Alexander council announces second "Special Regular" meeting for more October business

The Alexander City Council will hold a second "Special Regular" meeting Monday evening, 6 PM, November 3 at city hall. The purpose of the meeting is to continue with the October agenda.

Monday's meeting was scheduled at a "Special Regular" meeting held last Monday, October 27, in which council members only made it to agenda item-1. At that meeting the council was able to appoint Kenneth Miller to fill the vacant Ward-2 Position-1 seat. The seat had been vacant since June when Alderman Brad Scott resigned. The vote was four to three.

However, the only person there who could administer the oath was Mayor Michelle Hobbs and she refused. Eventually, the council decided to adjourn the meeting and reschedule it for November 3.

She began putting up roadblocks to the appointment as soon as the meeting started. First, Hobbs attempted to stop any action on the issue by claiming a vote on the appointment could only be made at a regular meeting, not a special meeting. City Attorney Kevin Lemley told the council and mayor there was no legal reason why the vote can only be made at a regular monthly meeting; especially since State law requires the vacancy be filled at the next regular meeting, which would have been July. Hobbs knew about the resignation three days before the June meeting but didn't release the information until the July meeting.

The July meeting was canceled due to the lack of a quorum. In August the council declared the seat vacant and notices were posted requesting resumes. The only resume received was Miller's. Miller and Ward-2 resident Stephanie Beck will appear on the November 4, ballot for the Ward-2 Position-1 seat. Beck did not submit a resume.

Next, Hobbs claimed she couldn't swear him in because she didn't have a copy of the oath and the form he needs to sign. She said they were on an employee's computer she couldn't access.

Both Lemley and Alderman Andrea Bearden found the oath on-line and in the Arkansas Municipal League handbook. Bearden also had a digital copy of the form with her. Bearden suggested the meeting could be recessed for 10 minutes while they go into the office area in city hall and print what the mayor needed. Hobbs was having none of it.

Miller was sworn in by Saline County Justice of the Peace J.R. Walters on Tuesday, October 28.

The reason for the October 27, "Special Regular" meeting was also caused by Hobbs. At the "Regular" meeting held Monday evening, October 20, Hobbs claimed she "forgot" to post the date and time of the meeting. So the meeting had to be canceled.

Because this will be a "Special" meeting Arkansas law requires an agenda be included with the announcement. When holding a "Special" meeting the council is limited to discussing and acting on only those items on the agenda. The notice and agenda have been posted at several locations throughout the city. The public is invited to attend.

Among several items under "Old Business" aldermen will be asked to decide on lowering the monthly salaries of future mayors and aldermen. 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 was introduced at the August meeting. It had to be tabled to make changes to the resolution. If approved the new pay scale will go into effect beginning January 1, 2015.

Other "Old Business" items include a review of the ordinance covering city business licenses passed in 1993, the repair of the fire house driveway located on South Alexander Road and the search for new police and fire chiefs. Mayor Hobbs said at the September meeting she was interviewing for the chief positions and aldermen want to hear a report on her progress. However, they probably won't hear that report because Hobbs has already said she can't attend the meeting.

The only "New Business" item is the opening of bids for repairing the bridge on Cornerstone. Three bids have been received.

Following is the complete agenda.

1)   Call to Order:

          Ward 1:    Ceola Bailey           Farren Wadley

          Ward 2:   Juanita Wilson      Ken Miller

          Ward 3:   Andrea Bearden    Sam Gregory

          Ward 4:   Lonny Chapman   Faye McKeon

               

Sharon Bankhead                            Michelle Hobbs

2)   Minutes:              Reading and/or Suspension of September 15 2014

3)   City Attorney:    Lawsuits and pending issues (i.e. abandoned/neglected property)

4)   Monthly Reports:

