Arkansas Governor To Request $2.7M To Aid Forestry Agency
(AP) - Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe's office says he'll ask legislators to approve $2.7 million in additional money for the Arkansas Forestry Commission and to help the agency repay
federal grants it improperly used for operations.
Beebe's office and Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration officials on Tuesday detailed the problems that they say led to the commission's decision to lay off 36 employees later
this month.
The agency announced the layoffs in December and cited a decline in timber sales.
Finance officials say that the commission had misrepresented how it had been using federal grants and had been using the money to prop up its budget for years.
Beebe's office said it did not know that the commission had been misusing the federal funds until the fall.
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