Parks and Tourism Audit reveals nearly $3,500 missing
Little Rock — January 2026
Legislative auditors revealed missing museum receipts, a misplaced camping drawer, and a football stadium that accidentally came out ahead during its Parks, Heritage and Tourism audit last week.
It started at a museum.
🖼️ Mosaic Templars: Receipts Gone, Clock Ran Out
In April 2024, the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism reported the loss of nearly $3,500 in receipts from the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock.
An employee was terminated.
The agency believes the money was stolen.
According to agency officials, the employee collected rental payments for use of the museum’s facilities but never entered the transactions into the cash register. Instead, customers were directed to alternative online payment methods — payments that never made it into state accounts.
The case was referred to the Pulaski County Sheriff, the prosecuting attorney, the Attorney General, and the state Bond Board.
But there was a problem.
While investigators waited on approval for a subpoena tied to CashApp records, the statute of limitations expired. As of the audit, no criminal charges had been filed.
Parks officials told lawmakers new point-of-sale and reservation systems are now in place to prevent a repeat. Oversight that, in hindsight, might have helped earlier.
🔍 Who’s Still Waiting on Whom
Committee members pressed Parks officials about accountability, recovery, and why the Mosaic Templars case stalled out.
Late in the meeting, Legislative Audit staff added a twist.
The prosecuting attorney’s office told auditors just this week that the criminal investigation remains open — and that as recently as November 2025, prosecutors were still waiting on additional information from the agency.
That was news to Parks leadership.
🏕️ Daisy State Park: $100 Missing
Auditors next stopped at Daisy State Park, where $100 in camping drawer funds could not be located at the time of the audit.
The money was later found.
Representative Justin Gonzales expressed relief that the park would, in fact, remain open.
🏟️ War Memorial Stadium: The Rare Overage
At War Memorial Stadium, auditors discovered something unusual in government accounting: an $80 overage.
War Memorial’s change fund includes both physical cash and a bank account balance, adjusted throughout the year based on event size. The overage had gone unnoticed because the agency wasn’t reconciling the two together.
The count happened right after a Razorback game — a detail that likely explains the extra cash.
Agency officials said they now reconcile the fund after every event.
🔍 What’s Next
Chairman Steve Unger deferred the Parks and Tourism audit to a future meeting, saying he wanted to hear how the “crime drama” ends.
