Fagan Rescinds Council's Order To Park Vehicles: Reviews Lease
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The story dealing with the council's decision to halt the practice of city vehicles being taken home by employees was prepared and written before Mayor Charlie Fagan's overturning the action. It is presented to provide the employees' side of the issue.)
At last week's the regularly scheduled City Council meeting, two surprise motions were introduced and passed by a majority of the council members. These actions signified a serious breach in the solidarity that had marked the past five years in local city government. At press time this week, neither of these issues has been followed.
Councilman Ed Hanson's motion was that all city vehicles be parked on city property each night. The only exception was for the fire and police chiefs' cars. Both Police Chief David Paslay and Fire Chief Robert Holbrook immediately parked their vehicles. "I don't think it's right for me to have my car at home when my men have to park theirs," said Paslay.
Council members John Lawrence, Mary Bramblett, Billy Baker and Doug Goss joined in support of the measure, but apparently they had not researched the matter fully.
Friday, Mayor Charlie Fagan issued an executive order stating,"...all city vehicles that have been used by city employees, including take-home vehicles, are to be put back into service immediately by direct order by me, Mayor Charlie Fagan. This action will resume in regard to vehicle us as they were prior to the Sept. 12 council meeting. If anyone has any comments regarding this action, including all council members, they are to be made to me."
When asked why he issued the order in direct opposing to the council's decision, Fagan said he was only obeying the law. He referred to the city's Personnel and Policy Procedure Manual. Those rules were made into law when the council adopted them as part of an ordinance. According to one section, the ordinance empowers the mayor, not the council, to set policies for vehicle use.
An ordinance cannot be change by the passage of a simple motion.
Fagan said the council could change the ordinance by passing another ordinance and going through the procedures of public notice, advertising, etc.
According to the mayor, the council's action would have had far-reaching consequences. The most immediate would have been the cancellation of:
-All escorts for the Piedmont High band on out-of-town ball games;
-All funeral escorts;
-All housing project patrols; and
-Security at the Disabled American Veterans bingo games.
All these services were performed by off-duty officers in patrol cars, but would have been stopped by the council decision.
When Hanson made his motion, Fagan told the council he, too, had been opposed to city vehicles being taken home, but he had studied the matter. He said of the proposal, "After I heard the other side of the story, I changed my mind. I saw how much it would cost the city."
Fagan said he had looked into the matter, and if the employees were not allowed to take vehicles to their homes, they would be entitled to certain compensation as set by fair wage laws.
For instance, If an employee was called to duty after hours, he would be entitled to time-and-a-half pay from the time he left his home, plus the current 35 cents per mile allowance. He would remain on time-and-a half pay until his shift began. If the problem were repaired before the regular work shift began, the employee would be entitled to mileage pay for his return trip home.
At the Sept. 12 meeting, Councilman Billy Baker made the motion to terminate the Mountain View lease. Mountain View is one of two facilities that houses children who are taken from their homes. The youngsters are removed from their homes to avoid abuse or injury, not for their behavior.
Baker said the Mountain View children were posing a discipline problem at local schools with "extreme behavior." Councilman Kevin Farmer joined Bramblett, Lawrence, Hanson and Goss in supporting the motion.
The mayor said he did not plan to terminate the Mountain View lease until all the legal questions were settled. He said recent conversations with Alabama League of Municipalities indicated the city may be open to a suit if the lease is terminated.
Fagan said the council's Sept. 12 actions were made without his knowledge, adding that Councilman Eddie Baldwin had also been excluded from any discussions. Baldwin voted in opposition to both issues.
Both Hanson and Baker said the majority of the council supported the actions. Their comments were made at the time they read the motions.
Fagan said he knew nothing of any discussions on these issues in any open meetings. "I have been to almost every committee meeting, and these issues were not discussed."
If the council secretly met to formulate these plans, the violation of the state's Sunshine Law may be questionable. If, however, the group decides to continue the closed-door discussions after Oct. 1, there is no question of the violation of the state's new Open Meeting Law. A portion of that law defines a meeting as, "The gathering, whether or not it was prearranged, of a quorum of a governmental body, a quorum of a committee or a quorum of a subcommittee of a governmental body during which the members of the governmental body deliberate specific matters that, at the time of the exchange, the participating members expect to come before the body, committee or subcommittee at a later date."
