VIDEO: Power Play in Aberdeen

ABERDEEN, Miss. (WCBI News) – Meetings. Dismissals and contradictions.

There is a lot going on in Aberdeen.

The job of the head of the electric department in Aberdeen is in question.

The mayor says the board of aldermen voted to hire Richard Smith as the new director.

But other aldermen say the current manager Brian Sanders was never fired.

 

This is a story that involves allegations of wrong-doing, a mayor who reportedly wrote his own minutes and a disagreement about who has the authority to hire and fire in the city.

 

It’s a house divided in the city hall of Aberdeen.

“They are moving forward, knowing the conflict that we had during this vote, and they’re pushing him through. It’s not a good thing,” said Ward 3 Alderman David Ewing.

When the meeting on Tuesday adjourned, there were three aldermen with their own take on the outcome of the gm position for Aberdeen’s Electric and Water department.

Two more and a mayor had another take.

“As of right now, we made a vote within the last part of the board meeting, that we voted, three of us voted, to re-hire, but he wasn’t fired,” said Ewing.

In a phone conversation, city attorney Robert Faulkes tells WCBI the minutes from the board meeting have not yet been prepared and will not be official until the next board meeting when they will certified.

By law, minutes are recorded and then transcribed at a later date.

There was no quorum at today’s meeting and business was continued until the next board meeting.

The opposing side claims that there is no business to discuss.

“Alderman Sykes made the adjournment motion, and I seconded it,” said Ward 2 Alderman Lady Garth. “I had stood up and had walked over to the door and so had Mr. Sykes. The meeting was over. Bob Faulkes, again, the attorney urged those other three to do that, and that was very illegal.”

The reason Sanders was allegedly replace was due to some suspicious activity during his term as department head.

“Mr. Sanders has admitted to doing some things that were illegal, and I had been pushing for that from that point on. The department was running pretty smoothly, but it needed a qualified gm,” said Garth.

The opposing side disagrees.

“Brian is ultimately the most qualified,” said Ewing. “Right now the team that he has down there with him are very happy with him. Things have already started changing, and that the way towards the future right now for us.”

From the side of those opposing the removal of Sanders, it seems that this motion goes farther than just business.

“I think it’s more personal than it is anything, and we’d like to move past our personal feelings,” said Ewing. “If we don’t figure out how to start doing things for our taxpayers and the common good, then we will stay stagnant here in Aberdeen.”

So, who is the head of the city electric department?

This controversy has left many more questions than answers.

The next meeting where this will be discussed among the board and the mayor will be on June 19th.

Categories: Local News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *