Canton Papertown Executive Director Steve Banks says he is not guilt of embezzlement.

Banks said he was reimbursing himself for money he spent out of his own pocket to buy supplies for the Pisgah Bears event, from paper plates to rope to hang a banner. Banks said he had to buy the supplies himself at the last minute when none of the Papertown Board members showed up prior before the event to help him set up.

Banks said he spent $82 of his own money on the event, wiping out his bank account. That’s why he did not have any money to call a tow truck on Friday or pay for his meal and drinks at No. 81 Main Street on Monday.

Banks said he has the receipts to prove his expenses, but the Papertown board acted hastily without giving him a chance to explain his actions.

“I have made some decisions in poor judgment in recent days, but nothing felonious or criminal,” Banks said. “Is reimbursing yourself embezzlement?”

Banks admits he did not follow the proper protocol for being reimbursed, but that does not make it embezzlement. Banks said Weatherman had a personal agenda to discredit Banks and Papertown. Weatherman was the only board member who voted against making Banks the executive director of Papertown.

“Certain members of this board are using this incident to discredit me, the association and thereby disband Papertown. This has been the agenda all along,” Banks said. “Jim Weatherman was waiting for something to pounce on.” Banks said some members of the Papertown board have ulterior motives to dissolve the group and

Banks said it is ironic that he has been charged with embezzlement of $75 when an investigation into the former executive director appears to have reached a stalemate.

“Gail Guy lost more than $5,000. Almost a year has gone by and she still hasn’t been charged,” Banks said.

Banks said the accusation has hurt his credibility.

“Even when the charges are dropped and I have been vindicated, it will still hurt my reputation,” Banks said. But Banks said he hopes to keep working to improve Canton.

“I love Canton and I really believe Canton could change and be a better place and I had the ideas, the motivation, the stamina and the wherewithal to get it done, but I was halted in my tracks,” Banks said.

Banks said the “witch hunt” against him correlates with several initiatives he was proposing, like an appearance ordinance. Banks said he had been contacting building owners and asking if he could bring in volunteers to wash windows and storefronts to make the town look better.

“The owners of these vacant buildings like the status quo and were getting angry. They got to the public officials and said ‘Stop him,’” Banks said.

Banks said he also began developing ideas of his own for Papertown rather than taking all his direction from Mayor Pat Smathers.

“The first couple of months when I was getting acclimated to the job, I did what Pat Smathers wanted me to do. He brought me an event and I said ‘Yes, sir,’” Banks said. But Banks said the trumped up charges occurred after he began developing his own ideas. “There’s a correlation here,” Banks said.

Weatherman said Banks is inaccurate in portraying himself as a victim.

“If he is a victim, he is a self-made victim,” Weatherman said.

Weatherman said the swift reaction to Banks was necessary given the public relations crisis Papertown suffered last year.

“All this came boiling out. How could we say ‘Steve, don’t do this again,’” Weatherman said. “If I took the checks and deposited them into our bank account, it could be construed as a cover up. We can’t be responsible for Steve’s irresponsibility. We’ve done the right thing. We wanted to be open.”

After the crisis with the former executive director, Papertown implemented what Weatherman calls the “two-man rule.” Every expense requires two signatures. When Banks spends his own money on supplies, he presents the receipts for reimbursement.

Ronnie Mills, owner of Quality Hardware and a Papertown Board member, said he agrees with Weatherman’s action.

“Steve had a lot of good ideas. It’s an unfortunate position he put himself in. Everybody knew the policy going in and it’s not something to be taken lightly,” Mills said.

Krishnan said Banks should have used better judgment.

“It may have well been a perfectly innocent situation, but the new Papertown Association didn’t need any questions at all regarding financing,” Krishnan said.