For those of you in Jellico that missed the council meeting last Thursday. Here it is except for his responses couple comments and Yes they were untrue as well!!! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ A few comments on behalf of myself and others on why this town has dropped to the cellar since you were elected mayor. You sir, since taking office should be charged with misleading, official oppression, official misconduct, dishonesty and abuse of power toward this council and some employees not withstanding some local citizens. So many of us believed you, as you were campaigning around town and passing out literature with your resume with all your accomplishments in it. We quickly found out it was unlikely true. One statement you made about being a council member somewhere in Alabama. I doubt that very seriously when evidently you’ve not read our city charter if you have you sure don’t adhere to it. It plainly states the duties of a mayor and council. I don’t know why it’s so hard to understand? Some of us have actually thought about bringing our charter down to city hall and burning them as it has no value to you. The charter is the city’s bylaws along with ordinances and resolutions. When asked about fuel cards, you said you let a Tommy Bowlin use yours. It is unlawful for you or any board member to use one! Fleet cards are for city employs that drive city owned vehicles. If you need to go out of town for city business, keep receipts and get reimbursed. It’s called bookkeeping!! You were not elected to sponge off taxpayers! If any of you have used one then you’ve stolen from our city. That goes for cell phones as well. Cop cars are not to be out of the city unless their going court, transporting or in pursuit. A cop who lives out of town, his car should be left at city hall while off duty. Too many tax dollars have been spent on gasoline plus wear and tear on the vehicles! It’s clear there are many ways of cutting cost if you really want too. Such as your trip to Nashville. You can tell those that care about the welfare of this town, the three that got up early road together, for a the thirty five minute meeting and the other three drove down the evening before, paid a high price for a motel room ate at least three meals and 55 cents a mile. About $450.00 each for the three, all at taxpayers expense. The paying of those bills was rejected by the councils vote last month, but the mayor again made a decision with a little nudging from Byrge to pay the board immediately for their trip. Your agenda after elected was to abolish the power board. Then you set your sites on a church that has no worth to the city. Big ideas with no money! The church was bought in October 2011, the last quarter of the year which was the same time the city stopped paying it’s FICA taxes. Next the heating and air units for the church were bought, installed by Leach and paid for before council voted to do it. You was on a roll then and didn’t pay attention or care where the money was coming from or where it was going. You also without the council’s knowledge gave city equipment in exchange for services! That asphalt roller belonged to the city and the utilities and was the one used to widen our street about a year ago for a new McDonalds. The first time I seen you, you came to a council meeting in 2009 when Baird was the mayor protesting the sale of beer at Rocky Top. You stood and introduced yourself as Les Stiers, youth director at Crouches Creek Baptist Church. Untrue, you were self appointed and are still using such tactics. Right out of the gate after being elected you introduced a motion changing the beer ordinance to require less footage from a church and school and to add four more licenses to sale beer from six to ten! You broke the tie with a yes vote for that ordinance to be changed and the four additional licenses. That alone was a slap in the face of the people of the church you once attended and you also threatened to have the pastor of your church removed from a meeting for protesting the sale of beer near his church. Such action as these are why your rating as mayor has dropped below any scale!! The city had very little money in the bank when you took office but you still spent and spent as if you had a huge field of dollars growing that at anytime could be harvested but like everything else died from lack of cultivation. The same time you were elected we also elected six councilmen who you barely recognized except when wanted to use your tactics such as using two employees and mothers of kids working the summer program, to publicly ambush one of our board members in hopes she would resign. Those two employees never came to council meetings and haven’t been back since that happened last year. You Les instigated that attack! Byrge who was not elected, seems to constantly differ with female members of the board that were/ Last meeting created a massive shouting match and finger pointing and you didn’t slam your gavel to take control that situation. Such acts does not help in get anything accomplished for this town. I commend you ladies for standing up for what’s right. For your perseverance and willingness to work through this mess that you did not create. It’s not your fault this towns been driven underground. You along with some employs and a few citizens have been sorely abused not only by his words but his actions also. Some accountability lies somewhere and no ones willing to claims it. When the council acts on an issue you disregard it! It’s been your way or the road. It’s time that comes to a halt. Enough is enough! Most board members have finally come to realize. it’s not your way anymore. You denied this council knowledge of city finances and demanded the recorder keep quiet (Official Oppression) then you sent her packing in Dec. You still kept the council in the dark about all finances until you finally popped the cork when you fired Troxell. Real trouble started trickling out little at a time then an overflow of detrimental financial losses. You hired a temporary CFO at a rate of $95.00 an hour plus mileage from Englewood Tn. You did this like a lot of other issues without the approval of this board. I don’t understand why our city lawyer would advise the council who didn’t know Troxell was fired for weeks, to pay a lawyer (Hatfield) to defend you in that case adding another $5,000.00 to the already inflated deficit. It’s his job is to defend any board member if needed for litigation. This action was taken in executive session as we were not called back into council chambers for that vote! Another $6,000.00 was added without councils approval for you ordering a survey of the hospital property for possible sale. You can’t sell anything until the $162,000.00 owed to the IRS is paid. IRS has lien on all city assets. You can’t even sell a wrench until that is paid in full. All the unnecessary bills that have accumulated because of your attempt to hide the truth would possibly come close to paying the IRS their money. The council won’t be held responsible for your extreme actions or decisions. It makes my blood boil that we taxpayers have to bear the burden of your unlawful deeds that now calls for a tremendous property tax hike. You don’t have to worry as you don’t have any city property in your name. You have been rude and disrespectful to persons especially females that attend these meetings. For instance, Ms. Moses who ask you twice to speak louder because she couldn’t hear you! You rolled some paper up like a megaphone and with a loud voice to her said “can you hear me now?” Again when Ms. Sharp was nominated and approved to set on the board, you ask her if she was being investigated by the FBI or TVA and Byrge brought up the ouster suit. Both were nothing but an attempt to harass and intimidate. She should have in return ask you the same questions! Ms. Thomas was escorted out of a meeting because you didn‘t like what she had to say. There are many whys that can’t be answered because of untruths and it’s also a reason this city is now on life support. You stated last month to Alvin “he was the reason our city‘s was broke and he’s why you ran for mayor.” We are more broke now than when you ran for mayor. The repulsive words you used toward him last month were despicable and destructive which indicates to me that you knew nothing and needed Alvin to learn from. Then you failed and somehow it‘s all somebody else’s fault. It all fits in with your attitude you have a problem with people that don’t agree with you!! You don’t know the meaning of compromising. I ask Doris last year during the Alumni weekend why you were not at the assembly at high school to represent the city? She said you weren’t invited! Which wasn’t the truth. You sent Linda Douglas to represent the city. You evidently didn’t want to face all the people who came to town knowing what you have done to this city. I wouldn’t have went either, if I were you!! With all that’s been said, I along with most people of this town find you to be a vindictive person whose is deceiving, dishonest, oppressive, damaging and a liability to this town. One of the cops you let go last month just got his first unemployment check, he had to go through the State Representative’s office to get it! So Sad!! With you constantly refusing to do what’s right and in the best interest of this city and abide by the rules of the city, state and federal. The property owners including myself tonight is calling for your resignation effective immediately. It would also be nice if someone on that board makes a motion to do the same. This town is ready to move forward without any anymore delays! No more walking on egg shells for city and utility employees. I am not seeking any reaction or retaliation from you as I set back down. I apologize to the city recorder for having to hear my disparaging remarks. Thank you all for your time. Carolyn Leach
Posted on: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 00:28:29 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015