Consultants-Taxes-Unnecessary Expenses

Even though a community is overtaxed, sometimes consultants are a necessary expense. Sometimes they are also a waste of money and a racket to rip off taxpayers. For example, if specialized knowledge is needed to determine what to do to a municipal sewage treatment plant to get it into environmental compliance, one would hire a person with expertise to do that as the Town of Farmerville did in early 2021. That consultant issued a condemnatory report pointing out that the sewage plant was in horrible condition and long past due for renovations/rebuild, which by all accounts the town has ignored by continuing to contaminate the lake.
Consequently, the town cannot adequately treat sewage and the sewage plant is largely inoperable at anywhere near its design capacity, yet the town charges its citizens every month for sewage treatment – a service it does not properly provide. [See July/August editions of The Gazette]. Requests by the Gazette to interview Mayor Crow on this and other important environmental and public works matters have been denied by the mayor.
Additional recent ‘un-responded to issues’ include the town exposing workers and citizens to asbestos in deliberately demolishing moving and dumping the Metz motel near a residential neighborhood; paying $250,000 from the town sales tax fund for a boat ramp location with no warranty of title, no permits in hand to build and basically no due diligence for the project; inadequate water quality at Foster Farms; and requesting federal grant money for “environmental cleanup” for property owned by friends of the mayor.
Sources state that the mayor informed the police jury that there was no asbestos in the Metz motel – not to worry about it – but the mayor told the federal government there was asbestos in it when he requested federal money to clean it up. The grant application submitted by Mayor Crow to the federal government stated:

“The second Priority Site is the former Budget Inn PS, [Metz Motel]…Built in the 1950’s, the site comprises an asphalt pad, a grassy lot, and 10 vacant, derelict buildings… The buildings are made of brick and block… The COC is asbestos containing materials (ACM) in the building posing a threat to the people using the surrounding sites …The Budget Inn PS [Metz Motel] is a community priority because of its prominent location … and the health risks it poses to the surrounding community.”

If Mayor Crow told the police jury there was no asbestos in the ‘disappeared Metz Motel’, then he wasn’t truthful with either the police jury or the federal government he was asking $396,000 from. It isn’t nice to make false statements to the federal government, which usually takes these matters seriously.
This begs the question of exactly how this happened with the seasoned political consultant Mike Walsworth at the mayor’s side. This consultant is being paid $1,000 per month, by the town of Farmerville taxpayers, for each and every month Mayor Crow has been in office; while also being on the Lieutenant Governors payroll as a “verbal adviser” for more than $5,000.00 per month, also paid by the taxpayers.
If Mayor Crow can only govern with a paid consultant hired to govern for him, he needs to explain that. Public records show the Mayor’s salary and benefits are some $57,000 per year. Add another $12,000 per year for his consultant and the taxpayers are out some $70,000 per year for the cost of the Mayor alone. This does not include vehicles, insurance and fuel costs provided by the town for the use of the mayor. That also doesn’t include the cost of mistakes and bad judgments the unelected and unaccountable “consultant” causes. Both of them should grant interviews to the Gazette to answer questions the public has a right to know.
The voters of this town did not elect a consultant to run it. The council needs to explain why it rubber stamps the ‘consultant driven’ mayor’s requests. The mayor needs to explain why he cannot do the job he was elected to do without someone holding his hand.