Lake View City Government: Up To Their Old Tricks?

Is it just a box, or a symbol of Lake View’s financial future in the trash can at the Municipal Complex?

While on the surface the two primary campaign issues of the 2016 Lake View municipal elections were public safety and the long standing sewer debacle and the associated government corruption surrounding it, the voters were truly only voting on one thing: money. Beneath all the posturing and rhetoric the true issue was town financial practices and the stewardship of the citizenry’s resources. On one hand was the Weathers camp who championed by-the-book, policy-driven financial responsibility that pulled the town out of debt and built a strong surplus in the municipal coffers, but also led to several unpopular decisions. On the other was the old guard Calhoun crew who pushed to return to the ways of the past that saw more cooperation and flexibility with policy taking a back seat, which nearly bankrupted the town during his tenure on the council ending in 2012 but restored the Lake View Police Department to full force in short order after his gubernatorial appointment in July of 2016. In the end, Calhoun made promises that this time would be different and made outlandish claims that Weathers would dismantle the police department if elected. Seemingly that ultimately won him the mayor’s office. Now, less than two months after the election with the new council not even on the dais yet, it appears that the old way of playing fast and loose with town funds has peeked out from behind the curtain again.

Boxes from nearly $1700 worth of electronics ordered by the Mayor’s office without council consent were stuffed in the trash can outside the municipal building this week.

This is not a story of doom and gloom and rampant government corruption. It’s nothing more than a few boxes in a trash can in front of the Lake View Municipal Complex and the proposed council meeting agenda for October 13, 2016. However, it hints at a much larger issue that often slips past the public, even those who take the time to pay attention to their local government. This week, several pieces of office equipment, namely a new computer and laser printers, were delivered to the municipal building for use by the mayor and his staff. Where the issue arises is that the mayor must seek council approval to spend anything in excess of $200 on supplies.  According to the proposed agenda for the now canceled October council meeting, these items were invoiced for $1,648. While the funds for this purchase may come from grant money, it still stands that the mayor must receive council approval to spend this amount of money. There are only two options. Either Mayor Calhoun misappropriated $1,648 of town funds by spending the money without the council’s approval, or he ordered equipment under the assumption that the town council would approve the expenditure. CBLV has discovered that the invoices for these items come due October 22. With the meeting now canceled, there is absolutely no way short of a special meeting for Mayor Calhoun to pay these invoices before they are due. So what’s the story? Has the mayor misappropriated funds and paid this invoice? If the council failed to approve the payment, would he then misappropriate funds to cover it or was he planning on  racking up late charges for not paying the invoice until he got approval? Would he simply waste tax payer money out of his discretionary funds to pay to ship the items back?

As was previously stated, this issue of the computer and printers is not a major development. The chances of the council not approving this spending, especially if the money is from grant funds, is minute. However it proves that at the least the mayor will gamble with tax payer money by asking forgiveness instead of permission. At worst it shows he is willing to misappropriate tax payer funds as it suits him, which is both a felony and a disservice to the people who entrusted him with the office. This is minor at best; some high end office supplies that would likely be a rubber stamp approval by the council. It may end at that, but what happens if it’s the purchase of a municipal vehicle that the town can’t afford? What happens when the Mayor’s office decides that presenting these expenditures to council for approval is just an unnecessary formality? It’s a slippery slope that turns back into $65,000 in unpaid payroll taxes and other liabilities and tens of thousands of dollars in uncashed checks and cash haphazardly stuffed in drawers at the municipal building, as was the town’s position in 2012.