HomeMy Public PortalAbout05-14-1998 Budget Session
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MINUTES
TOWN BOARD
May 14, ] 998
7:00 PM, Police Department Training Room
The Hillsborough Town Board held a Budget Session on May ]4,1998 at 7:00 PM in the
Police Department Training Room. Present for the Board Meeting were Commissioners Richard
Simpson, Catherine Martin, Frances Dancy, Kenneth Chavious and Eve]yn Lloyd. Absent from
the meeting was Mayor Horace H. Johnson, Sr. Staff Present were Town Manager Eric Peterson,
Finance Director Sherry Carter, Street Superintendent Clem Johnson, Sanitation Superintendent
Pete Champion and Town Clerk Donna Armbrister.
Mayor Pro-tern Lloyd called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
Commissioner Martin requested that the Board ask if there is any new business to be
discussed.
Commissioner Dancy requested to add two Resolutions to the agenda. By consensus, the
Board agreed.
Upon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Simpson, the Board
moved to approve a Reso]ution of Support of and Vote of Confidence in Town Manager Eric J.
Peterson by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. By consensus, the Board directed
the Town Clerk to place a copy of this Resolution in the personnel file of Eric Peterson. A copy
of this Resolution is hereby made a part of these Minutes as an attachment.
Upon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Simpson, the Board
moved to approve a Resolution of Support of and Vote of Confidence in Police Chief Nathaniel
Eubanks by a vote of 4-1 with Commissioners Dancy, Simpson, Martin and Chavious voting
Aye, and Commissioner Lloyd voting Nay. The motion was declared passed. By consensus, the
Board directed the Town Clerk to place a copy of this Resolution in the personnel file of
Nathanie] Eubanks. A copy of this Resolution is hereby made a part of these Minutes as an
attachment.
Commissioner Chavious read a statement to the Press related to the pending Police
Department Investigation. A copy of this Press Release is hereby made a part of these Minutes as
an attachment.
Town Manager Eric Peterson began the Budget discussions covering the Motor Pool and
Street Department.
At 7:30 PM Commissioner Simpson requested to be excused from a portion of the Budget
Session to attend another meeting. By consensus, the Board agreed.
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Budget discussions continued covering Powell Bill; Cemetery; Sanitation; and Finance.
At approximately 8:20 PM Commissioner Simpson returned to the Budget Session.
Budget discussions continued covering Billing and Collection; and Meter Reading.
ADJOURN
Upon a motion by Commissioner Lloyd, seconded by Commissioner Dancy, the Board
moved to adjourn at approximately 8:30 PM by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
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Respectfully Submitted,
Donna F. Annbrister
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Resolution of Support of and Vote of Confidence in
Chief of Police Nathaniel Eubanks
1. WHEREAS Nathaniel Eubanks has faithfully and diligently served the To"wn of Hillsborough as a
Police Officer since 1979; and
2. WHEREAS Nathaniel Eubanks has been an innovative an~ dedicated Chief of Police since 1997;
and
3. WHEREAS Nathaniel Eubanks is a person of impeccable character; and
4. WHEREAS Nathaniel Eubanks possesses the leadership qualities and skills which this Board
believes are essential to take our Police Department into the Twenty First Century; and
5. WHEREAS Nathaniel Eubanks operates effectively and efficiently as an administrator; and
6. WHEREAS Nathaniel Eubanks is the right person at the right time to be the Chief of Police of the
Town of Hillsborough; and
7. WHEREAS the character and abilities of Nathaniel Eubanks have been publicly impugned by
Cayor Horace Johnson by unsupported and reckless statements made to the press in the midst of a
ersonnel investigation; and
8. WHEREAS this Board has deemed it necessary and important to address the status of Chief
Nathaniel Eubanks' performance as Chief of Police in light of the aforesaid comments
IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED BY AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THE TOWN COMMISSION-
ERS THAT THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS IS VERY THANKFUL FOR THE SERVICE OF
NATHANIEL EUBANKS TO THE TOWN AND PLACES ITS UTMOST CONFIDENCE IN HIS PER-
FORMANCE OF HIS DUTIES.
