Bauxite Mayor Johnny McMahan is calling for the resignation of a town alderman who he said does not live in the city limits.
McMahan asked Alderman Mona Struble to resign Monday, after reviewing her water usage from September 2011 to June. McMahan contends Struble didn't live at her 1000 Virginia Ave. home from September 2012 to January 2013 and again from September 2013 onward because she did not use any water services in the home during those periods.
Struble said the home is her primary address.
"No, I'm not going to resign," she said. "I get my mail there. I pay my taxes there."
The city worked with Arkansas Rural Water Association to complete a study on water rates, after learning that some water customers used less than 1,000 gallons a month, McMahan said. The city ran water usage reports on each customer and learned that there was no water usage at Struble's residence, he said.
McMahan added that various residents, along with the city's former water clerk, "mentioned off and on" that she was not using water services. At one point, the city installed a new water meter, but still noticed no water usage at the home, he said.
"I think it's obvious she's not living in our city limits," he said.
The mayor sent a letter to the alderman on Monday, laying out the allegations and calling for her to step down.
"During this time, from January 2013 unto the present, you have collected a check of $175 per month for pay as an alderman, even though the water audit shows you were not living in our town for more than 10 months since taking office in January of 2013," McMahan wrote in the letter. "Based upon your water audit, which is a public record, and before this issue mushrooms, I respectfully request that you resign your position as alderman for the Town of Bauxite, because you are not living in our town and thus are violating the Arkansas Constitution."
Article 19, Section 4 of the Arkansas Constitution requires township officials to live within that town.
Struble said the home is her "permanent residence."
"I'm a single mother with a son. We're there every single day," she said. "My hot water tank busted, but other than that, it's not [the mayor's] business. Johnny is just trying to pick a fight, and it won't work."
Struble contends the mayor is "trying to do this in retaliation," after she approached the city attorney to try to oust McMahan.
The mayor has challenged her residency claim, saying he's never seen anyone home when he's driven through town.
"If she states she is living here, I want to know: -- where is she brushing her teeth, or washing her clothes? -- apparently not in Bauxite," he said in a statement.
If Struble does not resign, McMahan said any citizen could bring the matter to court, but that he would not.
His call comes as the council is already down one member, after former Alderman Allison Cain resigned in April.
The current four-member council and the mayor haven't been able to come to terms on her replacement.
On June 16, the aldermen appointed Bill Russell to fill the position. McMahan vetoed that action, saying Russell didn't have "the knowledge, qualifications, aptitude or the correct credentials to fulfill this position."
Earlier that month, the mayor vetoed the aldermen's appointment of Adam Kampbell, a former council member, McMahan said in an earlier email. McMahan pointed to Kampbell's six absences while the former alderman served in 2012, along with Kampbell's open bankruptcy case.
Metro on 07/16/2014