          Mayor

          Fire Department

          Police Department

          Financial

5)   Old Business:

          a)   Carla Miller Check

          b)   Resolution amending rate of pay for Mayor and Council

          c)   Ordinance MO 93-01-02

          d)   WDY Paving

          e)   Interview results

          f)   Charging Mutual Aid

          g)   Yearend Financial Statement

          h)   District Court

6)   New Business:

          a)   Bridge on Corner Stone

7)   Public Comment

8)   Adjourn

Kenneth Miller appointed to council, Hobbs makes excuses to not administer oath

COMMENTARY

During a "Special Regular" meeting of the Alexander City Council Kenneth Miller was appointed to the Ward-2 Position-1 seat. As a meeting room filled with spectators looked on, council members discussed then approved the appointment by a four to three vote. The seat has been empty since June when Ward-2 Alderman Brad Scott submitted his resignation to Mayor Michelle Hobbs.

Miller was the only person to submit a resume for the vacant seat. His appointment is in effect until December 31.

Before the motion to appoint Miller could be made Hobbs attempted to stop any action on the issue by claiming a vote on the appointment could only be made at a regular meeting, not a special meeting. The meeting held Monday, October 27, was scheduled because at the regular meeting held Monday, October 20, Hobbs claimed she "forgot" to post the date and time of the meeting so it was canceled after everyone had arrived.

City Attorney Kevin Lemley told the council and mayor there was no legal reason why the vote can only be made at a "Regular" monthly meeting. He cited state law which requires a vacancy be filled, "at the next regular meeting." "We're well passed that," he said.

He was referencing the amount of time which has passed since Scott's resignation. The resignation was submitted to Hobbs June 16, three days before the council's regular June meeting. Hobbs did not mention the resignation at that meeting. Aldermen received a copy of Scott's E-mail the week before the July meeting when it was placed on the agenda.

Unfortunately, four aldermen were unable to attend the July meeting so, without a quorum, everything was put on hold until August when the position was finally declared vacant. Since the council must declare the position vacant before posting the request for resumes, time was lost when council members weren't notified in June. The position could have been declared vacant then.

Lemley also pointed out the upcoming election will correct the situation. Miller is one of two candidates for the Ward-2 Position-1 seat on the November 4 ballot. Ward-2 resident Stephanie Beck will also appear on the ballot with Miller. She did not submit a resume.

Hobbs tried to move onto the next item on the agenda when Alderman Andrea Bearden jumped in and made a motion to appoint Miller. The motion was seconded allowing the issue to be discussed.

Bearden asked Miller what he sees as his goals for the city. "To try to make this council work together," Miller said. "The goals of the city should be unity, listening to what's being proposed, thinking not only what's good for the people but good for the whole."

Aldermen praised his 25 years of service in the military, now retired. He was also the owner/operator of a computer business. He has also retired from that.

Under state law, when filling a vacancy on a city council, the number of votes needed to approve the appointment is based on the number of aldermen still on the council. In this case a minimum four out of seven were needed for the motion to pass. Those voting "Yes" were Juanita Wilson, Andrea Bearden, Samuel Gregory, and Faye McKeon. Voting "No" were Farren Wadley and Lonny Chapman. Ceola Bailey was absent, which counts as a "No" vote.

After the vote Miller should have been sworn-in. This is where Hobbs tried her next maneuver.

Hobbs can legally give the oath to elected and appointed city officials. She, however, decided to claim she couldn't swear him in because she didn't have a copy of the oath and the form he needs to sign. She said they were on an employee's computer she couldn't access.

Both Lemley and Bearden found the oath on-line and in the Arkansas Municipal League handbook. Bearden also had a digital copy of the form with her. Bearden suggested the meeting could be recessed for 10 minutes while they go into the office area in city hall and printout what the mayor needed. Hobbs was having none of it.

Things got a little heated when Hobbs claimed the aldermen got "together to get things organized" and put the appointment on the agenda for this meeting. Alderman Faye McKeon said, "Nobody got together, this was in last week's packet."

Hobbs tried to claim she didn't set the agenda. She also claimed she didn't put Miller's resume in the aldermen's October meeting packet.

"Well somebody put it in there," McKeon said.

