Andrews –The Andrews ABC Board will begin making quarterly distributions to the community.
For at least the past four fiscal years, the ABC store has been distributing money to the community once at the end of each year. State law requires the ABC Board to make quarterly distributions, with 70 percent going to Andrews and the other 30 percent going to Cherokee County, of which 15 percent must be used on public education.
The mandated monetary distribution schedule was mentioned in state performance audits conducted in 2012 and 2017. However, store staff argued that distributions in the past were not mandatory because the store hadn’t set aside the maximum amount of working capital allowed to operate, leading some to believe taxpayers were not on anyone’s mind when decisions were made about how to spend the store’s profits.
The topic came up again at the June 21 ABC Board meeting amid a heated conversation in which the board chided store manager James Ringenberg and finance officer Jack Frahmann for what they say was a lack of effort in producing an itemized budget.
“I respect your request [for an itemized budget], but the state of North Carolina ABC commission doesn’t give a hoot about how many pencils we buy,” Frahmann told the board.
Several board members shot back, “We do,” prompting Frahmann to accuse the board of micromanagement.
“That’s money that’s not going out into the community,” board member Jenni Irwin said when Frahmann asked why she cares.
After the smoke cleared, the board voted to distribute at least $35,771 to the community over the course of the upcoming fiscal year, based on projected sales figures. The board may distribute more at the end of the fiscal year 2022, if it chooses.
The ABC Board will decide how much to distribute from fiscal year 2021 profits following the upcoming audit. The board decided not to contract the auditor out of Rockingham that has been used since Frahmann was hired in 2013.
The ABC board hired Burleson & Earley PA of Asheville to conduct the fiscal year 2021 audit for a maximum of $7,530. If the process takes less time than budgeted, the board will be billed the lesser amount.
The board updated several procedures to ensure audit compliance, such as appointing someone to review monthly bank statements and reconciliations. The board will also conduct routine physical inventories, as required by state law.
The Andrews ABC Store reportedly crossed the $1 million in yearly sales mark last month for the first time in history. The budget adopted by the board last week projects a million dollars in sales in fiscal year 2022 as well.