The law says such meeting should be open, and subject to prior notice. The law also requires minutes to be taken and are subject to the public being allowed to record the proceedings.

Employees Obey Council Order; But Feel Wronged
(EDITORS NOTE: In last week's story on the City Council meeting, there was an error. When Councilman Ed Hanso opened the discussion of parking city vehicles after hours by making exceptions for police and fire vehicles. When he offered the motion, the exception was only for the fire and police chiefs' vehicles. The motion made no provision for any emergency or escort services.L.W.)
Last week, when employees learned of the City Council¹s decision to ban them from driving their city-owned vehicles home after work, they got upset. Most are disappointed since the decision puts public safety at risk. Others feel betrayed because the use of a vehicle was part of their employment agreement with the city.
³They did not research this. And as far as the police department goes, they weaken our ability to protect our citizens and each other,² said officer Don Glover.
Currently, the police department is understaffed and it is common to have only two officers working a shift. In an emergency, officers say they rely on off-duty officers as back-up.
Since the council¹s change in policy, officers must now go to the station to get a police vehicle before responding to a call. This could result in a delay in response time. For canine officer Chad Butts there is an additional delay. After getting his vehicle, he must then drive back home to pick up the dog.
None of the officers feel it is safe to respond to a call in a private vehicle. ³When I call for back-up and it arrives with the blue lights flashing, I feel secure. I know it is one of my own,² said officer Freddie Norton.
Every officer in the department can recall a situation when the outcome was affected by the support of off-duty workers. One recent example was when two men robbed the Discount Food Mart on Memorial Drive and left on foot. Off-duty officers quickly responded in their patrol cars and the suspects were captured within a short time.
In an emergency, citizens expect and appreciate quick response time said Capt. Kim Cunningham, a 29-year veteran of the police department.
³The emergency at Goshen Church is a classic example. When the call came for help, I was able to leave my home in my patrol car, complete with all my emergency equipment, and arrive at the scene faster than I could do now,² said Cunningham. ³Driving a vehicle home is a low-cost perk to compensate for the lack in salary we experienced for so many years.²
Supt. Stacey Brown of the Water, Gas and Sewer Department is also concerned about area residents. If a water leak has to be turned off, the delay in response time could cost the customer additional hardship and expense. Floors, furniture, and personal property may be ruined if the house or business becomes flooded, he noted. Brown suggested that residents purchase a waterkey to turn off their own water in an emergency.
³If you have a gas leak, the delay has a potentially deadly result. A house could blow up before we get there,² said Brown. The ring of a telephone or doorbell can produce a spark that would ignite the highly flammable gas, he explained.
³This decision may cost our customers more than it does the employees.²
Mayor Charlie Fagan reported that a recent study showed the main natural gas line from White Plains to Piedmont contained $40,000 worth of the fuel. Once a leak was discovered, a 30-minute delay could result in the loss of all the gas in the line.
Casey Ponder, assistant superintendent with the electrical department, predicted delays for that department, too. ³If you have a power outage, give us an extra hour and a half.²
No one in the street department would comment on the recent changes. ³We have our jobs to think about,² one was overheard to say.
For Danny Williams, the loss of his vehicle is a breech of verbal contract. When he accepted the position of maintenance superintendent 13 years ago, he was told a vehicle would be furnished to him under the old guidelines.
³We are going to be caught in the middle of a squabble between the mayor and council,² said Williams. ³We all need to work together.²
Some employees question the true reason behind Councilman Ed Hanson¹s motion.
No employee knew of any abuse of the policy, and some offered ways the old policy had advantage over the new one. According to City Clerk Bill Fann, none of the city's departments have exceeded their fuel budgets.
Fagan said he had met with all department heads when gas prices first began to rise. According to the mayor, he ordered all non-essential driving halted. If it was not, he said all vehicles were to be parked. He said each department had complied with his request, and this was one reason there were no over-budget expenditures.
