Leslie council adopts ordinance to allow electronic funds transfers for utility payments

The City of Leslie council voted to adopt an ordinance authorizing electronic funds transfers (EFT) for payment of utility accounts, the council said during its September meeting.

Speaker 1 introduced Ordinance No. 256, saying the change would let the city make EFT payments directly to energy and utility providers and streamline accounting. "That way, as I spend it, if it's eligible, it'll come back down and at the end of the year, if it's time to reload, everything's right there," Speaker 1 said, describing a virtual-account approach the finance staff will use.

The ordinance text cited Arkansas Code 14-59-105 as permitting municipalities to adopt electronic payment methods when authorized by ordinance and requires internal accounting controls and supporting documentation for disbursements. Speaker 1 told the council the new system groups certain fire-department transactions and noted current balances in the fire department checking accounts reported during discussion as 3,404,257 and 989,650 (figures as stated in the meeting).

Council members agreed to suspend the rules and read the ordinance by title only. Speaker 3 moved to suspend the rules; the motion was seconded and the chair took a roll-call-style confirmation. The suspension passed by the required two-thirds vote, and the ordinance was read by title and opened for final discussion. No amendments or substantive objections were recorded in the provided transcript segments.

Following the readings and procedural steps, the council proceeded with the vote on the ordinance and the emergency clause so it would take effect on passage; those present voted in favor during the roll-call confirmations recorded in the meeting (members called or named during the roll call included "Bert, Laura, JB, Richard Wood, Jackie and Mitzi" in the sequence captured on the record). The clerk confirmed the motion had received the necessary two-thirds support to proceed.

The ordinance requires that electronic disbursements include adequate supporting documentation and internal accounting controls; it also contains a separability clause and a statement that any conflicting prior ordinance provisions are repealed as necessary. The council did not record any amendments to the ordinance text in the supplied transcript segments.

The council’s action is procedural and administrative in nature: it sets an authorized payment method and internal documentation requirements rather than creating a new tax or fee. The minutes and ordinance number referenced in the meeting should be consulted for the official roll-call vote tally and the ordinance's final signed text.