Recap of March 6, 2018 Board Meeting:

According to Facebook, the regularly scheduled monthly meeting for March was supposed to be one of the most anticipated meetings since getting elected as an Alderman but that was not the case. There were several news outlets there so the narrative they're establishing for the City of Lumberton will probably continue for the rest of the week or until the next scandal. Hopefully, they's no more scandals for a long time but time will tell. Every seat was filled sans two seats on the front row, but a lot was covered and discovered during the March meeting. Here's a recap of some of the matters discussed and voted on at last night's meeting:

The Day in the Park at 5th Avenue was approved. Elaine Robinson spoke and invited everyone to participate and donate towards the event. She said there will be an Easter egg hunt, food and fun for everyone from every community. Alderwoman at Large, Tina Speights, asked the board members to rent port-a-potties for the event since the restrooms are currently in disrepair. Elaine Robinson also invited WDAM to attend the event so they can share some positive news about the City of Lumberton. Stanley McGowan was appointed as Parks and Recreations Committee Chairperson. There's still slots available for anyone that want to be a part of the committee. Mr. Joel Brightbill advised the board that the drone and remote control car events can be held at the airport but they will have to be on specific days and times because of FAA regulations and paperwork. Those planning the events can set the dates so the paperwork can be submitted to the FAA for approval.

One of the most interesting parts of the meeting came with the department head reports. Sgt. Duckworth provided the report for the Lumberton Police Department. As stated, we are getting 2 cars from the City of Hattiesburg. I want to personally thank Councilwoman Deborah Denard Delgado for working with me to help secure those cars for the City of Lumberton. She asked us to send a list of items we need and the City of Hattiesburg will keep us in mind when they're eliminating their surplus property. I will get with the department heads to get their list and the board will sign the request form and send it to the City of Hattiesburg. Mable Myles, Cemetery Committee, noted the need for dumpsters at the cemeteries because there's no where to dispose of the old flowers. She also addressed the large ant beds that should be treated. The Public Works Director was not at the meeting last night because she and other employees attended a water training meeting in Hattiesburg last night. There were no inspection reports but the new gas station is coming along and should be opened soon. Now, the most interesting part of the meeting was presented by the city clerk. During her report, it was noted that none of the minutes the board approved from November to February were typed, corrected or placed in the official minute book. It was also reported that several vendors were not paid for several months; that included attorneys, vendors, utility companies, cellphone carriers and others. It was discovered that a debit card was obtained for the City of Lumberton with the previous clerk's name attached to it without board approval. There's missing deposit books, keys to the bank bags and keys to the building. Additionally, it was reported that key equipment was not returned by the previous city clerk and that the Mayor had possession of the city clerk's laptop and was using it to "monitor" the accounts. The Mayor's possession of the city clerk's laptop is problematic because it provides access to BBI. As elected officials, we are not supposed to have access to BBI because that provision does not fall under the guideline of our bonds. Since it was noted that bills have not been paid for months, I wanted to know what was the Mayor monitoring. Unfortunately, he was not willing or able to provide an answer. Every month, we receive a detailed trail balance with a list of all the accounts, payments, etc. and that's how we monitor the accounts. In an effort to save paper, I suggested we go to an electronic PDF but some prefer the paper format. So for those that think my questions were personal, they were not; I wanted to make sure that we are abiding by the laws set in place for a code charter municipality. Mayor Rogers quipped that he would not sign checks since he was not allowed to keep the city clerk's laptop but as I stated last night, if he's unwilling to perform his statutory duties then that's his choice. I wonder if WDAM will cover that story when the worker's don't get a check this week?

In April, there will be a meeting to discuss possible annexation so steps can be taken to hold an election to vote on the sale of beer and light wine in the City of Lumberton. Soon there will be a public hearing update Ordinance 302. The board voted to accept the resignation of Chief Shane Flynt. It seems that there were a few people miffed by the board's decision but I didn't see a problem with allowing Flynt to resign; especially since he tried to resign before the media storm happened but Mayor Rogers rejected his letter of resignation. Was it a set up? Was it planned? Was it????? It really don't matter. It happened, it went viral and it was dealt with. Either way, he's out of a job and it's going to be very difficult for him to get another job; especially since his face is plastered over every news outlet in the country. Personally, I wanted Flynt to be demoted, enrolled into a drug rehabilitation program and given an opportunity to earn the trust of the community but the consensus from those residing in my Ward was they no longer wanted him working on the Lumberton Police Department and so I voted to accept his resignation. We are now in the process of looking for another Chief of Police and we invite the public to join us during that process. People are quick to say we should have done this or we should have done that but we all know that people are usually not the same person that we meet during he interview process. There were some other matters brought up at the board meeting but I will address them during a live video.