Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Smith Has Many Plans To Continue

Continuing to go above and beyond the call of duty is why Tambra Smith wants to remain Gurdon's recorder/treasurer.

Smith, who is running for the office in the May 21 primary as a Democrat, since taking office in 1993, has modernized the office, putting all accounting records on computer. She was originally hired for the post by former- mayor Darryl Potratz.

With all accounting records on computer, she said, the process of bookkeeping has been sped up considerably. All records are updated on a daily basis.

Prior to Smith computerizing the office, the records were kept in ledgers by hand. By placing the records on disk, she said, man-hours are saved, which allow her to be more efficient and effective.

Part of the duties of recorder/treasurer include taking minutes at all city council meetings. These minutes are recorded during the meeting and transcribed later. Smith also keeps all ordinances and resolutions passed by the council.

"It is my goal," she said, "to get all ordinances and minutes on computer hard disk and store them away from city hall for safety."

At this time, Smith is working to compile a master list index of all city ordinances ever passed. Once this is done and the records are placed on computer, they will be easier for the public and officials to find. "We need to preserve our old records. The recorder/treasurer is the official custodian for all city records."

She said by computerizing the payroll accounts, the city has saved money. Before this was done, Gurdon paid an accounting firm to have the tax reports compiled. Smith, however, handles all W-2 information, quarterly tax reports, employment information for the Employment Security Division, along with state and federal withholding information.

The position also calls for Smith to keep up with insurance claims filed by city employees and the firemen's pension fund, as well as retirement reports and the bi-annual financial statement.

"Municipal accounting is different from other business accounting," she said. "There are laws governing how it's done."

To do her job better, Smith has attended classes at the University of Arkansas specifically designed for city recorder/treasurers. The class she took didn't cost Gurdon anything as Smith went on a scholarship. She is also working on another scholarship to attend the course later this year.

Smith is a member of the Arkansas Clerks-Recorders-Treasurer's Association; the International Institute of Municipal Clerks; is on the advisory board of the Arkansas Municipal League; is a member of First Baptist Church in Gurdon, where she volunteers, works with the Vacation Bible School program and the children's activity youth program; the Go-Devil Booster Club; and the Gurdon Baseball Association.

Prior to becoming Gurdon's recorder/treasurer, Smith worked for the City of Hope for two years, and spent six years with Wal-Mart, where she was responsible for bookkeeping, accounting and computer processing.

"I've spent my adult life in bookkeeping and accounting," she said. "I've been here since February 1993 when I applied for and got the job."

However, Smith has gone above and beyond the job description for recorder/treasurer. She has worked with the Arkansas Industrial Development Council on helping Gurdon procure a grant to build a new child care facility. She has also worked on helping the city become certified (and subsequently recertified) as an Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE) and worked on the rural water project.

Additionally, Smith, with the help of Mary Burns, worked to obtain a grant to improve Gurdon's City Park.

The two also worked on a grant to buy hand-held radios for firemen with the Gurdon Fire Department. The Office of Rural Advocacy will examine the merits of this grant application at its September cycle meeting.

Smith is working with State Representative Percy Malone on a grant to upgrade the air conditioning in Gurdon's City Hall.

She is married to the city's mayor, Rick Smith. The pair have four children, all boys, in the Gurdon school system.

In her spare time, Smith enjoys camping, fishing and being involved with her children's activities. She also likes to read and work on fund raising activities for charitable causes and the improvement of Gurdon.

"I want people to know the recorder/treasurer is not a voting member of the council," she said. "I'm there to keep the minutes.

"This is a part-time position requiring full-time dedication," Smith continued. "I have the desire to do this. I feel my duties continue after I leave the office every day.

"I'm qualified and experienced for the position. I will keep working to continue my education for the position and in improving the way information is kept for the council so it can be more effective in its decision making."