In fact, the appointment was on the September agenda but no resumes had been received. Miller submitted his resume after the September meeting and the appointment was on the October agenda. Hobbs then "forgot" to post the "Regular" monthly meeting as she, or someone, does every month causing the October 20, meeting to be canceled.

Bearden made the point that a portion of Alexander hasn't been fully represented since Scott resigned and that there is no reason Miller shouldn't be given the oath immediately. Bearden also reminded Hobbs she was given the oath the night she was appointed, sat in on the meeting and voted, then signed the paperwork the next day.

Hobbs gave the council the option of either continuing the meeting without Miller or adjourn the meeting. Obviously she was intent on keeping that seat a "No" vote for as long as possible.

Bearden made a motion to adjourn the meeting, "until Ken (Miller) can be sworn in." Wilson seconded the motion. The vote was four to four to adjourn. Wilson, Bearden, Gregory, and McKeon voted "Yes." Voting "No" were Wadley and Chapman. With Bailey absent and the Ward-2 seat still vacant, because Miller wasn't sworn-in, those two positions counted as "No" votes. Using seven members to determine the majority needed to pass a motion only applies when filling a vacancy on the council.

The final vote was not announced and Hobbs did not vote to break the tie. Legally, the meeting continues with no one present.

Prior to the vote to adjourn Alderman Gregory asked about rescheduling the meeting. Bearden suggested Monday, November 3. Hobbs and City Recorder Sharon Bankhead said they couldn't make it. Alderman Chapman said he would try. The others said they could make it. Ceola Bailey was absent.

The council agreed to hold its next "Special Regular" meeting on Monday, November 3, 6 PM at city hall. The public is invited to attend.

Miller was sworn in by Saline County Justice of the Peace J.R. Walters on Tuesday, October 28.

For those of you who are confused at this point let me summarize. Mayor Hobbs wants us to think she had to wait until July to tell the council of the resignation when she knew about it three days before the June meeting; Miller's resume magically made its way into everyone's packet and his appointment on the agenda without any interaction by her; and she doesn't keep copies of important documents required to perform her duties as mayor on her office computer: things like blank legal forms, the oath of office, a blank agenda to fill out, and meeting announcement signs. And while we're at it, Sharon Bankhead can't count.

Now, as for those two "No" votes against Miller's appointment: Lonny Chapman is unopposed in his re-election bid so he has nothing to lose by voting "Yes." Farren Wadley is running for mayor so you would think he would want to be on the side of appointing the only applicant to a vacant seat. Not to mention since Miller is on the ballot for that spot he could also be elected. You would think voting "Yes" was a no-brainer.

However, sitting in the audience Monday evening was Jerry Ball, another candidate for mayor. With what appeared to be a shake of his head to Chapman and Wadley, they each voted "No."

Since Wadley is running for mayor he won't be on the council after December 31, no matter what happens in the mayor's race. Chapman must be covering his bets in case Ball becomes mayor. You'll have to ask them why his approval was necessary.

So we have an appointed mayor who wants to be elected but doesn't want to do her job by administering an oath, a second candidate for mayor who can't think for himself and a third who is already practicing his council controlling skills.

Sharing stats about Alexander Mayor Michelle Hobbs

Before City of Alexander voters fill out a ballot for the November 4 election a fact sheet is being distributed about current Mayor Michelle Hobbs. It highlights the record she has accumulated during her two years as mayor.

The flier, called "Get the stats," does not include an attribution indicating its origin. It is a combination of "facts" accompanied with opinion.

It starts off with how many people her administration has lost in two years. The police department has had five officers leave, including the chief who has yet to be replaced; five fire fighters have quit, including the chief who has yet to be replaced; four city hall employees have left; and three aldermen resigned totaling 17 people.

Except for the police department she never advertises to fill vacant positions. "She refuses to be fair and just when hiring city personnel," the flier says. "She hires her family and friends only."

