LITTLE ROCK (KATV) - Pulaski county officials discover that they have millions of dollars less than they thought they had and it's all because of a software glitch.
"the software failed the county profoundly," said Pulaski County Treasurer, Debra Buckner.
The software was purchased under former county Comptroller, Ron Quillin, who is now in jail for embezzling over $40,000 from the county. Buckner alleges Quillin knew the software had problems.
"I'm not pointing fingers, I'm telling facts," said Buckner. "It was an inappropriate purchase in the very first place. This software never fit the needs of this county from day one it should never have been purchased," she said.
Justice of the Peace, Donna Massey says it's a sad reminder of a humiliating era for the county.
"I felt like I was reliving the past," said Massey.
The $4.2 million, which were put into the county's savings account, will be put back into the operations budget. It made up nearly have of the money on reserve.
"It's just less money that we'll have in our reserve or our rainy day fund as we call it," said Massey. "But once again it is a rainy day fund and this is a rainy day," she said.
Officials say the next step is preventing this problem from happening again.
"It is our number one goal to get rid of this software period," said Buckner.
Buckner says one of the consequences of this glitch is that at times, between 2006 and 2012, county employees were not given raises because officials thought there was not enough money. The money was there but it was in savings and the county does not touch reserve funds except for emergencies.