Employees said their vehicles are often washed on private time, and police officers report they are able to perform their duties while going to and from work. Area residents have said the presence of a police vehicle in a neighborhood is a deterrent to criminal behavior.
The mayor said employees with only one personal vehicle are would suffer a hardship if he were called to work after hours..
According to interviews with a number of municipal employees, morale is low in every department. Repeatedly, employees voiced complaints about how the council took away part of the raise the city had just given them.
Within hours of the council decision to park cars, Glover calculated the cost of having the police officers take their vehicles home. Considering the current price of gas, the miles per gallon, and average mileage, he estimated the city would save $28 per week with its decision. ³I would like to see the five city council members,who voted for this change, explain to the residents why they are not worth the expense,² Glover said.

City Researches Council Action on Mountain View
The city is currently researching the legalities of terminating the lease on a facility that houses children taken from their home. The work is being done on behalf of one of two controversial City Council decisions last week.
At the Sept. 12 council meeting, six of seven council members voted to terminate the Mountain View lease. Mountain View is located in the old Southside Elementary School Building and is one of two local businesses that houses children taken from their homes. The children are transferred to facilities through no fault of their own. State agencies, including the Department of Human Resources, place them in the facilities to protect them from abuse or neglect.
Mountain View is the second such facility to make use of the school building. It was formerly occupied by Piedmont Adolescent Living Service, operated by Hillcrest of Birmingham. The other local facility providing a similar service is Shining Stars located on the old Piedmont Hospital and Nursing Home building.
In making the motion, Councilman Billy Baker charged that the Mountain View children were guilty of fighting, sexual misconduct and lowering the test scores in local schools. He charged them with "extreme behavior." He added that the local school system was charged with handling discipline problems of local children and should not be burdened with out-of-town children with behavioral problems.
During the discussion of the motion, Baker was asked if Shining Stars students had similar problems, and the councilman said it did not.
Council members John Lawrence, Mary Bramblett, Ed Hanson, Kevin Farmer and Doug Goss voted in favor of Baker's motion. Councilman Eddie Baldwin cast the lone dissenting vote.
Baker failed to give the source of his charges, but some research produced some interesting facts.
City School Supt. Matt Akin said the local school system was capable of handling any discipline problems that arose. He cited "alternative school" as one possible solution. Akin was guarded in his comments due to legal regulations regarding the privacy of children.
He did say there was currently one child in alternative school for making threats, but would not say if he was a Mountain View resident.
Concerning the discipline in local schools, Akin said, "Things are fine right now."
One source said there were currently five Mountain View students in local schools. Of those, three are from Piedmont.
Akin admitted there had been some problems with the relocated children in the past, but would not single out Mountain View students as the cause of all the trouble.
One report said a Mountain View student slapped a third-grade teacher's arm last year, and the child was punished.
Another source referred to an incident in the second semester of the 2003-2004 school year. A female Piedmont High School teacher was sexually assaulted by a teenage student from Shining Stars. The teacher was traumatized by the event and did not return to her teaching duties for the rest of the year. The following year she began teaching in another county school system.
Piedmont police also disagree with Baker's evaluation of the children at Mountain View. Police Capt. Kim Cunningham said police make 4-5 times more trips to Shining Stars than to Mountain View.

Fann Joins PJ-I Staff
Consolidated Publishing Co. recently announced the appointment of a reporter-editor to join The Piedmont Journal-Independent staff.
Susan Fann is being trained in all aspects of newspaper publishing, including news photos, features, advertising, and general news writing.
Ms. Fann was most recently employed in the cell phone and automobile sales businesses. She formerly owned two local businesses and worked at a local plant.
A Piedmont native, Ms. Fann was raised in a military family and attended schools in Alabama, Oklahoma, Florida and Alaska. She moved to Piedmont in 1984.
She has three daughters, Heather, Teresa, and Carolyn, and two grandchildren.
Ms. Fann is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree at Jacksonville State University.

Local Veteran Demonstrates His Talents In Wood Carvings
Like so many of his generation, Paul Joyce went to work at an early age. His father was a carpenter and builder in Carver's Ridge, Illinois and Joyce's first job was working with him. He drilled holes in two-by-fours to keep the nails from splitting the wood as they went through the braces.
