Review of October 6, 2010 Board Meeting

The board meeting went fairly well. Jack McMullan addressed the board to offer some solutions to the budget. He said that he found a way to help the city save over $30,000 and keep all employees at their current salaries. The board said they would consider his suggestions, but a few moments later, they adopted the final budget amendment. Maybe the are planning on making the amendmendments Jack suggested at a later date. Jerry Brown addressed the board about his businesses receiving free water services from the City of Lumberton. He stated that the city clerk was aware of all of his properties, and that he paid his bills. He also stated that if there were any oversites, that the city should send him a bill. Alderman Rogers is investigating this matter, and I look forward to seeing the results of this investigation. For some reason, the board did not approve the Municipal Compliance Questionnair for fiscal year ending September 30, 2010. The meeting also revealed that there are several business owners that are deliquent in paying for their privilege licenses. Alderman Johnson suggested that we find a way to work with these business owners because we don't need to lose any more money since the city is losing revenue making businesses. A business owner that was sitting in the audience stated that the city is already losing since they are not collecting the money they are currently owed. The board established that trick or treating will take place on Saturday, October 30, 2010 from 5:00 p.m - 7:00 p.m. Terrance Hayes was approved to paint the sign at 5th Avenue Park, Daschel Shelby and Zion Hill were approved to use the park Oct 10-11 for a Softball Tournament, and Melissa Pack was recognized for completing more certification as court clerk. Now, this is when the meeting became intersting. The board voted to appoint John O Ladner as an additional building inspector. The vote was vetoed by Mayor Holder. The City of Lumberton is under contract with current building inspector, Andrew Beamon, and they could not establish how they would pay an additional building inspector. Keep in mind, everyone on the City of Lumberton payroll, with the exception of Stephanie Mullens, is scheduled to have their pay cut/reduced, but they are willing to hire additional code enforcement officers without knowing how they are going to be paid. So, if there is enough money to hire additional workers, why are they cutting the salaries of the current employees? After Mayor Holder broke the tie (Gibson and Johnson voted no/ Crider and Hale voted yes) to send Justin Martin to the Police Academy, the aldermen went into executive session. The mayor said that no actions were taken in executive session, but the meeting was recessed and will resume on Friday, October 8, 2010 @ 9:00 a.m. There were quite a few outbursts coming from the audience, but it was probably a reflection of the behavior of the aldermen. The members of the audience do not have any respect for the aldermen because the aldermen do not have any respect for the mayor. There is a group of citizens that want the citizens of Lumberton to think that the post on this blog is nothing more than conjecture, but I have never said that I know everything that is going on in the City of Lumberton. I noticed that Sherry Broome suggested that someone else start a blog about the City of Lumberton, and I hope they do. As a matter of fact, I would add the link to my blog list. For the record, you are not required to believe anything I say on this blog. If you don't trust what I am saying and think that it is a work of fiction, then, by all means, come to the board meeting and see for yourself.