Well, I finally got the opportunity to read the article that was in this week's Lamar Times (front page). In the header, Winston is quoted as saying "This is one of the most serious times this city has ever faced." The city has been in dire straits for a long time and people were running for office without a minute clue as to what was going on with the city; fiscally. There was a lot of about missing money and certain people not paying water bills but there has yet to be any charges filed regarding this alleged misappropriation of municipal funds. It seem that Lumberton is in a continual downward spiral. It has always been known that the police department take up a large portion of the budget for every city; not just the City of Lumberton. Winston said that "the city budget is about $1.1 million dollars" and from that budget, $520,000 is used to keep the Lumberton Police Department operational. Winston said that "the city's financial situation may be worse than some of the city official's realize" and that they're going to have to "make some cuts." I agree, there are some elected officials as well as citizens that do not realize that Lumberton is hurting fiscally and the last board helped to push the city over the fiscal cliff by not implementing a system of checks and balances per the request of the auditors and former Mayor Miriam R. Holder. Now, the citizens of Lumberton are left to deal with the agony of having a clerk that was not held accountable to anyone or anything. Winston said the "city ended the fiscal year about $70,000 in the red." I don't know where he received this figure but I know a lot of the reports from the most recent audit were inconclusive because there was missing documentation, the accounts were not reconciled and there were missing deposits and reports. One thing that peaked my interest when he noted the deficit in the city budget was the fact that he seemingly know the fiscal status of the city but just the other month, he was pushing to board to pay another $20,000-32,000 for another audit.
In addition to Winston comments, it seems that Kent Crider was also available for comment when work on this article began. According to Crider, the City of Lumberton "only takes in about $420,000 a year in property taxes." And according to Crider, the police department requires $500,000 to operate; $20,000 less than the amount quoted by Winston. It seems that Crider is looking to disband another department within the City of Lumberton. First it was the Lumberton Volunteer Fire Department and now it's the Lumberton Police Department. We have yet to see what effect the change in fire personnel will have on the insurance rating, but I'm certain that the brunt of that decision will soon be felt by citizens in the near future. Now, back to the pending cuts to the Lumberton Police Department. Crider made a statement about the amount of money that is received from property taxes and yes, that is primary source of revenue received by the City of Lumberton. However, the city also receive sales tax as well as franchise taxes. I am not certain what cuts that were made or where Winston and Crider are getting their figures; especially since this board has yet to have any budget workshops. The budget they are operating from is the budget that was presented by the previous board. Also, if, according to Winston, the City of Lumberton has a budget of $1.1 million and we're only bringing in $400,000, we should have a deficit well in excess of $70,000. I'm not certain what form of math they are using to get to those figures but I can imagine it is not being calculated correctly. Also, the board hired a certified public accountant to help them with the city's finances. I think they should actually meet with him to see how they can go forward instead of making speculations to the press. Or, this could be another ploy. Winston and Crider may have certain officer they want to get rid of and are using the proposed slashes to the police department to accomplish their goals and then bring in the officers they want on staff.
Another portion of the article that was rather interesting was when Winston said he planned on talking with Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel "about the possibility of assisting in providing law enforcement for the city." Well, Rigel was contacted by Lamar Times and he said "we help out when we can.....we're primarily responsible for the unincorporated counties." Rigel also said they will offer extra manpower "when needed during parades and festivals." In other words, they are not about to start patrolling the City of Lumberton. I don't know the true agenda for these proposed cuts but the Lumberton Police Department has the ability to sustain themselves if they are given the tools to do so. I don't know what Winston is planning or what led to this idea, but I think it's time for him and Crider to return to the drawing board because cutting the police department is not the answer. Enjoy your weekend and while you're doing so, imagine you had an emergency and you had to wait for a deputy sheriff from Purvis to respond to your plea for help in Lumberton. It's not a pretty thought. We need a strong police department and with the passage of all the open carry and stand your ground laws, cutting the police department is not a very smart move.
