Though Mooresville commissioners chose not to seek censure for Mayor Chris Montgomery, they formally asked him to resign in a letter which was read at last night's board meeting. For the full copy posted on Mooresville Weekly, click here: Board asks mayor to resign.
For News 14 Carolina's report, click here: Mooresville mayor gets 'no confidence' vote
Mooresville Tribune: Mooresville commissioners ask mayor to step down
Charlotte Observer: Board votes 6-0 for Mooresville mayor to resign
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109 comments:
Well, it finally looks like we have a board of commissioners who have the courage to do the right thing at last.
To me, it's not about the mayor as much as it is about these commissioners willing to take a stand. It was a gutsy thing to call for your own mayor's resignation.
Let's hope this is not the last gutsy thing they do. Keep going commissioners. There's plenty of truth telling left to be done.
We're all going to sit and watch to see if this was an agenda-driven one-time action, or if it signals the beginning of a new era of accountability and unprecedented courage.
I can’t help but wonder what the reason was for calling for a public hearing at last night’s meeting. The Board already had a statement prepared and was ready to vote on it. If they had already decided on a course of action and sincerely wanted to put this embarrassing issue behind them, what was the point calling for the hearing, calling in all the news media, and airing Mooresville’s dirty laundry yet one more time to everyone in the area. Perhaps there was a commissioner that was actually willing to use this sad situation to draw attention to himself even at the expense of further embarrassment for the Town and the Mayor and his family. After all, Montgomery has said he’s not running again and the Board cannot force him to resign. There might be someone on the Board that pictures himself as the next Mayor and sees this as an opportunity to demonstrate his self perceived mayoral abilities. Even at the expense of the Town’s image in the area. Sad, but I’m afraid a lot of this has been more political posturing than moral outrage.
9:48 PM--Political posturing is a turnoff and wouldn't be a smart move for a politician. You are trying to describe a slick, savvy politician, but a savvy politician would know better than to chance making a public spectacle of himself especially in these months before an election.
Now to get to the real issue here--just because you are glued to this blog and all of the news about the Mayor's inappropriate behavior doesn't mean everyone else is. It is the duty of the Town Board to be forthcoming with information to the citizens (ALL of the citizens, not just you). If you were smart and had ever worked with the news media, you would understand how ridiculous your assertion is that anybody, including a Commissioner, could call in the news media. Scandals call in the news media. The mayor's actions called in the news media. The Commissioners were just responding to the negative news media and coverage mayhem brought on by your mayor.
The Town Board didn't do the right thing per se--they just did the only thing they could do. If you want to talk about public outrage, let them ignore a situation like this. I think last time that landed them a protest march on Town Hall.
Your conspiracy theories are just that--Conspiracy theories.
That was directed to 9:48 AM not 9:48 PM--sorry, late night. LOL
Let's set this straight.
This was an orchestrated fiasco with a preordained outcome. The Commissioners HAD to do perform this puppet show to give the impression of 'listening to the people'. That show was for protecting their own hides. They are like toothless police dogs; growl but no bite.
What was needed was for a Commissioner raise his voice and demonstrate true concern for the office of the Mayor and the people of Mooresville. Instead, they sat like scared rabbits in front of the media. That show was an embarrassment for the Town of Mooresville and also for us. We elected these wimps!
If these wimps will not stand together and demand, not merely request, a resignation, how can they run our Town? Their knees buckled and appeared to be pleased with having the spotlight off of them and on Monty. Intestinal fortitude (guts) is not their strong suit.
Monty, wanting to maintain his Office, read a pre-written speech and said for the good of the Town, he will continue. WRONG! For the good of the Town, remove yourself.
Unless, we the people of Mooresville raise our voices, we deserve what we get. What has happened to our citizenry when we stand for this mediocrity? When will we finally raise up and organize ourselves?
And please God, bring your Almighty Power and help us elect officials who will guide our Town with Principle entered leadership and energize our citizenry to action.
last night was a circus. . . . no, actually it was more like a carney-vil.
OK....I'm curious. If the mayor resigned, would the position automatically go to the Mayor Pro Tem, Chris Carney?
Checking on that for you, Jim. I think it would by default.
yes, Jim, Carney would become Mayor since he is Mayor Pro Tem. Not that that had anything to do with his crusade for rightousness. And not the fact that he would then run in the next election as an incumbent. Those are just incidental to getting to the truth. Bxll Shxt!!!!
I stand corrected. Here's Town Attorney Steve Gambill's response to Jim's question:
"The position does not automatically go to the Mayor Pro Tem. Upon a resignation, the Board appoints a person to fill the vacancy (Town Charter Section 3.4). The Mayor Pro Tem would perform the duties of the Mayor until such appointment was made."
I learn something new every day!
Thanks for the question.
