PB official’s claims lead to apology to streets chief.

PINE BLUFF — The city’s Public Works Committee apologized to the Street Department director Tuesday for a City Council member’s corruption allegations at Monday’s council meeting.

Council Member Steven Mays introduced resolutions Monday night calling for investigations into the city’s Street Department and Code Enforcement Department. Both proposals were rejected without discussion by the other seven council members.

A city police investigation into billing irregularities involving city cleanup of neglected properties resulted in the termination of the city’s code enforcement director in December, and the city is currently searching for a permanent replacement.

Mays’ resolutions, he said, stemmed from complaints he was receiving from residents in Ward 4 concerning potholes and dilapidated streets. Although his resolution alluded to “alleged improprieties” in the Street Department, he offered no evidence to suggest that funds were being mismanaged, and city officials said regular audits of department finances have not revealed any problems.

Rick Rhoden, the director of the Street Department, urged committee members to contact him if they had any questions regarding department operations or finances. He said part of the problem with potholes forming in the streets had to do with poor drainage on private property.

“If you have a natural drain that goes across your property, that is your responsibility to keep it cleaned out,” Rhoden said. “However, the Street Department will come in and help you if it gets clogged up, but we can’t keep removing trash for people.”

Rhoden told the committee that personnel and equipment problems have hindered efforts to keep streets repaired. He said the department is short six employees and that much of the heavy equipment is more than 20 years old.

Council Member Bruce Lockett, chairman of the Public Works Committee, noted that Mays’ concerns should have been taken before the committee before Mays took the step of drafting resolutions calling for outside investigations.

“Nothing was ever presented to this committee,” Lockett said. “Nothing has been brought before this committee to say that anyone has any issue with the department.”

Then Lockett issued an apology to Rhoden on behalf of the City Council.

“The problem I have is that you come to work every day and do your job and then you look in the paper and see where someone says you aren’t doing what you are supposed to,” Lockett said. “That’s something that’s unbearable for me as a politician saying I’ve got people coming to work doing what they are supposed to do, but then you have some political shenanigans going on that smears their good reputation, and they have no control over it.”

Lockett said he is working to put systems in place that will help document and track service calls that the department receives.

“I’ve got your back on that end,” he said. “We, as city officials, appreciate the work you do, and we want to set a climate in our departments where people want to work for us.”

Council Members Glen Brown Jr., a committee member, and Win Trafford, a former committee member, echoed Lockett’s sentiments.

“I, too, am saddened by what took place,” Trafford said. “It was unnecessary.”

After the meeting, Rhoden said he was blindsided by Mays’ allegations.

“That caught me strictly by surprise because I keep everything on record,” Rhoden said. “I thought it was about money but after it came out last night, it’s not about money, it’s about politics.”

When contacted Tuesday night, Mays, who is running for mayor in the March primary against incumbent Mayor Shirley Washington and Council Member Ivan Whitfield, denied any political motivation to his actions.

“I did what I did because it needed to be done,” he said. “This has nothing to do with politics. It was simply the right thing to do.”