The Town Clerk is hereby directed to place a copy of this Resolution and Vote of Confidence in the
permanent personnel file of Nathaniel Eubanks, and to make this document available to the public
as part of the permanent records of the Town.
. Enacted this the 14th day of May, 1998.
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Resolution of Support of and Vote of Confidence
in Town Manager Eric J. Peterson
1. WHEREAS Eric J. Peterson has faithfully and diligently served the Town of Hillsborough as Town
Manager since 1997; and
2. WHEREAS Eric J. Peterson has been an innovative and dedicated Town Manager; and
3. WHEREAS Eric J. Peterson is a person of impeccable character; and
4. WHEREAS Eric J. Peterson possesses the leadership qualities and skills which this Board
believes are essential to take our Town into the Twenty First Century; and
5. WHEREAS Eric J. Peterson operates effectively and efficiently as an administrator; and
6. WHEREAS Eric J. Peterson is highly educated and trained for the position of Town Manager, with
extensive experience; and
6. WHEREAS Eric J. Peterson is the right person at the right time to be the Town Manager of the
Town of Hillsborough; and
7. WHEREAS the duties of Eric J. Peterson to handle personnel matters have been made much
more difficult than normal by the public, unsupported and improper comments of Mayor Horace
Johnson made to the press; and
8. WHEREAS this Board has deemed it necessary and' important to address the status of Eric
Peterson's performance as Town Manager in light of the aforesaid comments
IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED BY AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THE TOWN COMMISSION-
ERS THAT THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS IS VERY THANKFUL FOR THE SERVICE OF
ERIC J. PETERSON TO THE TOWN AND PLACES ITS UTMOST CONFIDENCE IN HIS PERFOR-
MANCE OF HIS DUTIES.
The Town Clerk is hereby directed to place a copy of this Resolution and Vote of Confidence in the
permanent personnel file of Eric J. Peterson, and to make this document available to the public as
part of the permanent records of the Town.
. Enacted this the 14th day of May, 1998.
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As members of the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners, we want to
reassure the citizens of our Town, that despite the recent rash of media stories
centered around the comments and accusations of Mayor Horace Johnson, we
the Town Board support the efforts of Town Manager Eric Peterson and Police
Chief Nathaniel Eubanks in conducting a complete, thorough and confidential
investigation into the allegations that have been raised against some
individuals employed by the Town of Hillsborough.
We are concerned that citizens may have interpreted statements made by
the Mayor, as Representative of the Governing body of the Town, when this in
fact is not the case. Although Mayor Johnson has adamantly asserted that every
citizen, including himself, has a constitutional right to express his opinion and do
so publicly, via the press, 'we wish to inform the members of our community that
Mayor Johnson may have the right to speak for himself but not for the Town
or its elected governing body, or its administrative leadership.
Members of the Town Board, collectively set the policies for our Town and
have delegated the role of speaker to the Town Manager and empowered him to
be the spokesperson, and therefore, the disseminator of information regarding
confidential and all other Town business.
If in fact, Mayor Johnson has information which would be helpful to the
investigation, why is he not coming forth with this information as a team player
would? Instead, he has chosen to either withhold it or to share serious Town
confidential matters publicly. This could be seen as jeapordizing the ongoing
investigation. His withholding of other information which might help the
investigation sounds more like cover-up than that of which he is accusing others.
The case is a clear example of the Mayor pre-empting the authority of the
Board and embarrassing its police force, the Board, many Town employees and
a number of citizens while acting as an unrestricted free-agent.
Once again, we reiterate our confidence in the professional manner in
which Police Chief Nathaniel Eubanks and Town Manager Eric Peterson are
carrying out the duties and responsibilities of their offices in this matter.
In summary, we want the citizens of Hillsborough to know that Mayor
Johnson's press releases do not reflect the feelings and thoughts of 4/5 of the
Town Board, and we ask that you assess his comments in this light.