“Plain old theft.”

That was one of the remarks made by members of the state Legislative Joint Auditing Committee on Friday to Pine Bluff city officials about an audit the city received from the state that identified more than $200,000 in missing receipts and unallowable and questionable purchases made during Mayor Shirley Washington’s administration.

Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R-Springdale), House chair of the committee, who made the succinct remark, thanked Mayor Vivian Flowers for identifying the problems as soon as they were discovered. “You didn’t try to cover it up,” she said.

The audit turned up:

• $179,000 in manual receipts that could not be traced to the City Collector’s office, as well as missing receipts from various Parks Department entities. “Therefore, the actual amount of unaccounted for funds could be higher,” stated the audit.
• $48,415 in unallowable purchases of holiday decor, kitchen items, personal hygiene items, fashion accessories, gift cards and electronic devices.
• $13,174 in questionable purchases that included snacks and office-related decor.

The audit said numerous invoices were “altered to conceal the type of items purchased” and that the items were shipped to addresses unrelated to the city.

“Furthermore, three lawn mowers were not available for audit inspection; therefore, we were unable to determine if the equipment is currently in the possession of the City,” stated the report, which covered the period between Jan. 1, 2023, and May 21, 2025.

Flowers said it didn’t take long for her new parks director to discover inconsistencies early in 2025. Two people from the Parks Department were fired last year, Flowers said, and measures have since been put in place to add accountability to the city’s financial system. The matter was taken to the prosecuting attorney’s office, Pine Bluff police and the State Police, which is still investigating the allegations. 

“Honestly, that is just human fallibility and people taking advantage of the positions they were in,” said Flowers, a former state representative who exchanged pleasantries with those on the committee she used to work with. “… I hope not to see you next year.”