Well, I finally got the opportunity to read the article that was in this week's Lamar Times (front page). In the header, Winston is quoted as saying "This is one of the most serious times this city has ever faced." The city has been in dire straits for a long time and people were running for office without a minute clue as to what was going on with the city; fiscally. There was a lot of about missing money and certain people not paying water bills but there has yet to be any charges filed regarding this alleged misappropriation of municipal funds. It seem that Lumberton is in a continual downward spiral. It has always been known that the police department take up a large portion of the budget for every city; not just the City of Lumberton. Winston said that "the city budget is about $1.1 million dollars" and from that budget, $520,000 is used to keep the Lumberton Police Department operational. Winston said that "the city's financial situation may be worse than some of the city official's realize" and that they're going to have to "make some cuts." I agree, there are some elected officials as well as citizens that do not realize that Lumberton is hurting fiscally and the last board helped to push the city over the fiscal cliff by not implementing a system of checks and balances per the request of the auditors and former Mayor Miriam R. Holder. Now, the citizens of Lumberton are left to deal with the agony of having a clerk that was not held accountable to anyone or anything. Winston said the "city ended the fiscal year about $70,000 in the red." I don't know where he received this figure but I know a lot of the reports from the most recent audit were inconclusive because there was missing documentation, the accounts were not reconciled and there were missing deposits and reports. One thing that peaked my interest when he noted the deficit in the city budget was the fact that he seemingly know the fiscal status of the city but just the other month, he was pushing to board to pay another $20,000-32,000 for another audit.
In addition to Winston comments, it seems that Kent Crider was also available for comment when work on this article began. According to Crider, the City of Lumberton "only takes in about $420,000 a year in property taxes." And according to Crider, the police department requires $500,000 to operate; $20,000 less than the amount quoted by Winston. It seems that Crider is looking to disband another department within the City of Lumberton. First it was the Lumberton Volunteer Fire Department and now it's the Lumberton Police Department. We have yet to see what effect the change in fire personnel will have on the insurance rating, but I'm certain that the brunt of that decision will soon be felt by citizens in the near future. Now, back to the pending cuts to the Lumberton Police Department. Crider made a statement about the amount of money that is received from property taxes and yes, that is primary source of revenue received by the City of Lumberton. However, the city also receive sales tax as well as franchise taxes. I am not certain what cuts that were made or where Winston and Crider are getting their figures; especially since this board has yet to have any budget workshops. The budget they are operating from is the budget that was presented by the previous board. Also, if, according to Winston, the City of Lumberton has a budget of $1.1 million and we're only bringing in $400,000, we should have a deficit well in excess of $70,000. I'm not certain what form of math they are using to get to those figures but I can imagine it is not being calculated correctly. Also, the board hired a certified public accountant to help them with the city's finances. I think they should actually meet with him to see how they can go forward instead of making speculations to the press. Or, this could be another ploy. Winston and Crider may have certain officer they want to get rid of and are using the proposed slashes to the police department to accomplish their goals and then bring in the officers they want on staff.
Another portion of the article that was rather interesting was when Winston said he planned on talking with Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel "about the possibility of assisting in providing law enforcement for the city." Well, Rigel was contacted by Lamar Times and he said "we help out when we can.....we're primarily responsible for the unincorporated counties." Rigel also said they will offer extra manpower "when needed during parades and festivals." In other words, they are not about to start patrolling the City of Lumberton. I don't know the true agenda for these proposed cuts but the Lumberton Police Department has the ability to sustain themselves if they are given the tools to do so. I don't know what Winston is planning or what led to this idea, but I think it's time for him and Crider to return to the drawing board because cutting the police department is not the answer. Enjoy your weekend and while you're doing so, imagine you had an emergency and you had to wait for a deputy sheriff from Purvis to respond to your plea for help in Lumberton. It's not a pretty thought. We need a strong police department and with the passage of all the open carry and stand your ground laws, cutting the police department is not a very smart move.
If you really want change, get off the computer and contribute to society by getting a real job instead of burdening the tax payers.
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