] personnel," Hill said. Both the federal and the state system encourage spending. They don't encourage saving," the congressman added. Click here to read more. |