So Corny would be appointed Mayor or acting Mayor. Then, if and only if, someone else can muster enough votes from the Board to be appointed Mayor, that person would be named Mayor and Corny would go back to his commissioners seat. Ummmmmmm. Now, does the person appointed by the Board have to be serving on the Board or can they appoint Sara Atwell Mayor?
Another great question. Here's Gambill's answer:
"The Board can choose any 'qualified person' to fill a vacancy (Town Charter Sec. 3.4(c)). A 'qualified person' would be one who is eligible to serve as Mayor or Commissioner which requires that the person be a resident and a qualified voter of the Town (Town Charter Sec. 3.4(b))."
Sara! Sara! Sara!
Mrs. Atwell's speech would have been great...if I had been at First Baptist and not Town Hall last night.
vote count to ask for Montgomery's resignation: 6 to 0
vote count to appoint Erskin Smith as town manager: 6 to 0
Sorry. Zero credibility.
I remember a year ago when Montgomery came out slamming MI-Connection. That is when these other commissioners first started riding his ass, "oh, we have to encourage (extort?) the townspeople to use MI-Connection so it won't go bankrupt", etc. So, Montgomery, an otherwise incompetent mayor, gives them a slow pitch to knock out of the park when he is emailing his girlfriend. But where was the board when Thunberg conned everyone into buying the cable company? They are willing to hammer somebody for their personal indiscretions, but not for things that matter to the taxpayers of this town. How about a resolution slamming Thunberg, Carney, Rader and Herring for voting to buy that stupid cable company. That has cost and will cost this town much more than the temporary embarrassment of a Montgomery.
As far as I know, Erskine has not been given the town manager position. His official title is Interim town manager.
Kudos to the commissioners. I voted for Chris Montgomery because I was voting against that last mayor, Bill Thunberg, who got us into the cable mess. But I'm no blind loyalist. Just like I wanted Thunberg gone, I now want Montgomery gone too. And if the next one screws up, I'll want him gone too. That's just how it's going to be from here on out. Short leashes all around. The days of a Joe Knox hanging around for 35 years are long behind us.
Why is it some can do whatever they please and even if they are exposed have no real disciplinary consequences taken against them (department heads and those at that level) and yet others are stricken with disciplinary actions up to and including termination or at least the threat of it. Its seems that the rules are there but are only enforced to those that the powers to be want to enforce them on. If your actions bring bad light upon this town there should be a standard of action which is implemented regardless of who you are or what position you hold however the higher your position the stiffer the penalty that should be distributed. The actions of one make every town employee look bad to every tax payer because they directly relate that individual back to the town government.
I smell two rats !!!!!!
As I understand it, Carney or Atkins, would just step in if the mayor leaves. Not bad eh??? just walk into the job, no campaigning, no vote, just sit in your new chair. Please tell me if I got it wrong???? What a way to do business, especially that slimmy Carney, who always seems to say the words people want to hear, but does his business behind closed doors. Would like the Mayor to hang in till elections, to prvent this attempted coup.
As someone who used to work for the town, I’ll tell you nobody respects Erskine Smith. He’s the golden boy whose always gotten away with everything and helped out the town employees who’re his friends only. The rest of us had to walk a tightrope. We can’t stand him.
He’s nothing more than a parasite living off the sweat of the townspeople. He plays golf while everybody else slaves and works long hours.
It appears there may now be an additional growing concern. With the embattled mayor and mayor pro tem, who is left to properly supervise the actions and inactions of the interim town manager who by all accounts does not inspire much confidence - either with the public or with fellow colleagues.
There is no stopping this poster boy of a so-called interim manager. He does not think that anyone can touch him - he has still got his old buddy Mitch to look after his back. There is no end to the amount that he has taken from this town and yet no one will fire him. Truly amazing but true. But remember this has been going on for over twenty years. He thinks that he is immune.
February 9, 2011 12:12 AM: Erskine may be the INTERIM town manager, but he's going around behind doors telling all his Rotary and Chamber of Commerce buds that he's got the permanent town manager job in the bag so that he can start doling out favors and cementing his support base. This guy is a real snake in the grass, and the commissioners are the lobsters who're thinking they're just feeling warm and cozy right before they get boiled.
@ Vic -- I think Jamie posted the response she received from the town attorney regarding that issue. The board would appoint an "eligible" person to fill that vacancy. And an "eligible" person is apparently defined as any registered voter in the ToM. Now wouldn't it be really bad if Chris decided to resign and they appointed a former mayor or board member to serve out the duration of the unexpired term?
There is nothing the commissioners can do about the assistant town manager, even when he is serving as interim town manager. As we learned when he was previously in the interim position, if they fired him from the interim role he would simply revert back to his position as assitant town manager. Commissioners have no ability to hire/fire town employees other than the town manager. The only way he can be removed is if the town manager fires him. Quite a cozy position! Don't we all wish we had that sort of job security?
