Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Tempers flare at Emmet council meeting; question raised over firemens pension

Emmet's City Council meeting degenerated into an argument between Mayor Dale Booker and Councilman Johnny Clary.

The meeting, however, didn't start out in such a manner. It began with Booker saying he had applied for a $1,000 grant from the Arkansas Forestry Service. The grant, he said, is a 50-50 match, with the city having to add $1,000 as well.

He pointed out, though, the city must actually put out $2,000 and spend the money for firefighting tools. Once the receipts are submitted to the AFS, the city will be reimbursed $1,000. This money will be put back in the city general fund.

This was the only order of business for the council to deal with. Once it was done, Clary asked to suspend the rules and discuss a culvert needing repair on Main Street.

He said the culvert had caved in and several people have almost run off the road because of it. He suggested it be repaired before bad weather sets in and it can't be done.

The past administration, he said, spent money on street repair, and this one hasn't. Clary added the city could call for an audit to see what happened to the funds.

Booker said when he ran for office he gave a list items costing $250,000 the former administration had purchased, but added he wasn't taking any slaps at the previous mayor.

"My phone number is listed," he said. "If people need to call me they can. The council can call and ask the culvert. The failure isn't in the culvert, but in the roadway. The city has one maintenance man and he's been busy moving and hauling dirt to the sewer pond for the levee." The levee at the sewer pond has been eroding.

Booker said if the council wanted, he could pull the maintenance man from the levee and have him work on the culvert  if they thought it was more important.

"If the council wants, we can abandon the levee project and fix a pothole," he said.

"The pothole is four feet across and three feet deep," Clary said. "What do we do if someone runs off in it?"

"I'm not arguing about it," Booker said.

Clary said the dirt being used at the levee isn't compatible with what's there now and will erode as well.

"I spent 40 years moving dirt," Booker said. "I'm trained, qualified and federally certified. I know dirt and what to do with it. Frank Faulkner called the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) and rural water. We have our ducks in a row.

"But I work for you. Just tell me what we need to do and how to do it, but be there to help out and show me how."

Clary said the city needs to hire another maintenance man, as one isn't enough to get all the work done.

The question Booker asked was, where the money to pay him would come from.

From there, Clary asked if there were job descriptions for the different positions, because everyone is overloaded and there's no money.

"Emmet is too small for job descriptions," Booker said. "Faulkner signs all the checks and makes the deposits."

"I'd like to see things get done around here," Clary said. "We (the council) don't know how much money we (the city) have. There's not a line item on the budget, so we don't know how much is coming in."

Booker told Clary the report the council receives each month shows every nickel the city has. He pointed out no matter how much the city has, it can only appropriate 90 percent of the anticipated revenue unless there's an emergency.

"How did we spend $300,000 for other things?" Clary asked.

"Those were special circumstances," Booker said. "But personnel can't spend more than 90 percent. We just can't outright spend it. The sewer work could be considered a special project with the equipment purchased for new pumps. It could be considered an emergency."

Everything with the sewer system, Booker said, is in order, with the exception of Hickey Lane, which needs to have a pump installed.

According to Booker, the pump had only recently arrived and the maintenance man hadn't had time to install it.

Clary turned his argument to the city's fireman's pension fund, asking how often money is sent in for it.

He was told money is sent in monthly, but the fund is not included on the regular monthly financial statement to the council. The check, Booker said, is in a special account strictly for the pension fund.

The City of Emmet, he continued, doesn't contribute to the fund as it's been taken over by the state. The state sends the city a check, with the city writing a check for the amount sent to the proper state agency. The account, he said, is a clearinghouse account and can't be used for anything else.

Booker lost his temper at the questioning, and told Clary he needed to come to city hall when it's open and go through the files himself.