HOLLOW ROCK, Tenn. — Alderman Angela Stockdale is pushing back on accusations made against her at Hollow Rock’s August board meeting, saying she made copies of bank statements, not removed original documents.
“The only thing we are trying to do is hold our employees accountable and make sure they’re doing everything in the best interests of the town,” Stockdale said.
She explained that she discovered the town was losing money by paying insurance premiums for two former employees who were no longer working with the town.
“We paid for their premiums for at least a year, if not longer,” she said. “The only way it was brought to light was because I looked at bank statements and saw those premiums were coming out.”
Stockdale added that the reason it was never caught in the first place was due to the backlog of bank reconciliations, and said the only time she has been in the office was when Alderman Vivian Grooms and Mayor Ronnie Webb were also present.
“You don’t hear all this stuff as far as her being behind on the bank statements,” Stockdale said. “She doesn’t tell us that she’s behind. We had to find it out.”
Stockdale said Higdon and a former clerk had tried to stop the automatic insurance payments but were unsuccessful. Mayor Webb went to the bank and stopped the payments within minutes, she explained.
As Vice Mayor, Stockdale noted she is an authorized signer on the town’s bank account, meaning she could obtain copies of bank statements directly from the bank if needed.
Currently, Higdon is caught up on bank reconciliations through June 2025, but remains behind for the rest of 2025 and into 2026.
“We can’t close out our books because we can’t reconcile our bank statements,” Stockdale said. “And we can’t do our audit.”
Higdon has previously said she came into the position inheriting financial records left in disarray by former recorder, Sharon Mann, and that the backlog predates her tenure.
Stockdale said Higdon had help getting caught up when she was first hired. The town’s former bookkeeper trained her on the reconciliation process. The backlog, Stockdale contends, developed on Higdon’s watch.