Erskine Smith’s laughing all the way to the bank. And as far as the commissioners they deserve whatever they end up getting for putting him in charge.
Let me get this straight. The commishes are going to hold the mayor accountable while at the same time they put a waste of space golf obsessed incompetent or worse at the town's wheel. How's that for selective accountability. The commishes look like a bunch of double talking clowns right about now.
And watch what they're doing with the MIC board. All the attention focused on the mayor and now they're changing the entire make-up of the MIC board. Meanwhile, Davidson is talking about requesting permission from the state for MIC to not be required to release as much information to the public.
I smell the stench of the Chamber behind all of this funny business. I know for a fact they were pissed off that they couldn't get their own candidate into the mayor seat. This is just another way to use the current elected officials as pawns to get what they've always wanted, somebody in the mayor seat who only answers to them, voters be damned.
If Mitch Abraham's got Erskine's back, then Mitch Abraham's got to go.
Larry,
Interesting point about Davidson wanting the ability to keep some information about MIC away from the public. It seems we're "shareholders" when it comes time to write checks to make up for their shortfalls but otherwise it's none of our business.
I'd love to hear what our mayor and board have to say about Davidson's new push in Raleigh.
I still want to know if we have a civil lawsuit against any of the elected officials who pushed the cable scam on us. Can we find somebody to sue Thunberg, Carney, Herring and Rader for going over our heads like they did?
You can't mention Erskine's name anywhere in this town without somebody making a stinky face. So what does the Town Board do? They hand him the most important job in town instead of get rid of him. So we're stuck with him because of them.
Now they're going to know how we all feel. Because you can't mention the mayor's name to them without them making a stinky face. And he won't budge so they're all stuck with him.
Payback's hell. Have fun up there at the board meetings for the next 10 months fellas. You all deserve each other.
The Chamber of Commerce does not need to put a mayor in place to do their bidding. They already have a lackey who has been doing their bidding for over twenty years. His name is Erskine Smith, and he is now your new town manager for all practical purposes. All he has to do is continue to keep the handful of self-important power-mongers who head up the Chamber happy, and they in turn sing in the town board’s ears to keep him on so that he can do what he is best at, throwing them political bones using his influence and your tax dollars. It is actually a very effective and nifty system that they have put in place. This way as someone already noted, they can in effect bypass the voting and taxpaying citizens and no one is any the wiser.
6:03,
It's not likely that the 2 sitting board members (Herring and Carney) or former politicians Radar and Thunberg will get sued for the cable mess. What's done is done and our children will be paying for their error for decades.
What we can do is watch the current shenanigans closely (for example..how are we doing on our 15,000 RGU goal for this year?) and hold our elected officials accountable for their actions.
Again I ask the board members that read this blog....are we going to allow MIC to operate in secrecy?
Hopefully the "go along to get along" mentality is over in this town.
There are some interesting things avialable on the NC Secretary of State's website. I encourage you to pursue them yourself. Particularly, the potential links between Carney and the Howards become a little more clear.
First, if you do a search on the name "Balsamo" as the registered agent you'll notice that he filed paperwork for incoroporation on a variety of businesses. It appears he did so for his own companies (one of which is Barrister's Title Service) as well as for some other companies, primarily L3 Development Partners.
Baristr's Title Service is located at 108 Gateway Dr and this is the company where Chris Carney was/is a managing member.
L3 Development Partners is now dissolved but was also located at 108 Gateway Dr (2 offices away from Barister's Title Service) an identified Brad Howard as the Managing Member.
Balsamo also incorporated his law offices and identified 108 Gateway Dr as his primary location, and it appears Barrister's Title Service is in the same office as the law firm.
Balsamo is also the person who submitted the incorporation papers for The Slush Fund, LLC, which identifies Brad Howard of 108 Gateway Dr (Suite 102) as the member-manager. And we've been told that Mr. Howard then went and added Mr. Carney's name to the LLC without Mr. Carney's permission. (as an aside, it's that fraud?)
Balsamo also filed the papework and identified himself as the registered agent for L3 Realty of Mooresville. L3 lists Brad Howard as a member-manager.
Only 2 offices away from each other, and Balsamo acts as an intermediary between Carny and the Howards. I wonder if his company ever performed title searches for Langtree or any other businesses? That would be interesting to know.
Look at the information someone posted under the "Carney says company was a joke" article, regarding his companies at the Secretary of State. Very interesting.