While in the eighth grade, Joyce's teacher suggested he put his woodworking talents to use for the upcoming county fair. Joyce carved two Indians out of walnut and won second prize. Then he laid his carving tools down.
Years later, while working with a German cabinet-maker, Joyce enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Although he had woodworking experience, his first two years of enlistment were served as a deck-hand. Each time he tried to get on as a carpenter's mate, he was turned down.
One fateful day, the ship's carpenter mates left their tools out during a lunch break. Joyce couldn't resist. When an officer came along and asked what he was doing, he replied, "Squaring up this board." The officer was impressed with his work and gave him a course book to complete. After completing the book, he was given a project to complete ­ make a grading for a hatch of the ship. His finished product qualified him for third class carpenter's mate. He then transferred to the Repair Division on the U.S.S. Utah.
Joyce was promoted to second class carpenter's mate days before the ship was struck by torpedoes in Pearl Harbor in December 1941. He was one of the last to get off the ship before it capsized. After such a narrow escape with death, no one would have blamed him if he left the military service.
Joyce chose to stay. He served a total of "30 years, three months and seven days." Retiring in 1969, Joyce went to work in a cabinet shop in Norfolk, Va.
Joyce picked up his carving tools once he retired. He recently completed his 23rd carving of the Last Supper. Each takes about a month to make and he gives them to friends or loved ones. "I once had to charge a friend $25 for one because I had to crate it up to ship it," he said. "It cost me $25 to send it to him."
In 1984 when he moved to this area, his father-in-law suggested that he set up a cabinet shop, but Joyce didn't like the idea. He wanted to put customer demands behind him and enjoy his woodworking. For him, his shop is "a soothing past-time."
Work begins in his shop at 7 a.m. and he is there six days a week. "I'm not an expert. I'm a long way from being an expert," he says. Those that know him recognize his abilities to do just about anything involving wood. He can fix what is broken or create from scratch. When he doesn't have the tool he needs, he makes it.
One of his latest projects is to turn an old armoire into a home entertainment center for a friend. His wife reassures him she was in no hurry for a wooden cross she wants him to duplicate from magazine. "He can do anything he sets his mind to do," she said.
No piece of wood goes to waste in Joyce's shop. He proudly displays and demonstrates a brain teaser puzzle he calls "The Window Pane." Made from small scraps, the design was seen in a magazine and recreated in his shop. "It took me hours and hours to solve the puzzle once I got it made," he says.
As long as there is wood to be carved, furniture to be repaired and puzzles to be solved, Joyce is content. At 86, he can't imagine sitting around without anything to do.

Strictly Personal
A Look At The Council's Moves
Last week's council decisions concerning the use of city vehicles and the closing of Mountainview were, to say the least, surprising. I would like to discuss four aspects of these actions, the consequences, the timing, the method and the finances.
The consequence of the vehicles being parked will be a decrease in the level of public service and public safety. I appreciate Mayor Charlie Fagan's abiding by the law and returning the vehicles to the employees. The council's disregard for the law will be discussed later. A delay in after-hours emergencies would result in Hanson's plan. This was supported by council members John Lawrence, Mary Bramblett, Bill Baker and Doug Goss. I hope the council didn't think the fire and police chiefs would drive their vehicles when their men were not given the same benefit. The chiefs parked their cars immediately after last week's meeting.
If there is a need for after-hours service, the department head will be called from his home and will go to the lot where his vehicle is parked, rather than to the scene of the problem. He will have to go inside, get the key to his vehicle and make an on-site inspection of the trouble. If he can't repair it, he will call in other department members for assistance. They, too, will have to go through the process of getting the proper equipment before reporting to the work site. Unfortunately, this also applies to police and fire vehicles.
In short, the people of Piedmont would suffer.
As to Baker's proposal, there is a financial consideration that will be discussed later, but there is also a moral and legal question. The school superintendent says his people can handle any discipline problem that arises. After all, there are presently only five kids from Mountainview enrolled in our schools. Three of those are from the Piedmont area. They were placed in Mountainview through no fault of their own. I should point out that Baker works for the state Department of Human Resources, the agency that placed the kids in the Piedmont facility.
