Wyckoff said there was only one discrepancy in the audit, which related to one employee doing functions that should be done by several employees. He noted that they don't have enough funding to have a big accounting staff, but that there is an office manager and a monthly audit of accounts is conducted.
"I think you'll find that in every audit the county has had," Sequoyah County District 1 Commissioner Bruce Tabor said about the discrepancy.
Wyckoff also commented on the decrease of revenue from 9-1-1 surcharges that the system receives from landline telephones. He estimated that landline revenue has probably decreased about an eighth compared to a year ago. He speculated that more people using cell phones could be to blame.
He explained that 9-1-1 gets less from a cell phone and more from a landline. He said cell phone users are charged .50 cents for 9-1-1, while 15 percent of the base rate for each landline goes to 9-1-1.
Tabor said the county may have to look at increasing the cell phone tariff in the future, which would require a vote of the people. He also said that some sort of legislation could be passed in the future.
"I'm sure something will be done statewide," Wyckoff said, noting that other counties are experiencing the same thing.
Wyckoff also said that new equipment for the 9-1-1 system was delivered Tuesday. He said the new equipment would show partial addresses automatically. The new system will not be fully online until the addressing is finished in the west end of the county.
In other business, the commission heard from Chris Keathley, the county's emergency management director, who reported on the damage from the storm. See page A1 for the story on the storm and read Keathley's comments on the damage.
The commission also approved a basic agreement for county engineering services with Kelly Engineering & Associates Inc. of Tahlequah, which is a contract that is approved yearly and has not changed since last year.
Commissioners discussed a civil case involving Don Dugger and the commissioners. Kyle Waters, assistant district attorney, explained that they had filed an injunction against Dugger relating to a fence that was being built on the roadway. The judge in the case ruled against the county and ordered them to pay Dugger's attorney fees. The commission voted to pay those fees, amounting to $4,347, which will be paid from a type of slush fund.
The commission also approved a purchase order to reimburse the Sequoyah County Criminal Justice Authority for utilities. There was some discussion about the square footage of the jail, commission, and other government offices, and how the utilities are divided up among those offices.
