Boomerang Business

Anyone paying attention noticed the re-emergence of the FEMA trailers here in Lumberton. Ben Winston was cited for storing the FEMA trailers on his property in June of this year, but before the ink on the citation dried, his squad was working to find a way to squash this matter by any means necessary. So, Bobby Gibson, Timothy Johnson, and Kent Crider traveled the road of lawlessness and disbanded the planning and zoning committee to help their chief deal with the issue of the citation. The board was advised time and time again that the disbanding of the planning and zoning committee was not a legal option, but they went ahead and did it anyway. Now, you may be wondering how is Ben Winston connected to this act of lawlessness? Well, I'm glad you asked that question. Today, November 10, 2010, was the date set for the meeting between Ben Winston, his lawyer and the planning and zoning committee regarding the citation he received concerning the trailers. But guess what, the planning and zoning committee was disbaned just a week ago, and now Ben Winston and his "private" partners are off the hook-- for now. On June 18, 2010, Aaron Lott stated that "This is the greatest economic impact the city has had in 12 years." I wonder how much of an economic impact Gibson, Johnson and Crider received from Ben Winston as a reward or bonus for helping him deal with his planning and zoning issues.
It's intersting that the board managed to go back and override the mayor's veto of the motion to disband the planning and zoning committee, but they still haven't taken a vote to override the mayor's veto regarding the termination of city attorney, Lindsey Carter. A few months ago, Rebecca Hale was after Lindsey Carter like a pit bull, but now that Carter is allegedly representing her husband, free of charge, on his pending drug charges, I suppose she will be more apt to vote to keep him on as city attorney.
Last week, WDAM, reported that the mayor refused to sign the checks because her salary had been cut, but the truth of the matter is that Mayor Holder refused to sign the checks because the Board of Aldermen refused to amend the budget because the City of Lumberton is over it's proposed budget and it needs amending before the mayor sign any checks. The person signing checks when the budget has not been amended is liable for the checks they signed. I'm aware that our Mayor Pro Tempore, Bobby Gibson, has no regard for the laws of this state, but he might want to get someone to explain the laws he's violating because he can be held liable for the checks he's signing. In all thy getting, get an understanding. I know you and your gang don't listen to the mayor, so ask the clerk to explain this law. Many of you are aware of the unnecessay salary cuts that were voted on by the Board of Aldermen. Well, I recently found out that we are already losing qualified employees. Our deputy court clerk, Melissa Pack, has taken a job that will pay her according to the amount of work she does. Melissa had done a great deal of work to help Lumberton's court system and her dedication was not appreciated by the Board of Aldermen. Now, our city clerk, Stephanie Mullings, will have to take on the duties that were once covered by the Melissa Pack because Susan Guidry does not have the certification needed to work as deputy court clerk.