CAVE SPRINGS -- The city attorney said Monday the city and some city officials face potential civil and criminal liability over recent City Council actions, but that can be minimized if the aldermen are willing to take more time to accomplish their goals.
Tom Guarino, city attorney, said there may be multiple federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints pending against one city official involved in the firing of 10 employees on Jan. 4. As city attorney, Guarino said he is authorized to "file information" for the arrest of any person who violates city ordinances. Possible violation of the state's Freedom of Information Act would be handled by the Benton County Prosecuting Attorney, and Guarino states in the memo he has "briefly discussed this matter" with the prosecutor. Guarino also said Mayor Travis Lee had discussed the issues with the Benton County Sheriff's Office.
City Council meets tonight
Cave Springs City Council is set for its regular monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. tonight.
The meeting will be held at the Illinois River Watershed Learning Center located at 219 S. Main St. in Cave Springs.
The council may consider whether to override Mayor Travis Lee’s veto of the city budget adopted by the council in a special meeting Jan. 4. A two-thirds vote is needed to override the veto.
Source: Staff report
Guarino, in the Monday memo, said the City Council's actions on Jan. 4 "are at a minimum subject to legal challenge and are likely not in compliance with state law and local ordinances."
Guarino sent a memo to the City Council that outlined his concerns and advised council members to let stand Lee's veto of the council's recent actions to cut the city's budget and slash 10 employees from the payroll. Guarino detailed the council's decisions and his concerns over potential violations of local, state and federal laws regarding open meetings, city purchasing restrictions and hiring and firing decisions.
The council held a meeting Jan. 4 and eliminated the positions of 10 employees as part of the city's 2017 budget, including Charlie Holyfield, the mayor's chief of staff; Nicole Ferguson, administrative assistant; B.J. Burney, building inspector; Craig Southern, planner; Nathan Coy, who Lee described as a police officer who also does code enforcement; Gary Crews, a part-time police officer; Stephen Spann, a police clerk and code enforcement officer; Chris Burgess, a water and sewer employee; Jaci Hawkins, a deputy court clerk and water and sewer clerk; and Stephanie Wood, building clerk.
The council also approved requiring Lee to receive approval before any expenditure, approve payments, sale or exchange municipal supplies and make competitive proposals.
Lee has answered accusations of misspending by saying he wants an audit of the city's finances because he knows it will vindicate him. He said he only wants Cave Springs to be healthy and to continue to grow, and the "old guard" is trying to prevent that. Lee on Monday did not answer his phone or immediately respond to messages left at City Hall seeking comment on Guarino's memo.
Other city officials have denied Lee's claims. Mary Ann Winters says her concern as an alderman is with the city's financial condition. The city can't pay its bills and make payroll with the number of employees it now has, Winters said.
"I figured it out that between 80 and 85 percent of our revenue is being spent for salaries," Winters said. "There's no way the city can operate on 15 percent. It needs at least 50 percent. This is purely monetary, not in retribution as it has been said."
Guarino suggested ways the City Council can minimize the city's legal exposure including accepting Lee's veto of its earlier actions. Guarino said he was not advising city officials about their own personal civil or criminal liability.
The council can call a special meeting to discuss its goals for limiting spending and to consider what other cities do within state law and developing a revised ordinance to meet those goals, Guarino said. The council could at the same time adopt its working budget and then revisit reductions in spending when the ongoing audit is completed.
NW News on 01/10/2017