Jones: ‘ I’m not taking any more blame’

Jones: ‘ I’m not taking any more blame’

Earle mayor lashes out at city officials as recall vote nears

news@theeveningtimes.com

Earle Mayor Carolyn Jones says she is tired of taking the blame for all of the city’s problems.

The embattled mayor, who is facing a recall election in November, lashed out at the city council at the September meeting and instead turned the blame on them for the city’s poor finances and for not working with her to fix the problems.

“I, along with the city, have been in the news more than any city in Crittenden County,” Jones said. “I’ve been accused of everything except helping to kill Jesus. And I might have been accused of that. When I first took office all of my councilmembers promised to work with me. They worked with me all right.

They tried to work me right out the door. For two years I took the blame thinking they would help me out.

But they didn’t. I’m not taking any more blame.”

Jones said the council, along with City Clerk Cynthia Conner and “other outsiders,” have done a good job of making her look bad. She then went down a list of things which she was blamed for that were not her fault, including the poor state of the city’s finances.

Jones said the city was in bad financial shape when she took office. According to Jones, former Mayor Otis Davis only left her with $35,000 in bank compared to $185,000 which former Mayor Paul Green left Davis at the start of his administration.

“I think I’ve done well with $35,000,” Jones said.

“I did the best I can with what I had. The city was broke. Bad broke.”

The city recently had to dip into a Certificate of Deposit and withdraw $50,000 for the second time since Jones took office in order to pay its bills.

The city had $19,000 in bills but only $4,500 in its general fund and was in danger of not being able to meet payroll.

According to the city’s financial records, so far Earle has only brought in $426,000 but has spent $461,000 — a deficit of $35,000. Revenue from a two cent city sales tax and county sales and use tax is also down $20,006 in 2016 compared to the same time last year.

Last year, the city had to cash in a CD to pay its bills and was forced to cut $36,000 for the budget.

Jones said she doesn’t handle the money and defended having to dip into the city’s cash reserves to pay the bills.

“I’m the mayor. I don’t handle the money,” Jones said. “My job — and something my councilmembers don’t know — is to handle the day-to-day operation of the city. Their job is to handle the money.

“We had to break a CD.

You’re doggone right because you were broke when it came to me. But whose money is that? That’s your money. If you have to break it to keep the city running, break it. If you have a CD at your home and you run out of money, are you going to sit there and starve because you don’t want to break it? I don’t think anybody in here is that crazy.”

In addition to running the day-to-day operations of the city, the mayor is also responsible for paying the bills and for submitting a budget.

Jones said she was blamed for illegal dumping and for tearing down a building which contained asbestos, when in fact it was the previous administration which was the culprit.

“I didn’t know where the dump was,” Jones said. “They were dumping in the previous administration. The EPA came to get me about a building that had asbestos in it — that I gave permission to tear down.

I did not. The previous mayor gave permission to tear that down. I took the blame.”

Jones said she was the one who talked the EPA out of fining the city $10,000.

“I took care of that,” Jones said. “I ate so much cheese with those folks.”

Jones said she was also unfairly singled out and blamed for driving a Dodge Charger which was bought with federal funds as a police car even though Davis was allowed to use it as his personal vehicle before she took office.

“Every one of you knows that the previous mayor drove that car,” Jones said. “It was only striped out in December — two weeks before I took office. Then it became a police car. I had the stripes taken off. Sure I did… It was the mayor’s personal car.”

Jones continued to drive the vehicle, however, despite numerous warnings by the city council not to. The city was banned from applying for Justice Assistance Grants for two years as a result.

Jones then insisted the city buy her a vehicle to drive. The city spent $13,000 on a car for Jones, which has since been parked at City Hall because Jones was using it for non-city business, including trips to Southland Park, where it was photographed numerous times. The city council voted to restrict use of the vehicle to city business only.

Jones said no other mayor had restrictions put on them regarding use of a city car.

“You put stipulations on when I could use it,” Jones said. “You didn’t put no stipulations on no other mayor. She went to the casino. Yes I did. I don’t deny that. But here comes Frick and Frack running behind me with a camera. They told me it was my car. Don’t you drive your car where you want to? But now they put stipulations on me when I can drive it.”

Jones also deflected blame for the controversy and subsequent lawsuit over the firing of three white police officers when she took office.

“I didn’t fire those folks,” Jones said. “(Former Chief) Tyrone Smith fired them — all three of them. I didn’t fire a one of them. But I took the blame.”

Jones appointed Smith as chief, who has since filed a lawsuit against Jones for wrongful termination, the second of many lawsuits filed against Jones since taking office.

As a result, the city was recently informed by the Arkansas Municipal League that its fees for Legal Defense for 2017 will jump to $14,500 — an increase of $6,051.

Jones also took aim at Earley May Wallace, who was responsible for starting a successful petition to recall Jones, claiming it was done for personal reasons and not because of anything she has done as mayor.

“She was fired by two mayors — Paul Green and Reverend Davis,” Jones said. “I hired her back and gave her a chance. But because she couldn’t do what she wanted to do, she started this petition on me.”

Jones said in addition to the city being broke when she took office, she also was left to deal with several high dollar repairs for equipment, which she claims had been neglected by the prior administration.

The air conditioning broke down in City Hall and at the Revenue Office, the mosquito sprayer was broken, tractors were damaged and not in good working condition, and several cars had to be repaired or replaced. Jones also singled out several councilmembers by name for causing problems. Jones claimed that Sarah Johnson and Kenneth Cross tried to shut the city down during budget meetings; accused Jimmie Barham of insulting a local auto parts dealer and costing him business after she was critical because he put a motor in one of the city’s police cars that was incompatible; claimed that the city council let Conner run the city when Davis was mayor; and that Charlie Young was spreading lies that the city is broke.

“I sat here all this time hoping things would get better,” Jones said. “But they’re not.

It’s ‘the mayor. The mayor.

They mayor.’ I can only work with what you give me. I was hoping they would work with me. No.. No. No. They could have cleaned it up. And yet I take the blame? For what?

Well I’m not taking the blame any more.”

Jones said she hasn’t been give a chance from day one and cautioned the voters to be careful who they vote for.

“Give me a chance,” Jones said. “Let me do this. My job is the day-to-day operation of the city. I can do it. Leave me alone.”

When asked to respond to Jones’s claims, Councilman Donnie Cheers said “She’s campaigning. Why throw gas on the fire?”

Councilman Charlie Young also said he chose to let Jones rant rather than respond.

“I let her have her moment,” Young said. “She says I spread all the rumors that the city is broke. Everybody comes in here and asks me questions. It’s a public place.

I’m not going to keep it secret. My response is ‘we will be broke.’”

By Mark Randall