I wouldn’t ordinarily use the city website to deal with this type of issue. However, due to the fact the individual that filed the complaint and one other individual chose to cover it quite publicly on Facebook and since the ES Independent chose to make note of it in this week’s paper with no context and no attempt to contact me for comment, I felt it necessary to set the record straight.
The gist of the complaint was that I as mayor was using my position to gain special favor in violation of Arkansas Code Annotated 21-8-304(a). The basis of the complaint was that I sought reimbursement for a $142.19 credit card purchase which was actually made using the city credit card. I responded to the accusation when made on Facebook that it was an honest mistake and that as soon as it was realized, I reimbursed the city. The complaint went on to include several other suspicious looking reimbursements for credit card purchases which were easily explained by the fact that in the early months of the city being up and running, the city had no credit cards so using a personal card and getting reimbursed was about the only option. The case was reviewed yesterday by the Arkansas Ethics Commission and unanimously dismissed.
For whatever reason this year there has been a flurry of ethics complaints filed by a couple of individuals in Holiday Island against HISID Commissioners, City officials, and City Commissioners. Some were for honest mistakes or oversights and some were for perceived conflicts of interest. I believe that all of the complaints so far have been dismissed. While citizens have every right to file ethics complaints, one would have to wonder if in these cases, ethics complaints were necessary to resolve an issue. There’s a big difference between making an honest mistake and being unethical. I personally know every person that had a complaint filed against them and know these people to be as ethical as they come. These are people that in 100% of the cases are volunteering their time to serve their community. I am certain that none of them signed up for having their character smeared in the process and I know that at least two of them seriously thought about resigning. It’s getting more and more difficult to find people willing to volunteer and it’s easy to see why.
One has to question is this how we want people in our community treating each other.
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