Federal law requires schools to educate every child. The council may have overstepped its bounds by denying these children an education, The council may have also opened the door for a lawsuit, by ordering one business closed, while allowing an identical business to remain in operation. At any rate, it is the kids who will suffer. Incidentally, Councilman Kevin Farmer joined the Lawrence, Bramblett, Hanson, and Goss in supporting the issue.
I couldn't help noticing the timing of these actions. It was about five years ago that Charlie became mayor. Because of the proximity of the city offices to my office, I saw his vehicle at the office at nights and on weekends. The city was in dire financial straits, and Charlie was applying his extensive business expertise to rectifying the situation. He as advised by on state official to declare municipal bankruptcy, but Charlie refused. Through his leadership the city is now of solid financial footing. During this time, none of the council members who are now in office were at Charlie's side during those countless hours.
It has been the mayor who has pulled Piedmont's bacon out of the financial fire. Now that everything is running pretty smoothly, the council decides to make a feeble, probably illegal and uncalled-for power play. Since the major problems are fixed, the council wants to jump into the driver's seat. That's what I call timing.
In discussing the method used to formulate, present and pass these two issues, Alabama's new Open Meetings Law will become effective in 10 days. If the council continues its secret meetings, they will be in violation of the law. They have already violated the public trust. If there is one thing that has marked this administration, it has been the open manner in which city business has been conducted. There have been no secret sessions until now.
I'm not making this up. I'm only going by what Baker and Hanson said at the last meeting. In their prepared motions, they said the majority of the council favored the action. Really? When did this discussion take place? Where was the meeting in which the majority of the council voiced its support. Who was present at the meetings? What are the real reasons behind these two actions? It's certainly not economy and discipline. Who called the meeting or meetings? Why are the council members afraid or ashamed to hold discussions before the public that elected them? Why were the mayor and Councilman Eddie Baldwin excluded from these secret sessions?
I have been at every council meeting, and neither of these topics has been mentioned. Therefore, six of seven members of the council have entered into a conspiracy to secretly meet, carry out at least two personal agendas and seize control of city government. This behind-closed-doors plotting has already cost them my trust.
On the topic of finances, the city will be facing some tough money decisions in the coming years, and we are going to need good, strong, business-based leadership. One member of the council told a local businessman that the mayor had run the city long enough and the council was taking over. Lets take a look at the business background of our council. Lawrence is a retired policeman, Bramblett is a mid-level industrial manager, Hanson carries the mail in Jacksonville, Farmer works for Cherokee Electric, Baker works for DHR and Goss works for Young Oil. Somehow, these credentials don't seem to compare with Fagan's years of successfully working in business and finance in a multi-million-dollar operation.
As an example, consider the financial results of the two council actions. If we are to believe Hanson, high fuel prices prompted his action. One department said it cost 28 per week for employees to take vehicles home. The city has the police, fire, street electrical, water, gas and sewer departments, and I am being liberal in separating water and sewer departments. That's seven departments times $28 a week multiplied by 52 weeks for a gross yearly saving of $10,192.
I'm not even going to deduct the additional time-and-a half wages and mileage the city will be forced to pay off-duty employees when they are called in to work.
Baker wants to shut down Mountainview. This would result in the city's loss of lease payments, utilities, building maintenance and sales tax revenues from food and other items purchased locally. To this loss, the city will be strapped with the costs of insurance, maintenance and utilities to keep the building in usable shape. Combining the losses and increased costs, a conservative figure would be $100,000 for the first year, alone.
The $100,000 loss and the $10,192 in savings leave the city with a deficit of $90,000 or more on these two issues. Is this the kind of leadership we need?
Baker's only suggestion on how to use the Mountainview building was to "bulldoze it down and build townhouses." A noble suggestion, but where's the money coming from, and is it legal for the city to go into the housing business?
At best, these two decisions were not properly researched, no allowance was made for emergency service, no financial studies were done and they were not publicly discussed. At worst, the method used in making the decisions is in violation of the trust placed in these people as public officials, and under the Open Meetings Law, the secret council meetings would have been illegal.