Last week’s edition of the CFP called attention to two of the mayor’s recent shenanigans One involved a transfer of City funds; the other involved payment of the men in the Grounds Dept. For those who do not attend council meetings or watch the videos, I would like to fill in a few blanks.
For years 35% of Grounds wages was paid via the Park Tax through the Park Fund; the other 65% was paid from the General Fund. At the June 3, 2025 council meeting, the mayor told the aldermen he wanted 100% of Grounds wages paid from the General Fund. The aldermen said no.
Nevertheless, Grounds payroll was moved to the General Fund and $50,000 was transferred from the Park Fund to the General Fund. The transfer was deliberately buried among the thousands of numbers contained in the new budget. A Budget Revision Memo, which the aldermen rely on to inform themselves about budget changes, was carefully worded to conceal the nature of the transfer and made no mention whatsoever of the change in Grounds payroll.
It would have been hard for a professional accountant to find the transfer and payroll change even if he knew to look for them. The aldermen, not trained in accounting and not suspicious of the information provided them, had no chance at all.
Just a few weeks ago, Alderman Pitts Lesesne, Ward 2, currently a candidate for mayor, discovered the movement of Grounds’ payroll. He started asking questions and soon discovered the transfer. He brought both issues to the attention of the comptroller and City Clerk. The City Clerk notified the mayor and the issues were put on the agenda for the February 17 city council meeting.
The comptroller did not deny making the transfer. She produced a sticky note to show she had been told to make it. However, she could not remember who told her. Alderman Lesesne asked the entire City Council if any of them had asked Jennifer to make the transfer. The aldermen remained silent. The mayor, however, promptly denied doing it, then sarcastically added that he would take the blame “if that makes everything good”.
Only the mayor wanted to move the Grounds employees to the General Fund. Only the mayor wanted the $50,000 transfer. Who do you think issued the order to Jennifer?
If you find it difficult to imagine a comptroller not remembering who told her to move $50,000, remember that just four months earlier, she watched her supervisor, the mayor, out of spite and on his own vote, dissolve the entire Park Board.
Would it be reasonable for her to fear that the mayor would fire her if she didn’t follow his instructions? Before you correctly say the mayor can’t fire a city employee unless the council approves, keep in mind the mayor appointed two of the aldermen (Mortimeyer and Hewkin) and campaigned to help two others win office (Hartzell and Halbert). Watch videos of past council meetings to confirm these four usually vote the way the mayor wants them to vote.
If you were comptroller, needed your job to help support your family, and knew all too well the vindictiveness of the mayor, would you develop a faulty memory and stick to your story no matter how humiliating and painful that might be?
Jackie Hunt
Cuba
