NATCHEZ — Frustration, confusion and tension among city officials overshadowed Tuesday’s more than two-hour board of aldermen meeting.

Some of the frustration and confusion centered on allegations Ward 6 Alderman Dan Dillard made about discrepancies in three of the city’s bank accounts.

Dillard said numbers in the city clerk’s monthly reports provided to the aldermen for the city’s accounts for Hurricane Gustav relief money, Hurricane Isaac relief money and the Natchez Trails project do not match bank statements provided by B&K Bank at Dillard’s request and audit statements from the Gillon Group.

For example, the Gustav account, which Dillard said was odd to still have an account for since the storm happened several years ago, showed a zero balance at the end of the end of the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

Bank and audit statements, however, show an approximately $43,000 balance in the account.

City Clerk Donnie Holloway said after the meeting the Gustav information was stored on a server and has somehow been erased or is inaccessible.

“Everything on there is gone,” he said. “I don’t know (how that happened).”

Holloway said, however, he would investigate the matter further and see what information could be obtained from his office’s records.

Dillard also voiced concern about what he said was a nearly $300,000 transfer out of the Natchez Trails fund into the city’s capital improvements fund, which is used for street repairs and other projects.

Dillard said he would be willing to bet no one on the board knew a transfer that large had happened. Dillard said he was particularly concerned because the fund contains a mixture of state and federal funds, as well as private donations made to the Trails project.

The donors to the Trails, Dillard said, would likely be concerned if they discovered their donations had been transferred out of that fund to be used for other purposes.

Dillard has continued to vote against the city’s dockets and voice concerns about discrepancies in the city’s financial reporting.

Dillard said he believes the state auditor needs to be called in to investigate some of the transferring of funds that is occurring between city accounts.

Holloway said he would welcome the state auditor’s review of the Trails project fund because “there is nothing wrong” with that account.

City Engineer David Gardner, who oversees the Trails project for the city, said he didn’t know how records were kept at City Hall, but all of the Trails money is accounted for in his records.

“I don’t see your (reports), but all I know is every quarter we get audited (by the Mississippi Department of Transportation), and we have had a perfect audit rating on everything.”

Gardner said, furthermore, the private donations came into a separate account that the Community Alliance, a nonprofit community organization, oversees and is not included in the city’s account.

“I don’t know how your reporting is done here, but please don’t distort the public and private (monies),” Gardner said. “The (donors’) money is still in the Community Alliance (fund).”

Other tension and frustration arose after the board’s attempt to approve the docket, which essentially grants permission to pay the city’s bills.

Dillard offered an amendment to a motion to approve the docket with the exception of $21,000 to Water Works for engineering services.

Dillard said he believed he budget should have been amended to reflect that the city was not paying Water Works for engineering, but essentially trading those service for administrative services.

Holloway said he has not been able to find the interlocal agreement between Water Works and the city.

After confusion about whether the city had an agreement, the board concluded that after the new administration took office in July 2012, it approved a one-year engineering services contract with Water Works. That agreement supposedly expired this summer, and the city and Water Works have been operating on a month-to-month agreement.

Gardner, who is also the Water Works superintendent said, however, as he reads the agreement, it expires unless it is renewed.

After the mayor broke a tie on a motion that appeared to pay the docket except for the engineering services, there was confusion about for what the board actually voted.

Ward 2 Alderman Ricky Gray said he thought he was voting for the Dillard’s amendment and not the motion.

Gray expressed frustration at the mayor for rushing the meeting when Gray was trying to ensure he knew exactly what he was voting for.

“You want to speed everything up, and I’m trying to slow you down so I can understand what’s going on,” Gray said. “You want to be the city attorney and the mayor.”

After further discussion, Brown suggested the board vote to rescind the previous two motions, which it did, and start over.

Ward 3 Alderwoman Sarah Smith questioned whether holding off on the engineering payment would affect Water Works’ employees’ pay.

Brown said he believed Water Works had the cash to cover the expenses until the matter could be resolved.

But Gardner said if Water Works was not paid for engineering services, the city would not receive the services.

After further sparring back and forth between Dillard and Gardner about the engineering contract during which both men were visibly frustrated, Brown said the issue did not need to be debated at the meeting but at a work session scheduled for Thursday.

Brown slammed his gavel down to end the discussion.

“All we’re doing now is bantering, and it’s not good here at Christmas,” he said.

Brown said in the spirit of the holidays, the board was going to move on.

The board then voted to approve the docket as presented by the city clerk, including the payment to engineering. Dillard voted against the motion.

Holloway then informed the board the city’s “mini-docket,” which includes payments for disability insurance, payroll insurance and other related items was not properly prepared in the city’s accounting system.

Holloway said his office is working to correct the docket in the system and it would be available at a later date.

When asked by Ward 1 Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis, Holloway said the city would be late on those payments but would not face penalties.

Smith said it would perhaps save the board frustration if the board had financial summary sheets that would be shorter and easier to understand than dockets.

Brown agreed but asked the board to wait until the city’s new accounting staff was settled in and could work on generating those reports.

The new staff Brown was referring to is Angela Penfield of Gulfport, who has been hired as senior staff accountant, and Jackie Wild of Natchez, who has been hired as assistant to the senior staff accountant. The two women replaced two accountants hired last year in the city clerk’s office, one of which left in July and the other who is leaving this month.