An ongoing dogfight between Mayor Carthel Pearce and Water Superintendent Doug Deckard spilled into Monday night’s city council meeting.
“It’s like two dogs with a bone here,” City Clerk Linda Moore said.
Moore and the council listened as Pearce and Deckard gave conflicting stories about a piece of equipment that was recently purchased for $1,600. The mayor refused to pay the bill from Hugg and Hall Equipment Company, so Deckard took it to the city council.
“The mayor didn’t think we needed it,” Deckard said. “This is not just a toy that I wanted.”
Deckard bought a HYD clamp, an attachment for the city’s Bobcat that he said aids in picking up brush, concrete and more. Pearce said he never authorized the purchase. Deckard said he was never told not to buy it.
“He never directly told me that I couldn’t,” Deckard said. “… There’s no reason we couldn’t afford to buy it. I did check with Linda (Moore) before buying it.”
Moore said she never approved anything. She knows tension exists between Pearce and Deckard.
“I know the controversy between them and would never do that,” Moore said. “…I didn’t authorize it.”
Deckard pointed out that the city budgeted $10,000 for new equipment for the water department, but not a dime of it has been spent. He then stressed that only two months are left this year. Put simply, he said the money and need were both there.
“I really feel like it’s an attachment that we will use every day,” Deckard said.
The water superintendent continued telling the benefits of the clamp, until the mayor cut him off. Twice during the meeting, Pearce asked Deckard, “Are you through now?” At another point, Deckard tried to speak up, but the mayor wouldn’t let him.
“Doug, you’re not recognized,” Pearce said.
Pearce told the council that Deckard approached him three different times about buying the piece of equipment, and all three times he said it wasn’t needed.
“This machine isn’t big enough to warrant the (attachment),” Pearce said. “We don’t need it.”
“The mayor runs the machine maybe one time a month,” Deckard added. “The difference is the mayor and I don’t see eye to eye.”
Deckard said he’s never had to seek the mayor’s approval for purchases in the past. A purchase order system is not in place Pearce said it doesn’t matter.
“Doug, let me ask you one question,” Pearce said. “If you thought it would be ok for you to buy it, why did you ask me on three different occasions?
“…Doug went over my head and bought it. It’s been no from the word go. But he decided he wanted it, so he went and bought it. I say we send it back to where it came from.”
After a long and sometimes heated discussion, the council voted, 3-2, against paying the bill. Stan Reynolds and Cyndi Kerr, who voted to pay the bill, did not want to risk putting the city in bad standing. Reynolds also pointed out that the department head identified a need and there was more than enough money in the budget to pay for it.
“It makes sense to me,” Reynolds said. “I don’t see the reason for not approving this. What does it harm us if the money is in the budget?”
“Stan, we’re buying something we can’t use,” Pearce said.
Councilman Lonnie Rowlett said there were a lot of reasons to leave the bill unpaid. He said no one should have the freedom to go and purchase anything without the approval of the mayor.
“Does the employee overrule the mayor?” Rowlett asked. “If Doug goes and buys it when he’s told not to, that’s pretty serious to me.”
Deckard pointed out again that he has purchased equipment for the past 14 years without having to seek a mayor’s approval. Rowlett didn’t care.
“Just because that’s the way it’s been done, doesn’t mean it’s the right way to do it,” Rowlett said.
Councilwoman Cyndi Kerr stressed the importance of setting up committees for each department so things like this do not happen again. The council voted last month to form mayor-appointed committees for that reason, but Pearce had not formed any.
“Doug is doing what he wants to do,” Rowlett said. “I’m being blunt.”
After more heated discussion, the council voted, 4-1, to make Deckard and other city employees use purchase orders for any equipment they buy. Reynolds voted no, partly because he didn’t think it was necessary to get a purchase order for every little thing they buy.
In the end, Pearce got what he wanted -- an unpaid bill. Deckard said he will use his own money to pay for it.
“We’re not going to go outside and draw guns on each other,” Pearce said. “We can work together and we can get along.”
In other news, the council appointed Michelle Johnson to take the seat vacated by Sean Johnson. They also voted to continue city court for 2010 and gave the city the green light to apply for a $50,000 grant to help build a new city hall.
Quitman, Ark. —