Thanks for that -- I hadn't seen it. Here's an answer to whether or not Chris's company does business with Langtree. http://www.barristerstitle.com/commercial-projects.htm
Their site says: "Barrister’s Title Services has abundant experience insuring commercial projects and working in conjunction with developers across North Carolina. Below are some of the projects which have been insured by Barrister’s Title. Please contact us at 704.799.6441 or orders@barristerstitle.com for prior policies or laterals."
Then it lists Langtree at the Lake as one of it's insured properties.
Did anybody read our new prize of a town manager's philosophizing dribble in the last Town Voice? Looked like Dumburg’s (oops, sorry, meant Thunburg) philosophy degree finally paid off – for Erskine Smith. For what we’re paying Erskine, I want less fluff, more meat. Like when’s he going to get rid of some dead weight, starting with himself?
This is on the profile page for Christopher on the barristertitle.com website.
"Chris is also a City Commissioner for the Town of Mooresville. This experience makes Chris intimately familiar with the needs of developers and the risks that they need underwritten."
btw, nice pic on the Chris.
Intimately familiar?? Hmmmm....
Read the posts from 8:39 last night on the "Carney says company was a joke" article. Then see what Larry says above. Jaime, can you investigate this? How can a town commissioner vote on the Langtree projects and then have his own company profit by insuring the same project? How much did he make on this? This seems like a huge conflict of interest.
Hey, when ya'll get done cleaning up Mooresville, we need you to help clean up your county. You guys are good!
Shady mayor. Shady town manager. Shady mayor pro tem. Nice going Mooresville. I wanna be just like you when I grow up.
Well....as Friday rolls around one can't help but wonder if Jaime is going to have an in depth interview with Mayor Pro-Tem Carney.
Would love to hear his explanation to what appears to be some pretty questionable relationships.
Jaime? Mr. Carney?
Wonder how Carney likes his Karma served? Someone should tell him to put down that handful of rocks.... oh wait its too late I see the cracks.
It is really scary to think what shape this town would be in if it wasn't for the Gatton Report. Corruption would have spread like an aggressive cancer. As it stands, it looks like a biopsy or two may do the job. My hat off to Ms. Gatton for providing the forum in which people can blow the whistle on public official misconduct. And my hat off to the citizens who take the ball and run with it by conducting their own extended investigations and sharing their findings with the rest of us.
Speaking of karma, I see where ex-Chief John Crone's court date is this Monday. Let's see if it will be continued yet again. Anyone else would already be in jail.
Gatton is good but she does seem to pick and choose her subject matter based on her own set of biases. We don't see much about Atkins. Conincidence? Possibly. But his wife does pull down $50,000 a year plus benefits that make it more like $80,000 working for the Mooresville Downtown Commission. Oh I know, some will say 'but she doesn't work for the Town'. Technically correct. But half of the MDC budget is funded by the downtown property tax and the other half is a grant from the Town. The MDC has virtually no income, if any, from any other souces. So, you think maybe Atkins might have an interest in funding the MDC? After all, since Kim Atkins salary takes approximately 80% of the MDC's budget, that might just be a conflict of interest when it comes time to approve it. Has Commissioner Atkins ever recused himself from any of these votes? So, are we going to see an expose from Gatton? Proabably not. Like I said, she picks and chooses her targets.
OMG. You are so yesterday. Go check the archives.
Ever hear of beating a dead horse, 2:46 PM? We all know and have known for years that Kim Atkins is the MDC director, and she has done an incredible job. We were so glad to be rid of that disgusting Wayne Frick, and we are thrilled to have his replacement. So go play your fiddle someplace else.
Your distraction tactics will not work. We've got real fish to fry.
This is selective accountability at its worst. The commissioners crucified the mayor while giving Chris Carney and Erskine Smith free passes for all past and present transgressions.
12:53pm
You are wrong about the budget and Kim Atkin's salary. Of course do not let the truth get in the way of your agenda.
The budget for the MDC is $117,000.
The budgeted amount for the director with benefits and the matching FICA FUTA and Medicare taxes is budgeted at $56,000.00 and that is actually about $2,000.00 more than what is actual. The reason for the overage in the budget is that NC has borrowed from Fed on unemployement and the state will have to pay over $2B in unemployement taxes back. Most accountants and business are anticipating the payback will be in the unemployement tax rising. Our year runs July 1 to June 30 so we budgeted that potential increase into the budget.
For the record, Mr. Atkins has always recused himself from all Downtown items before the town board. Learn the truth before either spreading purposeful lies or showing your ignornance, let me know which it is.
I am happy to discuss the income for the MDC, which has grown the past five years as the MDC has encouraged business growth and property value growth, at anytime with anyone but will not attempt to debate anonymous people who hide behind posts. Contact me, the MDC's book are open anytime.
John J. Amon
treasurer, MDC
The MDC meets the first Wed. of each month at the Charles Mack Citizen Center, at 1pm. OPen to all.
