Changes to Alexander Employee Handbook fail

The Alexander City Council failed to pass an ordinance removing language in the employee handbook that provides benefits to both employees and elected officials. The vote was four to four with alderman Lonny Chapman as the only present "No" vote. The vote occurred at the August 18 meeting around 9:30 PM after aldermen Samuel Gregory and Ceola Bailey had left. They were counted as "No" votes. Brad Scott's vacant seat made the fourth "No" vote. Voting "Yes" were Andrea Bearden, Juanita Wilson, Farren Wadley and Faye McKeon.

The proposed ordinance removes any reference to an "elected official" being a city employee. It also deletes both the "Eligibility" and "Retirement" sub-headings from page 29, which provides a pension to anyone working for the city 12 years or more.

The ordinance includes a qualifier that says state law has made city-run retirement plans illegal since July 3, 1989. It also says these changes are temporary until, "[T]he Alexander City Council repeals, or amends the Alexander Employee handbook dated January 1, 2006."

The proposed ordinance was vigorously debated and opposed by those who see it as a first step to ending former Mayor Shirley Johnson's monthly pension of $800. Johnson was granted the pension under a motion passed by the city council in 2012. Current aldermen Farren Wadley and Samuel Gregory are the only remaining members of the 2012 council.

When Johnson first attempted to use this section of the employee handbook to collect a pension, after losing re-election in 2010, council members at the time were told by an attorney from the Arkansas Municipal League that elected officials are not considered employees of a city or county. Alexander's current attorney Kevin M. Lemley advised the council that removing the language now could cause a problem because the current mayor is already vested since she's been mayor for more than a year.

Some of the aldermen are questioning whether the ordinance could be proposed again after someone is appointed to the vacant Ward-2 position. Alderman Brad Scott resigned in June and his seat was declared vacant at the August meeting.

The next regular meeting of the Alexander City Council will be held Monday, September 15, 2014. Meetings are held the third Monday of the month at 6 PM in city hall. The public is invited to attend.

State Police Investigating Double Homicide in Alexander

TV Channel 16 is reporting that Arkansas State Police are trying to find out who killed two people at a home in Alexander last night.

For more on this click this link. http://www.fox16.com/story/d/story/klrt/44717/1SflTEKDwUKIU9X0Kico9A

Alexander council seat declared vacant

The Ward-2 Position-1 spot on the Alexander City Council was declared vacant by council members Monday evening. Alderman Brad Scott submitted his resignation which became effective June 16. The vacancy will be posted around town and resumes must be submitted to city hall by Friday, September 15.

There are at least three Ward-2 residents who may submit resumes; Stephanie Beck, Kenneth D. Miller and Andy Mullins. Beck and Miller have filed election petitions and will appear on the ballot in November for the Ward-2 Position-1 seat on the council. Mullins is running for the Position-2 spot currently held by Juanita Wilson.

Beck, a paraprofessional at the Bryant School District, lost to Scott for the same position in 2012. Miller owned and operated a computer sales and service business but is now retired. Wilson defeated Mullins in 2012 who was seeking re-election.

In other action:

The council approved an ordinance increasing the number of chickens allowed in the city from six to ten "per lot." The need to update the ordinance came to light when a resident was told chickens weren't allowed in the city.

Melissa Ratliff was visited by Mayor Michelle Hobbs and a police officer at her home and was told she couldn't keep her four hens in the city. Ratliff was ordered to either remove the chickens or be fined. After getting rid of the chickens an ordinance was produced showing not only are chickens allowed in Alexander but the maximum is six.

The new ordinance changes the maximum from a straight six to ten per lot. Aside from the vacant seat left by the resignation of Brad Scott the only other "No" vote was from Samuel Gregory.

Council members also approved an ordinance which allows Pulaski and Saline counties to collect the standard 5-mill property tax. This is an annual requirement and does not increase the property tax.

The meeting had to be adjourned after 9:30 PM when too many aldermen had left causing the number present to be less than a quorum. Agenda items remaining for the next meeting include:

• An ordinance giving the council the authority to, "[H]ire, fire and discipline other city employees (full-time or part-time) who are not department heads" and a requirement the mayor appoint department heads when a vacancy occurs; and
• A resolution reducing the mayor's salary from $840 every two weeks to $250 every two weeks and aldermen salaries from $100 per month to $25 per month beginning January 1, 2015.

The next regular meeting of the Alexander City Council will be held Monday, September 15, 2014. Meetings are held the third Monday of the month at 6 PM in city hall. The public is invited to attend.

Six elected positions in Alexander to be decided by voters in November

A CORRECTION HAS BEEN MADE TO THIS ARTICLE.

In the City of Alexander the position of mayor and five seats on the city council have multiple candidates wanting to be elected in November to those spots. Three council seats have candidates who are unopposed.

Mayor Michelle Hobbs is asking voters to elect her mayor. She was appointed mayor by the former city council in December, 2012 after Mayor Paul Mitchell lost a recall election halfway through his four-year term. She was city recorder prior to her appointment as mayor. The only remaining members of that council still serving are Farren Wadley and Sam Gregory.

