Hennessey Mayor Harold Shaw and Treasurer Shelley Burch were chosen as the town’s newly-designated check signers after an hour-long discussion during the board’s meeting last Tuesday.

Trustee Randy Bohnstedt had said he thought they need more than one board member who can sign. The board approved alternates if Shaw or Burch aren’t available are: any two current trustees in place of the mayor and Deputy Treasurer Keith Meek (who was appointed to that position in 2019 and resigned as a trustee in 2021).

It was suggested that the town needed a vice mayor.

“Statutorily, you don’t,” offered Town Attorney Jared Harrison. “Because that’s not a position.”

The proposed ordinance listed the treasurer and Town Administrator Tiffany Tillman for those positions and the attorney and Tillman agreed that was a fill-in for the board to decide.

Current Town Clerk Kelley Vaverka and clerks elected to that job before her have done that job. Also, former mayors, including Harold Shaw, have filled those jobs.

“We don’t care who does the signing,” Tillman said.

She said there are two times a month when checks need to be signed: The night of the monthly board meeting and for utilities on the last day of the month.

Earlier she’d said the check signing doesn’t include payroll because those are all “direct deposit.”

Tillman told board members she will need their electronic signatures for the bank. That cost is $400, she said, and she didn’t want to spend the money until after the election.

Shaw and Trustee David Jones are up for re-election April 1 and Trustee Bert Gritz said he “didn’t like electronic signatures” and thought board members should sign in person.

“The way I read this, you (Tillman) can make payroll without any signatures,” Jones said.

The KT&FP reporter had earlier questioned the addition of Tillman’s job because that would mean two employees would be signing all of the checks. Burch is the office manager at town hall in addition to being town treasurer.

“I don’t think we should turn everything over to the office until we get the results of the audit,” Shaw said.

Shaw was referring to the state Audit & Inspec-tor’s Office “forensic” audit that started Oct. 15, 2023.

“We make a lot of purchases,” said Trustee David Jones and mentioned Sam’s Club and Amazon.

“We have large purchases $5,000-$6,000 at Sam’s Club for swimming pool concessions supplies.

“If there are charges at NAPA, it shows the items,” Jones said, “but I don’t know what’s been purchased (with a credit card) at Sam’s. That’s just one of the reasons I vote no on the consent agenda every month.”

Jones asked Tillman about the financial report he’d requested earlier on the swimming pool.

Tillman said she’d email it to him.

Jones asked about who makes the monthly financial reports and Tillman said Burch does them.

Jones said he thought Crawford & Associates did that.

Tillman said Crawford does the quarterly reports.

Is Hennessey becoming a city?

During the meeting, Harrison said the town has more than 2,000 in population and could qualify to become a city and “encouraged” the board to look at that possibility.

He said the board had already taken some actions “modeling a city government type.”

The board had no discussion and took no action since the item wasn’t on the agenda.

All Town Codes Are On Town Site

After trustees approved a resolution notifying the public that the town had completed “Hennessey town code of ordinance 2024,” Tillman said, “We’ve already uploaded it to the town site.”

“The town’s site still shows a picture of Clif Vogt as mayor and he resigned in June,” Shaw said.

Tillman said Angie Bruner “usually updates everything I give her.”

Later in the meeting, Gritz said he was asked where to find the board’s agenda and the person said they’d already looked on All About Hennessey but it wasn’t there.

“It also wasn’t on our website,” Gritz said.

Jack Quirk said he’d make sure that would be corrected.

Purple Heart Town

Purple Heart recipient James Battles presented Shaw with a proclamation naming Hennessey as a Purple Heart Town and supporter of Purple Heart recipients and all veterans who have served their country in our armed forces.

Now a retired military police SFC with the Oklahoma Army National Guard, Battles works with Purple Heart Oklahoma as the state vice commander and the commander of Chapter 820.

“We help veterans who have been wounded only in Oklahoma,” said Battles “We help people get their ratings and we get them a ride to the VA.”

Along with the Purple Heart, SFC Battles was awarded numerous medals and commendations during his service, including the Bronze Star and Combat Action Badge.

At the Meeting

All trustees were present Shaw, Gritz, Jones and Bohnstedt. Other officers present were Burch (also Town Hall office manager) and Vaverka. Staff at the meeting were Tillman and Harrison.

Absent was Public Works Director Alyssa Kubat.

The only visitor was Battles.