PINE BLUFF -- The Pine Bluff City Council met uninterrupted Monday night two weeks after four aldermen walked out of the last meeting to protest a colleague.
Among the most notable business undertaken Monday, aldermen set up an account for a $250,000 Delta Regional Authority grant to spruce up University Park and held the first reading of an ordinance that would require all newly hired, uniformed employees and department heads to live within city limits.
Aldermen George Stepps, Glen Brown Jr., Glen Brown Sr. and Thelma Walker left the April 20 meeting before any business could be taken care of, saying they could no longer work with Alderman Bill Brumett because of what they claim was his intentional use of a racial slur during an online debate. They want him to resign, but he has said he has no plans to step down.
Walker and the other aldermen who walked out of the last meeting haven't said when or if they plan further protests against Brumett. Walker said she understands that city business "must go on, but we aren't just going to let this blow over."
Stepps spoke out briefly on the issue of Brumett during the meeting, saying he doesn't agree with the way some media outlets have covered the events, calling coverage "unfairly biased towards Brumett."
Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth said she was most concerned about taking care of the grant Monday night, since it is time sensitive.
After the aldermen left the April 20 meeting, there were not enough council members left to vote on pending legislation and other city business, and the grant's future was left in a brief limbo. Five aldermen must be present to take official votes. Alderman Steven Mays was unable to attend the meeting, and only Aldermen Lloyd Holcomb Jr., Charles Boyd and Brumett remained.
The aldermen's exit came two weeks after the City Council unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Brumett at its April 6 meeting.
Brumett has apologized for typing the word "coon" during a Facebook debate with Pine Bluff native J.C. Cunningham over city issues and said he doesn't plan to discuss the issue further. The alderman said he became agitated that Cunningham kept misspelling his name and decided to intentionally misspell Cunningham's name out of frustration, unintentionally typing "Cooninham," when he meant to type "Cuuningham."
Cunningham, who has not spoken publicly about the issue, said in a written statement last month that he does not accept the alderman's apology but stopped short of saying he should resign.
Monday night's council meeting was the first in the past month that has not included significant protests against Brumett, and many in attendance were grateful that the city is moving forward with its business. Lori James of Pine Bluff said she came to the meeting just to see if there would be any disruptions.
"It looks like cooler heads are prevailing," James said. "We have too many important things to do in this city besides bicker over what someone said or didn't say online."
As for the proposed residency ordinance, Monday night marked the second time in as many months that discussion of where city employees live has come up. Last month the city passed an ordinance requiring all newly-hired employees to live within the city, but Hollingsworth vetoed it.
This time, the ordinance only applies to newly-hired uniformed employees, such as police and firefighters, and department heads. It will be read for the second time when the City Council meets on May 18.
State Desk on 05/05/2015