Mitchell has also filed in an attempt to regain the mayor's position. Mitchell was an alderman on the city council when he defeated Mayor Shirley Johnson in November, 2010. In 2012, residents circulating a recall petition were able to get it placed on the 2012 ballot. After losing the vote he resigned in November and Hobbs was appointed by the council in December to fill the vacancy.

Also running for mayor is Alderman Farren Wadley and Corliss "Jerry" Ball. Wadley is alderman of Ward-1 Position-2 and a martial arts instructor. Ball is retired and was a member of the Woodland Hills Volunteer Fire Department board.

Three council seats have candidates who are unopposed. Louis E. Hobbs, husband of Mayor Michelle Hobbs, is unopposed for the Ward-1 Position-1 seat. That position is currently held by Ceola Bailey who is not seeking re-election. Ward-3 Position-1 Alderman Andrea Bearden and Ward-4 Position-2 Alderman Lonny Chapman are also running unopposed.

Bearden was appointed in October, 2013 to complete the unexpired term of Dan Church after he resigned. Church was elected in November, 2012. Aldermen serve a two-year term.

Seeking the Ward-1 Position-2 seat are Jean Cummings Fisher and Jeffery S. Watson. Fisher, a minister, is new to Alexander politics but Watson is well-known in the city. Watson, who is currently unemployed, previously served as a part-time Alexander police officer and firefighter. Ward-1 Position-2 is currently held by Farren Wadley who is running for mayor.

Watson's wife, ReGina Watson, was an Alexander alderman but was defeated for re-election in 2012. She was one of the seven council members who voted to appoint Hobbs as mayor to fill the vacancy created when Mitchell lost in a recall election in 2012.

Ward-2 residents Stephanie Beck, a paraprofessional at the Bryant School District, and Kenneth D. Miller, retired, are running for the Position-1 spot on the ballot. In 2012 Beck lost to Alderman Brad Scott for the same position. In June Scott resigned from the council and that position has yet to be filled.

Ward-2 Position-2 incumbent Alderman Juanita Wilson is being opposed by former Ward-2 Alderman Andy Mullins. Both Wilson and Mullins are retired. Wilson defeated Mullins in the 2012 election. Mullins was one of the aldermen who lead the petition drive to recall Mitchell. He also voted to appoint Hobbs as mayor to fill the vacancy.

Two former aldermen, Dan Church and Harvey C. Howard are both vying for the Ward-3 Position-2 spot. That spot is currently held by Sam Gregory who is not seeking re-election. Howard, who is retired, ran for re-election in 2012 and was defeated by Church. Howard was the only alderman to not vote for Hobbs's appointment to replace Mitchell.

In 2013 Church wanted to decline his monthly stipend for serving on the city council when he learned he couldn't accept it due to receiving disability payments. Mayor Hobbs told him he couldn't decline the monthly payment from the city so he resigned. Since then Alderman Bearden proved to the mayor that no one is required to accept the stipend so she and later Wilson submitted letters to decline their monthly payments.

Monroe Cates and Melissa Ratliff are running for the Ward-4 Position-1 spot currently held by Faye McKeon who is not seeking election. McKeon was appointed to that position in 2013 when Alderman Jack Shoemaker resigned because he moved out of the city Henry Tacket died shortly after being elected in 2012.

Cates, a medical transportation driver, has run for alderman in the past without success. Ratliff, a student, has recently become known as the woman with the chickens. Mayor Hobbs and a police officer visited her home and told Ratliff she couldn't keep her four hens in the city. She was told she either had to remove the chickens or be fined. After getting rid of the chickens an ordinance was produced showing not only are chickens allowed in Alexander but the maximum is six.

Alexander council to discuss July business at August meeting

The Alexander City Council will have much to do at its August meeting. Due to the lack of a quorum the July meeting was canceled and all agenda items were held over for the August meeting. That meeting will be held Monday, August 18 and starts at 6 PM in Alexander city hall.

The first order of business is expected to be the resignation of Brad Scott as alderman of Ward-2 position 1, which became effective 5 PM, June 16, 2014. He submitted his resignation to Mayor Michelle Hobbs in an E-mail.

June 16 was three days before the council's regular June meeting. There was no mention of the resignation at the June meeting by Hobbs and aldermen did not receive a copy of the E-mail until the week before the July meeting when it was placed on the agenda. The council must declare the position vacant before appointing someone to fill it until this year's General Election.

Two residents have submitted election petitions for that seat; Kenneth D. Miller and Stephanie Beck. Aldermen serve two-year terms and November, 2014 is the next scheduled election for aldermen statewide.

Other agenda items from the July meeting included;

• An ordinance removing language in the employee manual that provides benefits to both employees and elected officials;
• A resolution suspending the $800 monthly pension being received by former City of Alexander Mayor Shirley Johnson;
• The annual ordinance establishing a five-mill property tax so it can be collected by Saline and Pulaski counties;
• An ordinance giving the council the authority to, "[H]ire, fire and discipline other city employees (full-time or part-time) who are not department heads" and a requirement the mayor appoint department heads when a vacancy occurs;
• A resolution reducing the mayor's salary from $840 every two weeks to $250 every two weeks and aldermen salaries from $100 per month to $25 per month beginning January 1, 2015; and
• An ordinance increasing the number of chickens allowed per lot from six to ten.