Winder catches county finance problem

Winder’s internal auditor in late August caught an accounting oversight by Barrow County’s Finance Department that nearly cost the local municipalities more than $324,000 in sales tax proceeds. But after Jennifer Houston raised the issue, the county ran its own internal audit and in September sent the municipalities checks amounting to $137,178 for Winder; $100,165 for Auburn; $39,171 for Braselton; $34,890 for Statham; $9,643 for Bethlehem, and $2,761 for Carl. An accountant's error was due to a change in the distribution formula that was to kick in toward the end of the six-year SPLOST cycle.