PINE BLUFF -- Two resolutions calling for investigations into the city's Street Department and Code Enforcement Department created a stir among council members but failed to get any traction with the council Monday night.
The resolutions, both sponsored by Council Member Steven Mays, who is challenging incumbent Mayor Shirley Washington in the March Democratic primary, called for the mayor to ask the "Arkansas State Police or another, independent investigative entity" to conduct investigations into the two city departments.
Both resolutions, when placed before the council, died for lack of a second.
A recent Pine Bluff Police Department investigation into billing irregularities last summer in the Code Enforcement Department resulted in the termination of the former director of the department, Jeff Gaston. To date, no criminal charges have been brought.
During a committee meeting just before the City Council meeting, council members expressed frustration with Mays' insistence that state police be called in to investigate the two departments.
"What are the concerns that you have with these departments?" Council Member Glen Brown Jr. asked Mays.
Mays cited the poor condition of the city streets. He said he has called the Street Department numerous times about potholes and has fielded many complaints from residents in his ward.
"The citizens are continually complaining about the streets, hitting these potholes, tearing their cars up," Mays said. "I just want to see, to kind of get an idea, where's the money going?"
"So the state police need to investigate that?" asked Council Member Win Trafford.
"I just want to find out where the funds are going," Mays replied.
Council Member Joni Alexander asked Mays if Steve Miller, the city finance director, could show him the Street Department financial records so he'll know where the money has been spent.
"I've seen some of the finances coming in," Mays replied. "But if you look at our streets outside, ride on our streets in the city of Pine Bluff, and actually, we're getting an extra $100,000 from the casino a month, and our streets are terrible."
"But a state police investigation?" asked Brown.
"So let me get this straight," said Trafford. "You're going to go out there and ask the state police to investigate our Street Department because potholes aren't getting fixed to your specifications?"
Mays said his complaint is that the same problems crop up on the same streets over and over.
"We don't need to be patching anymore," he said. "We need to be fixing these streets."
Brown asked if Mays was planning to pull the resolution calling for an investigation into the Code Enforcement Department since an investigation had already been done.
"Well, it was done by our Police Department, inside," Mays said. "I think there might be a little more to it, so we should do a little bit more to see what's going on."
"That's pretty insulting," Alexander said.
"We can go on with our investigation, but the thing is, you all said you didn't know anything about it," Mays said, at which point the meeting broke into protest.
"Who said that?" asked Alexander. "You never talked to us."
"We did not know what you were talking about with this," Trafford said. "We did not know what you were referring to because you never mentioned it to anyone. But we did get plenty of calls from constituents wondering what in the world is going on in Pine Bluff."
During the full council meeting, Mays made motions for each resolution to be considered for adoption. Both motions were met with silence by the other seven council members.
After the meeting, Mays said he is not finished with the issue.
"It didn't surprise me in there, but they don't want me to tell the truth," he said. "Many of my constituents in the 4th Ward and all over the city don't like the way the roads are in this city. I'm steady calling for the same issues, constantly."
State Desk on 02/04/2020