1pm on a Wednesday makes it convenient for those of you who work downtown, but for the rest of the world we don't have the luxury of making it during normal business hours.
Why not post your budget on the MDC website?
10:42 pm, why not call me and I can set a time that is convientent for you, but you could not hide then could you. How dare you claim it is a luxury during normal business hours. It means the merchants and property owners are taking time from their day to meet and then work late to make up for their work. They are trying to make Mooresville a better place much more than you.
I have no problem putting my name, I have the facts and the truth. If you have something different lets see it and while you are at it, have the guts to post who you are. Faceless innuendos and gutless statements spreading lies is so un-american. This country was founded on men, the latin meaning of "hands" inteneded here, standing up to tyranny of King George. every hear the story of John Hancock? Not posting your names defiles our forefathers.
People like Larry Green and Jim at least have those guts, but the others that hide behind anonymous are the same ilk if not worse than the corruption, incompentence, or stupidity that you carp about.
Communication is degrading the intelligence in our society. Blogs, forums, chats are the modern day gossip lines, but when people start quoting and taking for gospel peoples statements then that is the downfall of our society. I would recommend everyone watch "The Oxbow Incident" staring Henry Fonda made in 1943. Standup and voice your opinions but do not hide in the back and be part of a mob ... because you still shoulder responsiblity.
John J. Amon
John J. Amon,
Thank you for informing the readers of this blog about the MDC situation. It is deeply appreciated and very eye opening. I have personally witnessed how the quality of downtown has improved dramatically since Mrs. Atkins was hired for the position of director. She has been a breath of fresh air, and it is now an absolute pleasure to visit downtown Mooresville with family and friends.
I must however disagree with your views on anonymity. The unfortunate fact is that when faced with government and public officials, citizens are at a distinct power disadvantage. Not all citizens feel powerful enough to withstand any possible retaliation they feel they may suffer as a result of "speaking out" and/or “blowing the whistle”.
From what I understand, you have a downtown business, you have longtime friends who are public officials, and therefore you may feel somewhat protected. A cynic may even assume that you have something to gain by publicly defending certain people and insuring they are aware that you defended them.
There is a very valuable place in society for citizens who may have grievances and/or pertinent information to share with the rest of us. They may not be politically connected and may feel vulnerable. The option of maintaining anonymity gives these people a voice.
I think it is dangerous to state that only "our" way is the correct way and to scold those who disagree with “our” way. You have chosen to not exercise your right to remain anonymous. Others may choose to exercise their right to remain anonymous. It will take all kinds to bring transparency and honesty to government, whether it be local, state, or national.
This blog has been up for going on three years. I have been reading it ever since it started. There has been much turmoil and many public official misdeeds have been exposed, including the arrest of a police chief. Yet I have never, not once, read a single comment by a John J. Amon until today. This is a curiosity to me.
John Amon blasts anonymous posters, chastising them for “hiding”, calling them a “mob”, “gutless”, and “un-American”. He claims that by not posting names, they are “defiling our forefathers." He makes the astounding assertion that anonymous posters “are the same ilk if not worse than the corruption, incompetence, or stupidity” that they fight against. He goes as far as to attribute the “downfall of society” to anonymous bloggers. Such strong words. Such unmitigated sentiment. Such emotion and passion.
Mr. Amon claims to have “facts and truth”, yet he fails to mention how selectively he uses his facts and truths. While attempting to include himself in the ranks of non-anonymous posters such as “Larry Green” and “Jim”, he fails to mention that men such as these also stand up to all forms of injustice and corruption and do not limit themselves to the situations that can best benefit them or their acquaintances.
I have known John Amon for many years, and I have never known him to stand up to any of the powers-that-be. Sadly, Mr. Amon’s impassioned words above stand in stark contrast to the otherwise deafening silence of the man.
Saw the big announcement about the new investors at Langtree and how it is finally going to take off. Word is that around the first of February a new Langtree company bought a bunch of the langtree land from the old companies for something like $32 million. Larry Green says in a post that commissioner Carney is in the title insurance business and that Langtree is shown as one of Carney's customers on Carney's website. If this is true, the press should be inquiring about whether or not Carney collected any money in title insurance fees on that deal or other previous Langtree deals. Would this deal or other deals have happened if Carney and the other commissioners had not voted for concessions from the Mooresville taxpayers for Langtree a couple of weeks earlier or other times? Did Carney disclose to the other commissioners and the lowly mayor that he was making money selling title insurance to the Langtree people? Isn't that something his fellow commissioners should know about when he is discussing his vote with them? I wonder how much Carney or his company has received in title insurance payments or other compensation from the Langtree folks over the years? Just wondering.
