A rumored strike among City of Marion employees, reported to have begun Monday, drew no answers at Monday night’s regular meeting of the Marion City Council.
When resident Patsy Pagan raised the rumors, City Attorney Ainka Sanders Jackson rose to address the room and said she has asked city personnel not to respond to inquiries that can carry legal implications.
“The reason why I’ve asked them not to respond is because oftentimes they have legal implications, right? Their responses and you get mixed messages,” Attorney Jackson said, adding, “But if I know what it is, you talk about it, everybody’s on the same page, you get one message.”
Attorney Jackson reiterated the need to know inquiries ahead of time to allow for a cohesive response from city government.
The exchange came near the end of a meeting in which the council also learned that a $750,000 state loan tied to the city’s federal American Rescue Plan Act funds will be paid in full, and in which members continued to wrestle with how the minutes of the July 20 meeting should reflect a dispute between Councilman Stanley Kennie and interim Police Chief Ni-Kisha Gailes.
Mayor Dexter Hinton called the meeting to order with a full quorum, and Councilman Tommie L. Kennie (District 2) delivered the invocation before the council took up the minutes of the July 20 meeting.
Councilwoman Ann Lecroy asked for clarification on a road rehabilitation project in collaboration with the county covering Dogwood Lane, West Cornelia Street, Williams Drive and Davis Street. The city is set to pay $15,000 in materials to the county for repairs on West Cornelia Street and Dogwood Lane, but the Perry County Commission requested a full cost analysis of the project, including Williams Drive and Davis Street.
Mayor Hinton stated that he requested a quote for repairs to Davis Street, which is why it was included in the total cost analysis.
Councilman Stanley Kennie then asked Attorney Jackson whether the dispute between him and Gailes should be included in the previous meeting’s minutes.
“The minutes are only really to reflect official votes and things of that nature,” Attorney Jackson said, adding, “You can say ‘Let the record reflect that there was a disagreement during reporting.'”
She elaborated that without an investigation, the minutes could not include a more detailed account of those events.
City Clerk Laura Williams-Hinton clarified for the mayor and council that any mention of the events in the council’s official minutes would have to be worded so as not to present a liability to the city.
“For example, I would not put ‘insubordinate behavior’ in the minutes, because there’s not been a process to determine that yet,” Attorney Jackson said.
Kennie then asked if a 10-minute executive session would be necessary to discuss the matter further. Attorney Jackson suggested a motion to table approval of the minutes and continue the discussion in executive session after the council completed more of its agenda. The motion to approve the minutes died on the floor.
Lecroy then asked whether issues with the traffic light at the intersection of West Green Street and Pickens Street were considered old business on the agenda.
Clerk Williams-Hinton explained that a truck struck and damaged the light after the council had paid for repairs and seen them completed. The Marion Police Department investigated the incident and identified the truck responsible, and the trucking company reimbursed the city for the damage. The city was waiting on the check to arrive before approving further repairs to the light.
The council was informed of a public hearing set for Monday, August 17, at 5:30 p.m. regarding a request to park a mobile home at 102 Mason Street. After the public hearing, the request for a variance will be presented as an agenda item at the council meeting to follow at 6 p.m.
Mayor Hinton then presented his report to the council, which included a notice of principal forgiveness in the amount of $160,000. The forgiveness pertains to a $750,000 loan associated with the city’s receipt of federal ARPA funds.
Hinton explained that the State of Alabama did not have the proper forms at the time to distribute the monies and used existing loan application forms to complete the distribution.
The $590,000 in Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation grant funding approved at the last council meeting, combined with the $160,000 in principal forgiveness, will pay the $750,000 loan in full.
Lecroy asked if this funding was all associated with Phase One of the city’s drinking water improvement plan. Mayor Hinton clarified that the monies were included in the more than $2 million plan to improve municipal drinking water, not the more than $3 million set to improve the city’s sewer and wastewater infrastructure.
Clerk Williams-Hinton then presented an update on collections for delinquent water accounts. She explained that citizens have a 60-day grace period after their last payment and that her department has forms for those seeking to settle their accounts with a payment plan.
The payment plan requires delinquent accounts to pay for the 30- to 60-day lapse in payment, as well as 2 to 5 percent of the total bill amount.
Lecroy then asked about details pertaining to $1.7 million in the city’s audit, which the city submitted to the Alabama Attorney General’s office in response to a subpoena.
Clerk Williams-Hinton said the council should wait for the Attorney General’s findings, but that, in her opinion, the accounting would add up to the $1.7 million in the audit.
Councilman Stanley Kennie then asked Clerk Williams-Hinton how the city could allow delinquent accounts to remain on the city’s water supply.
“I think since, in my tenure, we’ve done pretty well. When I got here, there was almost $800,000 uncollected,” Mayor Hinton said.
He also mentioned a bank loan totaling $500,000 to go toward paying off the uncollected water payments.
Clerk Williams-Hinton then explained that the city’s accounts receivable records still contain accounts from customers who either no longer reside in Marion or are deceased. Those accounts are included in the total amount of uncollected water payments, which can complicate efforts by the city to recoup those losses.
She said there would need to be some process in place to write off the delinquent accounts of deceased customers, and she raised the possibility of using Municipal Intercept Services to collect from actively overdue water customers.
