Special Called Meeting Of Ashford Town Council - All Jobs Saved, Salaries Saved, SOME Got Raises But WHO Got Them List Was Denied

Rickey Stokes - Matt Boster

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Posted by: RStokes
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Date: Nov 14 2019 5:38 PM

ASHFORD:     The full Mayor and Council of the Town of Ashford met tonight in a “legally special called meeting.”

MESSAGES FROM COUNCILMAN GIBSON TO RICKEY STOKES

Ashford Councilman Gary Gibson sent a message to me correcting me that he did not leave on the cruise I mentioned he was on until Thursday and not on Wednesday. Councilman Gibson thanks for correcting me but that leads to another question…. I gave you an excuse of you were paid as a Councilman and then not appear for the meeting.  So Councilman Gibson was that it that you were not interested or you knew that it was an illegal meeting? And I got your other message you sent me. LOL…

MOTION TO APPROVE EXHIBIT A – BUT NO EXHIBIT A PROVIDED TO THOSE IN ATTENDANCE

Ashford Councilman Whitehead made the motion to approve Exhibit A which was to eliminate a position and cut the pay and hours of the current fulltime staff making them part time employees.

Councilman Gary Gibson said the Mayor had brought this issue to the council and the Mayor Barfield quickly corrected Councilman Gibson that this came from the budget hearings.

The City Clerk typed from the notes the City Clerk took from the budget meeting. Mayor Barfield said this was from the meeting the second from the last budget meeting.

Councilman Smith said after he thought about this he did not support this. Councilman Smith no matter what the intentions are what it looks like.

Again the Mayor explained this came from the budget meeting and is not something the Mayor and City Clerk wrote up and emailed.

The City Clerk said the Senior Citizens is only open 20 hours a week and there are no changes in the program. Just the hours of the staff are cut.

Mayor Barfield said that there is more to it then just when the seniors are there. The staff has to prepare for the seniors and clean up after the events.

A citizen in attendance for the meeting asked to speak but was denied. The lady was told the citizens are not allowed to speak at this meeting. They are only allowed to speak in a work session.

Gibson voted Nay, Whitehead Yea, Anderson Yea, Herndon – Yea. Smith – Nay, Mayor Barfield voted Nay.

Councilman Gibson said he did not feel good about cutting the pay of the Senior Citizens Center and not evaluating only one department.

The motion to cut the staff of Senior Citizens pay died because it was a tie vote and the position that was going to be eliminated died.

A MOTION WAS MADE ON EXHIBIT B – BUT NO COPIES OF EXHIBIT B WERE PROVIDED FOR THOSE IN ATTENDANCE

Raises on the employees was the next item on the agenda. Mayor Barfield said these were the raises talked about at the same meeting Exhibit A was presented and voted on them during the budget hearings.

Mayor Barfield asked did she have a motion – Gary Gibson asked a question and Gibson was asked to make the raises back to November 1.  Gibson amended his motion.

Councilperson Herndon said these motions were made  for the raises when there was savings and the savings money is not there for the raises today. Councilperson Herndon also had a issue with the City of Ashford had no operating budget as of this date and questioned how they could give the raises.

One of the Councilman, I think Councilman Anderson said the audit was not back yet either.

There was no more discussion and the item was called for a vote.

Gibson – Yea. Anderson – Yea. Whitehead – Yea, Herndon – Yay, Smith – Yea, Barfield – Yea.

You ask, well did they say the money was not and the new fiscal year started October 1 and no budget yet?   But yet everyone of the Conucil Members and Mayor voted for the raises? Good question. Gibson made the motion, it was second, and all voted Yea, which means everyone voted in favor of the raises retroactive until November 1, 2019.

The meeting lasted 11 minutes.

ASHFORD CITY CLERK DOES NOT PROVIDE PUBLIC RECORD DOCUMENTS AND TELLS RSN THAT EXHIBIT B - PAY RAISES - IS NOT A PUBLIC RECORD DOCUMENT

Matt Boster livestreamed the meeting. He asked the City Clerk for copies of Exhibit A and Exhibit B. The City Clerk said Exhibit A, which died, was the same as the last one but provided no copies.

The City Clerk told him Exhibit B was not going to be provided because it contained confidential information as the employees pay.

Apparently the Alabama Legislature has changed the laws of the State of Alabama and I did not know it. The salaries of all state officials is online as a public document and I thought it was a public record.

Obviously the Ashford City Clerk knows the Alabama Law much better than I do….NOT!!!!

It is a public record document. We will provide it tomorrow or do I have someone willing to pay the legal challenge?

THE LIVESTREAM STARTED AS MATT WALKED INTO THE ROOM. RSN COULD NOT BE GUARANTEED TIME TO SET UP FOR THE LIVESTREAM SO WHEN WALKED IN HE WAS LIVE. SO YOU SEE AND HEAR THE CHIT CHAT BEFORE THE MEETING.

RSN ATTEMPTED TO GET CLARIFICATION BEFORE THE MEETING AND WE COULD NOT BE PROMISED SO I JUST INSTRUCTED HIM TO GO LIVE WHEN HE WALKED IN THAT WAY NOTHING WOULD BE MISSED...

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