It is called code of silence between 6 crooks
The Amon dude can kiss my ass. If it wasn't for the anonymous folks on this blog, we'd still be under a corrupt chief of police, we'd still have Dumburg running the town into the ground, we'd still have Radar using his fuzzy math to ride us into bankruptcy, we wouldn't know about Montgomery's antics, we wouldn't know we've got a first class loser as a town manager, and we wouldn't know about Corny's Slush Fund he set up with his masters, the Howard duo. That's just to name a few. So eat your heart out Amon cause we're gonna keep on anonymously blogging.
Having said all that, my beef's not with Kim Atkins. I think she's done a fine job of running downtown, and I'd vote for her husband any day of the week.
Anonymous and PROUD OF IT!
I would suggest you read past issues of Gatton report as I have posted before and I always use my name. I am not sure what longtime friends in public office that you are talking about? I attended Mooresville schools, I have been active in Mooresville and love Mooresville. I have tried to make it a better place by being involved.
Again, my statement is anonymouse people posting "facts" which are not facts. That is wrong. I have posted and stated my opinions on items such as the Library and downtown commission. I have attended many town meetings and asked questions on SAID Bonds. I am not sure that many people in town hall would think that I am a friend as I will state my opinion and on more than one occasion that has run contrary to the town's. The one difference is that I do take responsibility for my actions.
If your words are true why hide? What is the purpose of not using your name when commenting on a story which Jaime has researched and reported? If you have a tip ok, stay anonymous like Deep Throat, but if you have an agenda that you are pushing and using false and misleading info that is morally and ethically wrong.
John J. Amon
Mr. Amon, I wish I could attend those meetings but my work schedule precludes that from happening. I would appreciate seeing the MDC budget posted on their website.
I've not had an opportunity to review the ToM budget to figure out how much the ToM allocates for the MDC. Nor have I had the time to review ToM Board minutes to ascertain whether or not Commissioner Atkins recused himself from voting on issues related to the MDC.
I post my name because I can, and realize that there will be some who are displeased with my comments and will contact the Elders of the church as well as the Presbytery in hopes of getting me to shut-up. And yes, both of those things have occurred, and thankfully both the Presbytery and the Elders have been very affirming and positive.
Each of us must find a way to be actively engaged in the process of government. The people are the ones being saddled by conflictual relationships between commissioners and developers, and are being saddled with millions of dollars in debt from the MI-C, and are suffering when the government does not conduct their business with as much transparency as possible.
I would caution you to not summarily dismiss the concerns of anonymous posts. There may be some very legitimate reasons they cannot go "public", and I respect their situations and their participation in the conversation. It's difficult to debate an anonymous poster, but I certainly don't condemn them.
One of the reasons my family and I like Mooresville is because of the charming Downtown area. Having lived in other communities where the downtown area was delapidated, it truly is wonderful to know that the historic district connects our past, present, and future.
There are those of us who because of our positions with the town can't exactly come out and express publicly how we feel about the goings on. As Mr. Green has already experienced, we would most likely experience a threat to our livelihood. Mr. Amon clearly feels safe, but his comments did not exactly risk the wrath of anyone in power either. It is my hope that one day town hall will be cleaned up enough that we would all feel safe putting our names on our tips or comments.
Mr. Green I do not doubt what you say but again, I would suggest that you study your history. People saddled with unfair taxes by Goerge III rose up with their voices and actions facing possible death. Those people did not hide, they signed their names. I am not saying that we have those deathly fears at this time, but democracy is being saddled by hidden agendas and covert news media/social media.
While not well versed on the current Egyptian politics, I will bet you will see Islamic Fundamentalist voice being heard louder in that country (see hezbollah in Lebanon backed by Iran) very similiar to the spread of communism back in the 50's. Social media was a major player in that conflict with the Egyptian people.
With that being said the potential for a Red Scare type of witchhunts have increased. I believe that democracy requires constant vigiliance from all sides. As people make statements claiming to be facts which they know are incorrect, then I have a problem. These type of people are using false and misleading comments for their personal or other bigger agendas. That is my issue.
I was never in favor of the MI Connection and I did voice my views at town board meetings and directly to commissioners. I used the analogy if the cable company was such a money maker why not go into the coffee business like Starbucks. But that is in the past and the only thing now is dealing with the problem. Personally I do not think we should be in cable business but I do not think we should sale at fire sale prices and saddle ourselves with debt that might decrease should said system increase in value in the coming years. Example, many people around here have bank stocks and have witnessed their stocks fall. On paper the loss is huge but it has risen from the lows of Oct. 2008 and will probably rise in the coming years. Jaime did a nice exposee on the MI Connection fiasco and the general public voiced their opinion in recent elections, that is how government works as you well know from your training in Presbytery.
