GOULD – This Lincoln County town has a new recorder-treasurer after the city’s aldermen voted 4-2 Tuesday night to override last month’s veto of the appointment by Mayor Earnest Nash Jr. The City Council by ordinance and directive said Pamela Barley-Gibson should be furnished keys today to City Hall and her new office.
She succeeds former recorder-treasurer Mary Prewett, who was appointed to fill the position a year ago, but resigned on Dec. 9, saying she was “afraid” of Nash.
Barley-Gibson was sworn in Tuesday by Judge Howard M. “Corky” Holthoff of Dumas in a hallway ceremony.
Four members of the City Council met Dec. 13 and voted to appoint Barley-Gibson as recorder-treasurer. However, Nash refused to accept the appointment and had the locks changed on the recorder-treasurer’s office. He has maintained that Barley-Gibson is not a resident of Gould.
Four aldermen – Sonja Farley, Rosleanna Smith-Lee, Veronica Tensley and Harry Hall – voted Jan. 10 to appoint Barley-Gibson as recorder-treasurer, to fire all the members of the Gould Water and Sewer Commission – Chairman Johnny Hendrix, Kenneth Pointer, Lee Swygart and Edward Lane – and to terminate Police Chief Talvin Collins and part-time police officer Tim Peterson.
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Nash, the two-member police department and the City Court Clerk Linda Howell have not been paid since Prewett resigned. Council members have refused to sign any checks.
Aldermen Essie Mae Cableton and Ermer Preston, who have voted with Nash in the past, cast the only votes against Tuesday’s override.
Nash questioned the firing of the water and sewer commissioners, which the four said stemmed from the commissioners ignoring repeated requests to attend council meetings to explain a recent rate hike and what they described as the poor condition of the water system.
Farley and Tensley said the officers were fired because Collins allegedly “never shows up for work” and no tickets had been issued by municipal police officers.
Nash restricted some comments Tuesday, repeatedly using his gavel to silence dissenters. He told the aldermen the city is facing an investigation from “the Labor Board” and two lawsuits because employees have not been paid.
At one point Nash, Cableton and Preston rose from their chairs and walked out of the council meeting. Cableton and Nash later returned and stayed until the two hour meeting adjourned, but Preston apparently left City Hall.
Two uniformed Arkansas State Police troopers were present during the meeting and several times Nash threatened to have the officers remove anyone who created a disturbance.