Let’s make the madness end and start taking back our town. For 10 years the patients run the asylum. The whole state of Arkansas has heard of Tontitown, but not for its wonderful heritage. Tontitown is now known for lawsuits, harassment of its citizens and business owners, fi ring of employees, resigning of mayors, recorder/treasurers, and aldermen, killing of park trees, highest-paid employees, highest building permits and abuse of the Freedom of Information Act. Much of the above has one common element: Mick Wagner.
We just can’t seem to get this man out of our local government. We have had complaint after complaint about his strongarm wheeling of justice in town. His non-stop harassment has cost our city some fi ne employees, chiefs, mayors, aldermen, recorder/treasurers and citizens. Now he has made the Tontitown Area Fire Department his target. When the fi re department turned down the city contract after they had been told in public forum that their contract was not legal, they fixed it. Then Clint Penzo pretty much tells the fire department at a council meeting that they did not trust the fi re department and wanted to take its funding that was in the city budget. Penzo wanted to pay the salaries of TAFD, meaning the city could hire and fire the fire chief and their one employee. The fi re department said “no” and finally drew a line in the sand. Once the fi re department did that, the massive FOIA assault began against it by Planning Chairman/IT Administrator Mick Wagner.
The city passed this Public Safety Department (where police oft cers serve as firemen) and started a city fire department. Public safety departments have been proven not to work and were designed for small towns of 1,000 or less. This move that Aldermen Beckford, Zulpo, Penzo and both Pianaltos voted for will cost us in bunker gear and training. The citizens, including aldermen Hinshaw and Piazza, have asked where the funding will come. These men have no answer and no clue.
The only thing that is going to change Tontitown is the citizens. Let’s take a stand and remove Mick Wagner out of our local government. There are two petitions that need your signature to make this change. One is an initiative petition to repeal the planning commission and replace it with a planning board. With some luck, we will remove Mick for good, if we have new aldermen in 2015.
The second petition is a referendum to stop the Public Safety Department and hopefully keep our Tontitown Area Fire Department. Both petitions need your signatures to put it to a vote of the citizens on Nov. 4.
There will be a petition signing between 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday, March 22, in the Tontitown Park (U.S. 412) on the west side of the fire department parking lot fence. I hope every citizen will tell Tontitown oft cials they have had enough of Mick Wagner politics.
RHONDA DOUDNA
Tontitown