BELHAVEN — Trash service is at the root of the latest division between Belhaven officials.

Arthur’s Community Mart owner Arthur Bonner approached the town about overcharging in November 2016, stating he was charged for three trashcans while only having one.

Town Manager Woody Jarvis told the Board of Aldermen he corrected the problem as soon as it was brought to his attention in November, but Bonner then approached Mayor Adam O’Neal about the unresolved issue in January.

The amount of overcharge came to $260, but because Bonner did not approach the town for 10 months after the supposed overcharging began, the Board of Aldermen voted 3-2 not to reimburse Bonner at the March 13 board meeting.

At the board’s May 8 meeting, the issue was once again brought to light, and O’Neal vowed to continue talking about the issue until elections in November. The discussion left many unanswered questions for the public.

In an effort for clarification, the following is a breakdown of some of the statements from the May 8 meeting.

 

Adam O’Neal: “The town manager seems to think that if he gets three councilmen on his side, then he doesn’t have to pay me any attention or any citizen any attention. He can do whatever he wants to do. Well, that’s not how it is.”

According to the North Carolina League of Municipalities, “the mayor and council set policy and hire a manager to implement their policies. A manager has specified statutory authority, including hiring and firing of employees. Typically, the council also hires the attorney directly and sometimes the clerk.

“North Carolina mayors do not have veto power over council actions (with the exception of one city where the mayor has limited veto power). The mayor may or may not vote on matters before the council, again depending on the charter.”

North Carolina statutes indicate that Jarvis is legally required to follow the Board of Aldermen’s vote against reimbursing Bonner. O’Neal does not have veto power and does not vote in board decisions.

 

O’Neal: “Mr. Bonner, since the last meeting, has made a $150 payment down at town hall. We know he did it because the town manager told Steve Carawan about it, Councilman Carawan. Do you know we can’t find any credit on Mr. Bonner’s bills for this $150?”

Financial records obtained by the Daily News show that a payment was received as of March 7. Bonner paid $80 toward the Community Mart’s electric bill and $75 toward his home’s electric bill.

Both of these accounts still show delinquency, one of which is more than $2,600 still owed as of March 7.

There is no word on whether Bonner made subsequent payments since then, although one source with knowledge of the situation said this payment put Bonner back on track with his payment plan.

 

O’Neal: “On April 27, a town employee went to Mr. Bonner’s business, Arthur’s Community Mart, and told him that if he didn’t get current on his $50 a week payment, they were going to cut his power off. Mr. Bonner doesn’t have a $50 a week payment at his business.”

Bonner is not contracted to pay $50 a week for his business’ utilities. Rather, this number stems from an agreement between the Town and Bonner, regarding his home, in which he is required to pay $50 a week toward the delinquent account. This agreement is dated Dec. 11, 2015.

Town officials admitted fault in the April 27 matter.

 

O’Neal: “I asked the finance officer for a copy of Spoon River’s bill to see if we were still charging for trash, or had we let Woody’s friend get off with another garbage company and not pay the town anything, which deprives the town revenue, had that happened? The finance officer did not produce the bills. … Woody told him not to give me the bills, obviously, or he decided on his own not to give me the bills.”

O’Neal is referencing another trash service situation, in which Jarvis gave the OK for Spoon River Artworks and Market to seek service from another company besides David’s Trash Service. Jarvis said David’s Trash did not pick up Spoon River’s trash for days because of the amount, and the restaurant voiced concerns about health hazards and needing trash space for weekend service.

David’s Trash cannot provide a larger trash container without a concrete pad, and Spoon River is waiting for its grant-funded expansion project to begin, and the subsequent construction, before pouring the concrete.

Town officials first consulted the advice of Sharon Edmundson, director of the Fiscal Management Section at the N.C. Department of State Treasurer, who then sought the advice of attorney Kara Millonzi.

At first, Edmundson told O’Neal he had a right to see documents that any other citizen had a right to view. However, she advised that she was not an attorney, thus prompting her to reach out to Millonzi.

In a May 9 email, Millonzi wrote: “Utility billing information (including the information you describe below) is not a public record. That means that no one has a right to view or have a copy of that information. Most utility billing information, however, is not confidential. A local government may choose to make it public or not. It must do so on a uniform basis, though. To avoid any legal issues, I advise local governments to have the board adopt a policy setting out the circumstances under which the unit will make such info available to the public.”

The Town of Belhaven does not appear to have a set written policy in place about sharing residents’ billing information between town officials.