Mayor Hobbs handed out free backpacks filled with school supplies to needy children living in Alexander this summer. According to the flier it must have been a private affair. "If she would have worked as a team with her council and not used this good gesture for her glory there may have been more of you who were notified in advance and more given out," the flier notes.

Hobbs asked the former city attorney to write two election ordinances as proposals to the council for the upcoming November election. One would have raised the city sales tax one percent (one cent per dollar), the other reallocated one cent of the existing two cent sales tax. "The council shut her down in March because a) the council was never approached about this, b) the money is not being reported right as of yet, and c) the city attorney should work for the citizens not the Mayor," states the flier. "The majority of the council feels that Alexander citizens pay enough already (in taxes)."

The flier reminds voters Hobbs is responsible for the repossession of a fire truck. "She and the former Attorney decided to stop paying loan payments that resulted in a loss to the fire department of over $120,000.00 and the council was never approached on the subject." And, "This is still tied up in court."

During meetings Hobbs gives the public free reign to interrupt and say whatever they want providing they are insulting an alderman she doesn't like. The flier states, "She condones the 'bad mouth' of council, that (don’t) agree with her, by allowing her kinfolks to blurt out at council meetings."

An entire section of the two-sided flier is devoted to how Hobbs is benefitting "all" of Alexander. It says Hobbs has either been reluctant to make improvements or has ruined departments.

The first example given are the recent street repairs. "The council started on her in December (2013) about getting the roads repaired," the flier states. "They heard every excuse in the book from, 'it’s too wet' to 'I forgot.' "

When Hobbs submitted only one bid to the council she was told to get two more as required under state law. "They finally got the bids and had it approved for repair within 2 months," says the flier. "She did not do it YOUR council did."

Next, the fire department. According to information provided on the flier Mayor Hobbs, "Cut out volunteers and forced (paid firefighters) to go shifts covering 24 hours, without proper money to sustain it." When this plan began the department had, "$13,000.00 in the bank with bills and payroll over $18,000 due." This section continues to explain how, "a select few council persons" held a special meeting to make adjustments to the fire department's finances.

The police department hasn't fared much better. "She instructed officers to enforce ordinances that are nonexistent and or expired," the flier states. But when confronted with this obvious illegal activity, "All she can do is shrug her shoulders."

The flier also cites a joint complaint about both the fire and police departments. Hobbs has, "refused to advertise or appoint a department head in both the police and fire departments for over 8 months." There is speculation that by not appointing department heads, who would be responsible for running the departments, "They are submissive to her demands."

Is the ditch along your street clean, the grass along the ditch mowed and the pot holes filled? According to the flier Hobbs, "has boasted at the meetings that she tells the street department what streets to take care of." The anonymous flier author then poses the question, "Why the ditches within the original city limits are mowed but the ones past St. Joseph's Glenn are not?" Another question asked is why she does not have, "Them filling the holes in the roads."

The mayor's skills running city hall are also questioned. "She refuses to pay bills on time, she holds on to them for over the 30 day limit." Also, "The last two positions filled at city hall were not advertised." And, even though there is a spending freeze on purchasing assets for every department, "The mayor has approved chain saws, generators and other things purchased despite the council."

The flier argues there's no difference between Michelle Hobbs the recorder and Michelle Hobbs the mayor. Prior to being appointed mayor Hobbs was the city recorder. "While she was recorder nearly all of the minutes, ordinances, resolutions, and motions to the council meetings have disappeared from city hall," the flier states. "She is keeping up that tradition."

Hobbs was appointed mayor in December, 2012 by the previous council to fill the vacancy left by then Mayor Paul Mitchell who lost a recall election. Appearing on the November ballot along with Hobbs is Mitchell, Corliss "Jerry" Ball and current Ward-1 Alderman Farren Wadley.

At the end of the flier is this final statement. "We all count, everyone should have a shot at a job, free back pack, repaired roads, city employees that respect all citizens not intimidate them, department heads or shall I say Interim department heads that work for you the citizen, and a mayor that can answer questions posed by anyone about the city at anytime."