How Does It Feel To Be A Problem?

If you did not attend last night's board meeting, you missed a whopper of a meeting. I am going to start from the end of the meeting to give you an idea of how volitaile the meeting became. Danny Davis, Public Works Director, dotted into the board room after pacing back and forth in the hallway like a spoiled child and then blurted out "What you two know about this city wouldn't cover a pimple on my ass." Satisfied with his total lack of professional decorum, he stomped out of the building again. Prior to making his third dramatic exit, Danny Davis, in yet another diva moment, threw his keys and city paid cell phone on the table in front of the mayor and trampled out into the darkness of the night. He waited outside, hoping and praying that someone would come and beg him to stay. True to form, Alderman Gibson ran to his rescue, begging him to stay. This couldn't have been played out any better if they would have rehearsed. While all of this is going on, I'm sitting there like WTF? If Danny Davis wanted to walk away from a job paying $35,595 during a recession, then, by all means, let him. I am certain that there would have been hundreds of qualified applicants, ready and willing to fill his position. His dramatic gestures was unnecessay because we all know he came back to work for the City of Lumberton in order to get back into the PERS (Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi) progam. If not, his pimpled ass would still be working for the North Lumberton Utility Association.

Now you may be wondering how all of this began. Well, I'm glad you asked that question. When I asked why was Harry Wilkes salary being cut by $2.25/hr, while the other public works employees are only getting cut by .50 (fifty cents) that's when everything went downhill. I knew the answer, I just wanted to see if they would be truthful about the reason why Harry was being cut more than the other employees. They are attempting to cut Wilkes by $2.25/hr and make the public think that it is due to budgetary constraints, but during a budget workshop, Public Works Director, Danny Davis stated that he wanted Wilkes pay cut due to his failing health and his inability to perform all of his duties as a public works employee. This was discussed in an open meeting (could you say HIPPA violation or American with Disabilities Act violation?) And this is what made Danny Davis so upset that he pretended to quit his job. Danny Davis thinks of himself as the Massah of the Public Works Plantation and he did not feel that us "free" black folk should be questioning him about how he's running his department. I'm was just trying to find the logic in the matter since during the same meeting about Harry Wilke's alleged failing health, the board thought it was a great idea to allow Roy Easley to continue to work on weekends because of Danny Davis' alleged failing health.

But wait, a lot happened prior to these events. It all started when the aldermen wanted to amend an ordinance to end all water bill adjustments. They are no longer willing to allow the once per year adjustment as a safety net for the citizens of Lumberton. The City of Lumberton has spent thousands of dollars on new software programs, updates, printers and training, but they can't explain why there are still so many errors on the water bills. We would think that the logical step would be to solve the issues within the water department before ending any adjustments on the water bills, but remember we are living in Lumberton, we love to put the cart before the horse.

However, the biggest issue that was brought before the Board of Aldermen last night was the matter of "free" water allegedly being given to a certain business owner, namely Jerry Brown. Business owner, Tina Holder, eloquently presented her concerns and provided proof of her allegations to the Board of Aldermen last night. She stated that when she leased the salon @ 600 W. Main Avenue, she was not required to pay a water bill. But when she discussed the details of her situation with another salon owner, she was immediately contacted by Jerry Brown, telling her that she needed to go to city hall and pay a water deposit. Tina Holder said that she was dumb-founded by the whole matter because when Shelby Young leased the property, she did not pay a water bill, and she didn't understand why she is now being required to pay a water bill. As Tina Holder was giving the details of her situation, I immediately thought that there must be some sort of glitch in the system, but the story didn't end there. It was also revealed that the Drug Court managed to go without paying a water bill as well. Okay, this too could be explained by a glitch in the system, but then it was revealed that both properties are owned by Jerry Brown. Now, these glitches no longer seem that random; a pattern is beginning to emerge. Our city clerk, Stephanie Mullens interjected, saying that "she can see where the conversation was going" and she declared that she has never given her uncle, Jerry Brown, free water. She said that whenever the matter was brought to her attention, it was corrected. But somehow, the City of Lumberton allegedly gave or donated 18 months of water to either Jerry Brown or the Drug Court, because they were not receiving a water bill. The meeting began with the aldermen saying that the City of Lumberton is in dire straits and needed to stop loosing money in the area of water bills, but when this matter was brought up, they sat there like a calf looking at a new gate. The only alderman that seemed intersted in getting to the bottom of this matter was Alderman Rogers. Keep in mind that when Betty Speights (Deputy Clerk 2) was accused of waiving a $10.00 late fee, they (Gibson, Johnson, and Crider) were ready to have an re-inactment of the Spanish Inquisition, but when it is brought to their attention that the city has possibly lost thousands of dollars on "free" water, they sit there twidling their thumbs. But in the midst of all the chaos, Alderman Johnson did tell the audience that if they had any complaints about things that are going on at city hall, they should put their complaints in writing, so they can research the allegations and be better equipped to address the problems. But if memory serves me correctly, I think Betty Speights submitted two letters of complaint about things she discovered while performing her duties as Deputy Clerk 2 and she still haven't received a response. I guess they are still researching the matter.