I do not mean to sound parnoid but I think the threat of individual rights are being watered down and disipated by nameless,faceless covert groups funded by hidden agendas . . . Moveon.org comes to mind. The reason Jaime has the reputation that she does is that she checks her facts and has them correct and straight. I do not think that it is too much for the posters to be held to the same professionalism.
John J. Amon
To February 13, 20011 8:58pm,
I have been refering to the post on 2-11-2011 12:53pm which posted blatant false info. As a town employee if you posted blatant false info we the citisens should have that knowledge and the proper channels should have you fired. I stated that if you provided a tip like deep throat in fear of reprisal fine that was understandable but that tip should be to a reporting entity that checks and verifys much the way Jaime does. Here is an example only 8:58pm, if you are lets say an assitant town manager spreading misleading and false statements against the town manager to get him fired, that would be wrong. And we the public should have that knowledge. But that is what we have on many posts today, people from both sides of arguments making wild statements that can not nor have been shown to be truthfull. (I AM NOT SAYING ANYONE AT TOWN HALL HAS DONE THAT. THIS WAS EXAMPLE ONLY)
John J. Amon
Did anybody see that great comment in The Buzz today? It said "Today Egypt, tomorrow...Mooresville." Dead on!
BTW whose this John J Amon guy? Talk about diarrhea of the mouth. Couldn't make sense out of a single word he said.
Amon sounds like a Redmond supporter honing up for the next round.
Have the commissioners started looking for our next town manager yet?
Not to my knowledge. And as far as I know that's one of their main responsibilities as elected officials - to find a viable and highly qualified person who possesses the skills to tend to the complex needs of this town.
They will never find one..A yankee was brought in last time and he proved that he was no good Look now you have Mitch pulling the strings and getting Erskine in and keeping him in office.
You can tell by past experiences they will pick no one worth a damn
I'm one of the ABE's in town. Anybody But Erskine.
From what I understand they will be offering the position to Erskine. I can't swear to that, but that's what I've been led to believe.
At this point, they have no intention of spending money on a national search to replace the TM. I can get the assistant town manager from where I used to live to apply for the position. He's a cracker-jack and does a fantastic job. He should have been promoted to TM where he is, but they chose to hire from outside the system.
The Commissioners are too chicken to attempt to find a quality Town Manager. They are taking the easy way out and staying with a Joe Knox left-over so that the town will stay as an easy target for them. Erskine Smith is a crooked scam artist who has stolen from this town for many years. What the Commissioners should do is abolish Smiths job and use that money to find a new face to come in and clean up this mess. In November we can start replacing these no good people with new ones - those who are in office have outlived their usefulness.
I agree 100% with 11:25 AM. I want to know who's backing the ridiculous Erskine Smith for this $120,000 a year job so that I know who to vote and campaign against come November.
Any news on the Code of Conduct for Mooresville Elected Officials?
So let me get this straight. The commissioners want to "save" us money by not starting a national search for a decent town manager. So, to "save" us all this money, they're giving us someone who does things like give away quarter million dollar commissions to his childhood friend (You can read about the Jimmy McKnight/Erskine Smith highway robbery right here in this blog). Thanks alot commissioners for "saving" us all this money.
For John Amon, would you please post how much of the $117,000 budget is spent for staff and related expenses (salary, travel, meetings, transportation, office and supplies) vs. how much goes to programs to actually promote downtown.
Thanks
Carney, Atkins, Abraham, Dusenberry, Herring, of course Houston will vote how they tell him to try to get someone new who is not intiminated by this group. Let's get rid of them all - do no believe anything they say in trying to get re-elected.
The last 3 T.M.’s have left amid discontent, whether it was citizen discontent or elected official discontent. They were all forced out. They ALL had the same assistant – Erskin Smith. If they had left because they were so world class that they were stolen from us by another town, this would be an entirely different story, and I would be the first to commend elected leaders for promoting Smith. However, this was not the case. Far from it. Why are we promoting someone to T.M. with a losing track record?
2:19 remember also that they and their guest all eat lunch and over a period of time that is a lot of money over a years time.
Especially if Erskine and Mitch come and eat
Hey Erskine, I read your Town Voice. How about heeding your own advice and start thinking about retirement?! Go out with a little bit of your dignity left. Learn a lesson or two from Crone about overstaying your welcome.
Everyone should make note of the fact that all the Mooresville officials Rotary and other civic club dues are paid for by the citizens. Erskine has had a free run for many years including meals, car, golf fees, clothes allowance, etc. etc.
Who is the source of your information? I have checked on that before and was told that club dues for officials are not paid using tax dollars.
Call the town office and ask to see a copy of the entire budget and ask for the part on Dues and subcriptions and it will scared the hell out of you how much is spent on all departments. Their club dues, magazine subcriptions and other things.
Being a town employee I cannot put my name but maybe Jamie can get this and post it by departments. If anyone wants to check it is public record.