“What I was referring to is the ones that I see walking around here,” Kennie said, reiterating that he did not understand why the city does not disconnect those outstanding accounts.
Clerk Williams-Hinton said settling the debt would be a matter for the council to discuss.
“What it boils down to is this: when we said through two months, cut it off. They weren’t cutting it off,” said Councilman Willie Jackson. “Somebody wasn’t listening to the city council when we said ‘Through two months’ and they kept rolling it on over,” he continued, adding, “If you’re getting free water, you ain’t gonna worry about it.”
Councilman Jackson reiterated that if the delinquent accounts had been cut off after the 60-day grace period, the city would not be faced with as many outstanding water collections, and he said the council’s direction on disconnections was not being followed.
“We’re gonna relay that message to our department,” Clerk Williams-Hinton said in response.
Lecroy then asked how delinquent water accounts predating the city’s contract with Clear Water Solutions were being handled.
Clerk Williams-Hinton said those accounts were among the rollover debt accounts, but that a nondisclosure agreement between the city and CWS barred further discussion of the parameters of the contract. She said she could discuss more details with the council in executive session.
Clerk Williams-Hinton then presented an update on repairs to the Depot building, which included removing rotten wood and reinforcing the steps into the building.
The council had approved some initial repairs to the building; however, a new quote was brought to the council for additional work done at the Depot while the approved repairs were being performed.
Williams-Hinton said funding for the repairs would come from the city’s Community Development fund and that the repairs were needed for insurance purposes.
She suggested suspending the rules to amend the agenda so the council could vote to approve the cost of the additional repairs.
Councilman Bernard Arrington moved to amend the agenda, with Councilman Jackson seconding the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Arrington then moved to approve the cost of the repairs, with Councilman Jackson again seconding, and that motion also passed unanimously.
Clerk Williams-Hinton then presented a quote from Dallas Heating and Air for repairs to the Water Treatment Plant’s HVAC system and said the city was seeking more quotes. She also included a quote to repair the HVAC system at City Hall.
These were items for the council to consider during its upcoming work sessions to formulate the city’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The council is set to hold two budget meetings, one this Wednesday, August 5, and one on Wednesday, August 19.
Williams-Hinton then asked the council if there was any information members would like to see represented in the budget.
Councilman Stanley Kennie requested a breakdown of costs and salaries within the police department.
Lecroy asked for the invoices and relevant financial papers regarding the recently purchased vehicles for the Marion Police Department.
Kennie also asked whether the budget could list the mayor’s office and city clerk’s office separately from the city council; Williams-Hinton said those numbers would be listed under Governing Body in the budget.
She assured the council that she would pull the requested salaries for members to look through during budget planning, and she explained that the Wednesday session would demonstrate where the city currently stands in municipal expenditures to balance the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Pagan, who was on the meeting’s agenda, then addressed the council and Attorney Jackson on a number of issues.
Jackson started a three-minute timer once Pagan began speaking.
Among her inquiries, Pagan offered examples of citizens receiving little or no response from the city over numerous concerns.
Attorney Jackson stated that she would respond to any letters sent from those citizens’ attorneys, but encouraged citizens to put their concerns in writing to allow for proper response from the city.
Attorney Jackson then notified Pagan that she had around 30 seconds remaining in her presentation.
Pagan said she was not subject to a time limit because she was on the agenda. Attorney Jackson said she was not aware of agenda items having unlimited time, but that Pagan could request more time from the council.
“I was not told I was limited to three minutes if I got on the agenda,” said Pagan.
Attorney Jackson then said she was restarting the three-minute timer.
Pagan restated that she was on the agenda and that the three-minute limit applied to the public comment portion, not agenda items.
Attorney Jackson said it was her understanding that Pagan had a three-minute limit and that she was starting the three minutes over.
Pagan then asked if there was a specific policy limiting citizens’ presentation time if they are on the agenda.
Attorney Jackson reiterated that she was restarting the timer and that Pagan could ask the council for more time.
Pagan then presented the council with example budget breakdowns that she volunteered to prepare on behalf of the city to simplify the budget reports.
Pagan also asked if there was a line item in the budget for monies owed in various lawsuits brought against the city.
Another inquiry dealt with inconsistent or conflicting answers from the city government to citizens’ concerns.
When the three-minute timer was up, Attorney Jackson listed all of Pagan’s inquiries, telling her that the council would get back to her at the next meeting.
Pagan then asked the council for additional time.
Mayor Hinton told Pagan that what she was presenting were not action items, and that they would be better discussed in a work session.
Attorney Jackson then requested that Pagan limit herself to five inquiries per meeting going forward.
It was at this point that Pagan referred to the strike rumors, prompting Attorney Jackson’s remarks reported above.
Mayor Hinton then called for a motion for the council to go into executive session to discuss the good name and character of an individual and a pending legal matter with the attorney present.
Councilman Stanley Kennie so moved, with Lecroy seconding, and the council entered executive session after a roll call vote.
When the council returned to the meeting chambers, there was a vote to adjourn.
After the meeting was adjourned, Attorney Jackson approached the council table and asked to speak with three council members, first addressing the three at the end of the table before clarifying that it could be any combination of three.
Lecroy and Councilman Stanley Kennie stood to meet with Jackson, and Clerk Williams-Hinton told Councilman Tommie Kennie to join them.
The three members, a quorum of the five-member council, then met privately with the city attorney.
