Money Down The Drain

How is it that there are businesses in Lumberton that are not paying a water bill? This is the second time a certain business owner has not received a water bill for a building he owns. First it was the little salon next to the old Saxon building, and now I have discovered that the Lumberton Drug Court has not been paying a water bill either. Now both the salon and the drug court building are both owned by the same person. Whenever there was a problem reported in the area of a mistake on the water bill, we were told that there must be a glitch in the system and they are working to get the problems corrected. Somehow, these glitches are beginning to develop into a pattern. I spoke with the person that was leasing the salon and she told me that she did not pay a water bill when she first moved into the building. But when she shared that information with another stylist that was leasing a building from the same person she was leasing from, her free water came to an end. As long as I can remember, that salon has been occupied by someone, and it seems that there was never a water bill generated for that building. I'm not a hair stylist, but I don't know of any salon that can operate without water. Why was this building getting free water services while everyone else, well almost everyone else, is expected to pay water, garbage, and sewer fees? I came across this information when I was visiting city hall, and I overheard a conversation while I was in the hallway. While standing in the hallway, I also found out that the Land O Lakes feed mill has also managed to get away without paying a water bill as well. Too many errors are being blamed on computers. There's something rotten in the offices of City Hall and it's time to clean house so that we can get this city on track. Businesses are closing and we are losing revenue. The University of Southern Mississippi just annonced a large cut in their staff as well as the academic programs they offer. The City of Lumberton is at the breaking point and we have aldermen that are twiddling their thumbs because they don't want to make the tough decisions. They can keep putting their heads in the sand, wishing the matter would go away, but it won't. If they can't see the problem, then they should ask themselves the following questions: Would I have a person on my payroll that is making the same mistakes after several years of training, costing my business money with errors that should not be made? Would I continue to employee this person if I was paying them out of my own pocket? So, why are they expecting the citizens of Lumberton to continue to do so? The people of Lumberton must realize that the Mayor does not hire or fire anyone that is employed by the City of Lumberton. The ability to hire and fire employees rest in the hands of the Board of Aldermen. If employees are left on the payroll it is because of the vote of the aldermen, not the mayor.