Checks and Balances

This is going to be a long post, so fasten your seatbelts because this is going to be a bumpy ride. Yesterday at City Hall, there was a heated discussion between "Give 'Em Hell" Nell and a city alderman. There were going back and forth with accusations against one another, and the coversation became quite heated. While there, another alderman entered the board room and said that they could hear them all the way in the city clerk's office. Now, we were right next to the Police Department, and no one from the police department came to offer any assistance. This could have been a code 10 man down situation. Both sides got the opportunity to say some things they apparently been wanting to say, and hopefully they have moved on and are ready to work together for the good of the city. While at city hall, I found out that the Louisiana Club will be hosting some fundraisers in an attempt to raise some money to purchase video cameras for the Lumberton Police Department.
This morning, I tried to get in contact with the city clerk, but I was told that she would not be in today. Well, yesterday, when I called, I was told that she left early because she wasn't feeling well. Is there something going on that we need to know about? Is the city clerk on leave, vacation, or has she been suspended? Well, since I don't have the full gist of what's going on, I will do what I do best, and that is speculate on what's going on. If the city clerk has been suspended, who is going to prepare payroll and will the city employees receive their checks on Thursday or Friday? Whoa. . stop the presses. . . Sue has been there for four years. I am certain she has prepared payroll in her four years as deputy clerk. I know she don't have any training certificates in her file, but there is a copy of a purchase order that states that the City of Lumberton paid for her to get certified in something. So, let's hope that purchase order was for payroll training. Again, I am just speculating about what may be taking place at city hall. I wonder if Sue had any training in payroll, after all, she has been employed for four years. As a matter of fact, at the last budget meeting, the city clerk was going on and on about how skilled Sue was in office procedures, and how she deserved to make more than Deputy Clerk 2 because of her vast knowledge as a seasoned deputy clerk. We shall see. Often times, people have a tendency to refrain from training others because they feel they will be irreplaceable if they are the only ones that know how to perform certain jobs. But in actuality, it shows that the person is irresponsible. Everyone in the office at city hall should be trained in every area that is essential to the running of city hall, and that includes payroll training. I don't know what's going on at city hall, but this week should be an eye opener for everyone.