Acting Finance Director Bill Newton

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter Fiscal Year 2017, begins with rejected payroll journal vouchers, a mountain of unpaid bills and the federally required Consolidated Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for 2015, has still not been filed. These and many more problems continue because of the failure of the statewide audit system known as STARRS. In … Continued

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—Alabama taxpayers forked over $325,000 defending Gov. Robert Bentley, and Acting Finance Director Bill Newton, in a lawsuit brought by State Auditor Jim Zeigler and State Representative Johnny Mack Morrow (D-Red Bay). The pair sued Bentley, Newton, Attorney General Luther Strange and Conservation Chief Gunter Guy over the controversial … Continued

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—Tackling budget reform is priority one, according to Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia). Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh (R-Anniston) called for reforms and voiced his commitment during the recent Special Legislative Session. During this Session, McCutcheon sponsored and passed JHR62, which establishes a task force with … Continued

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—Once again, the Alabama Board of Adjustment (BOA) was forced to adjudicate payments from one State agency to another, due to the continued failure of the STAARS accounting system. At the beginning of the last Legislative Session in 2015, Newton testified before a joint committee on budgeting, assuring lawmakers … Continued

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—After reporting on the troubled eSTART time and attendance system, the Alabama Political Reporter received an email from a Director at the Department of Finance saying, “eSTART is the best thing to happen to state government in years. Ziegler is clueless and needs to fire his staff if they … Continued

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—The State can now add another failure, to the growing number of times the STAARS accounting software has proven inadequate to fulfill the promises of Gov. Robert Bentley and Acting Finance Director Bill Newton. The Alabama Political Reporter can now confirm, that this software boondoggle has resulted in the … Continued

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter The Chief Examiner of the State’s Department of Public Examiner has warned Gov. Robert Bentley and Acting Finance Director Bill Newton that the failures of the STARRS accounting program will likely cause the State to be delinquent on its federally-required Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). In a letter dated … Continued

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—Recently, the Alabama Political Reporter obtained a copy of a fund-raising letter sent from Acting Finance Director Bill Newton to a registered lobbyist. Newton is the Chair of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. (See Letter Here.) Newton, who serves as chair for the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, … Continued