Interim Mount Olive Town Manager Glenn Holland, right, gives his report to the board while District 1 Commissioner Vicky Darden listens. (Georgia Martin Dees|mountolivetribune.com)
Mount Oliv Mayor Jerome Newton asks a question of town clerk Sherry Davis. (Georgia Martin Dees|mountolivetribune.com)
Water was the hot topic at Monday night’s Mount Olive Board of Commissioners meeting.
Water flow. Water filters. Water meters.
But it was water bills that drew the most attention: From public comment to the interim town manager’s report to one commissioner’s explanation of why he hadn’t paid, and would not pay in the future, a water bill that is in his name.
During the public comment period, Brent Heath addressed the board “on behalf of the citizens who are frustrated and burdened by the recent increases in our water bills.”
“We all understand that water and sewer service costs money,” he said, “but what we cannot accept is mismanagement and unfairness.”
Heath referred to the recent State Auditor’s report that revealed the town had serious problems with how it handled utility bills. “Rates were entered incorrectly into the system, and that mistake alone cost our town more than $210,000 in lost revenue,” he stressed. “While some businesses and residents were being undercharged, others carried the burden. And now, rather than fixing those errors fairly, every citizen is being asked to pay the higher rates.”
He went on to say the audit showed hundreds of cutoff fees were voided.
“That means some people simply did not pay their bills, while their neighbors – who worked hard to pay on time – covered the difference,” Heath continued. “Two employees in the water department were found to have manipulated the system, so their own services were never cut off. And one of our very own commissioners had nearly a year of water bills go unpaid while still receiving service.”
Although Heath didn’t name the commissioner he referenced, Delreese Simmons has gone on record as not having paid a water bill that is in his name. He addressed Heath’s comment later in the meeting.
“So I ask this: What is the common denominator between those who didn’t pay their bills and those who benefitted from the rate errors?” Heath asked. “In both cases, it was a breakdown in accountability, oversight and leadership. The ones who played by the rules, the ones who paid their bills every month, are now being asked to shoulder even higher costs to make up for the town’s failures. That is simply not fair.”
During the manager’s report, Glenn Holland reviewed progress and impediments to progress related to water repairs, street repairs, wastewater treatment and lot and ditch maintenance. He said he has numerous meetings scheduled this month with engineers and state regulators for input and guidance.
Holland also reported he had sent the town’s official response to the audit.
“The town and the airport have worked closely with the Office of the State Auditor regarding their recommendations for the airport,” he said. “All outstanding fuel invoices have been collected, the fuel account has been closed, and all utilities are now being paid for by Bass Aviation.”
He noted he is meeting monthly with the airport manager, and the third-party CPA is reviewing all documents.
Regarding water bills, Holland asked for patience from anyone in the community trying to establish water service. “We’re trying to do it the proper way,” he stressed.
Holland also warned the group that once the new water meters are installed, most users will probably see an increase “because then we’ll have something that’s reading correctly.” He estimated about 2,000 new meters have been ordered.
During board member reports, Simmons stated bulk trash had been included in some water bills and shouldn’t have and that was one of the reason some residents didn’t pay their bills. He also addressed non-residential billing.
“There are lots of businesses with thousands of dollars of water bills, a lot of businesses whose water meters don’t even work properly,” he said. “We lose hundreds of thousands of dollars per month” because of the malfunctioning meters. He didn’t mention any business by name.
In regard to the unpaid water bill attributed to his account, Simmons said the bill in question was not his and he didn’t know who put the account in his name. He further stated he had never lived at the address in question, therefore he wasn’t going to pay the bill. He explained there was a trailer on the property that he had gotten “for some homeless people,” but he had not established a water account for anyone there.
In other business, the board approved a resolution adopting Community Development Block Grant policies that are required of all grant recipients.
Also, the board tabled until its November meeting a vote on a resolution to lease land to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for its youth sports programs, which, according to its director Ronnie Wise, involves 60 to 100 youth each season, bringing the total to about 2,500 participants during its 34 seasons. The reason for tabling the vote pertained to the change of oversight of the Hurricanes youth football program from Mount Olive Hurricanes LLC as named in the current 10-year lease, to FCA Hurricanes, which assumed leadership of the program in recent years. The current lease expires in 2026.
On the advice of town attorney Carroll Turner, the board also tabled a vote on an updated cemetery/burial policy to allow more time for review and possible public input.
About 25 citizens attended the meeting, including several vying for seats on the board in the upcoming Nov. 4 election.
The next board meeting will be Nov. 10 at 6 p.m.