Just find out the day of the week that the Rotary clubs meet and then pay a visit to the large groups of Mooresville officials eating on our dime such as town manager, police chief, fire chief, agency heads, etc. Check with the club secretary to find out where the check comes from. I know because I was a member at one time and saw this going on
Don't foget, Lions Club, Exchange Club, Optimist Club and many others. They also pay dues for them to belong to different organizations.
How about it Jamie find out about all this and let us know.
Also this is not just for department heads they do this for a lot of supervisors and ranking officers
I got news for the town board. Erskine Smith don’t answer to you. He answers to a handful up there at Chamber of Commerce. That’s always been his bread & butter.
Someone suggested that we throw everyone out in city hall including Erskine and the commissioners. Who would you suggest to replace them? Jesus and his apostles are not available and I don't know anyone else who would satisfy your requirements. Why not name some names of good candidates.
I think there are several keepers like Dusenbury, Atkins, and maybe even Houston. The rest of them, hell yeah I agree they need to get thrown out of office. As far as Erskine, I'd take a dog or a plant over him. He's been embroiled in every corruption scandal that's blown up in the town for as long as I can remember.
Randumblog's Exclusive Interview with Chris Montgomery http://www.randumblog.com/2011/02/heart-to-heart-with-mooresvilles-mayor.html
That is one really silly interview! Ran-dumb-blog!
Montgomery, step down! If you had a private sector job, you would have gotten fired long ago.
This isn't a matter of atonement for your sins; this IS a matter of demonstrated incompetence and the inability to lead.
You are a lame duck; atone to the people who supported you and do the right thing. RESIGN!
Notice how the Mayor and the Preacher both have the little cool daddy fuzz on their chin? Birds of a feather?
You all want to be rid of Erskine Smith, also known as the Biggest Leech In Town. Keep on dreaming. Herring and Abraham will throw themselves on their swords for him. They don’t care how badly he screws up. The big question is why?
Even if that is true, Commissioners Mitch Abraham and Mac Herring constitute only a minority on the Town Board. So logic dictates that the majority can override them in their blind loyalism to Smith.
Inside nates head blog: heart to heart interview
Pride comes before the fall? It seems to me that pride is what has kept the mayor from stepping down and his wife supporting him.
So he just found Jesus? Chris must be a pretty decent salesman because it appears that both he and his wife are believing the story he's selling. It may work for awhile but at some point they need to wake up and be real.
Expecting Erskine to run a town is like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole (no pun intended). He couldn't run a town if his life depended on it, and everybody who's ever dealt with him knows this, including his current bosses. Erskine was handpicked by Joe Knox who plucked him out of Belk's where his only qualification was he could sell shoes. Knox brought him in to "assist" Rick McLean. Erskine was the bagman, and he's still the bagman. He knew as long as he made sure all the little scams ran smoothly that he could play golf, take long lunches, and just about do anything he liked, not even come in to work if he didn't feel like it, except to pick up his paycheck of course. And that's just what he did for over twenty years. Erskine may be ridiculous, but he's not nearly as ridiculous as the fact that this town board expects him to all of a sudden change and become a hardworking leader. Now that's ridiculous.
10:28 you are so right it is amazing that this dumbo group of commissioners make a statement that they will not bother to try to find a new town manager because Erskine is such a great manager!!!!!! Thischaracter has made the golf course his private playpin for this many years - he does not pay any fees to play because it belongs to him. It makes you wonder how he fit into the problem with the proshop inventory some years ago which by the way has never been solved. This board has an obligation to do due diligence and find a suitable professional manager and immediately fire this thief of a manager
I second. Either our Board of Commissioners conducts its due diligence in searching for and securing a town manager who is beyond reproach, or they too will experience the harsh lessons of not too distant Boards who attempted to hang on to town managers whose time had passed.
I couldn't care less if Erskine was the most honest human being living on the planet earth. That don't change the fact that he's still the left-over washed-out dregs of the bygones days of Mooresville. So his daddy went to church with Joe Knox. Big friggin' deal in today's world. We need fresh eyes, we need a fresh mind, we need fresh outlook. Mooresville's going places, but not if its got to drag old dead weight around with it.
I agree 6:32. (This BLOG needs a like button)
Where's every body at?Since the Mayor is old business let's talk about the best Sheriff we have ever had. PHIL REDMOND!!!!
Good old Phil. Don't worry freak. Everybody is here.
What about the Ex Chief and his court date any news?
11:19 your right all 8 of you mis-fits!!!!
Is the town manager of Mooresville given a town issued credit card?
1:37 I'll claim that label. I would rather be one of eight misfits than be one of the eight corrupt. Is that you Darren? No, couldn't be Darren he's laying low hoping the mess he started with Adams all goes away. Good job Darren!
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