Citizen Abuse and the Role of Elected Officials | Eastern North Carolina Now

    In today's world of politics the common citizen is of no value to politicians except at election time. I have seen the dismissal of incredibly important citizen issues by politicians and governmental officials at every level of government. I have seen a State Attorney General and United State Attorney General ignore outright fraud concerning our hospital. I have watched political leaders bow to money instead of representing their people. These issues are very concerning and wrong but what I have seen locally in Belhaven recently is more alarming to me.

    I have been Mayor in Belhaven for almost 12 years now. I ran for office originally to take on a town government that was not responding to citizen's concerns. The main issue with the town government at that time was a town manager who was being allowed to abuse citizens at will. I had firsthand knowledge of the abuses due to my family and friends being on the receiving end of several injustices. When citizens would call State Law Officials about some of the abuses, they were told the only way to fix the problem was at the ballot box. The citizens supported me and we won election in 2005 and were not able to fix the town manager problem until 2007. The town manager was fired at a town council meeting to the standing ovation of about 200 citizens. We had cleared our town of a government official who would go after you if you crossed him. Council Steve Carawan and I were the leaders of the change in town politics. We had two long years of nuclear political war. The town meetings during the two years had been like nothing you have ever seen. This experience left me with a very sensitive ear concerning harassment.

    I take my job as Mayor of Belhaven very seriously. I am the only elected official who represents all of our town. As Mayor, citizens come to me with complaints regularly. They feel like I represent them and should be able to help if they have a problem with the town. I have always had an open door policy at my office and I have never turned away a citizen in need. I will continue to do my job of standing up for citizens until I am no longer Mayor of Belhaven.

    My motivation for writing this letter is the story that follows. I write this letter using the main power a Mayor possesses which is the forum to inform the public. Try to put yourself in the shoes of Mr. Arthur Bonner as I explain what has happened to him over the past several months under the supervision of our Town Manager Woody Jarvis.

    In January of this year Mr. Bonner noticed that his business was being charged for 3 trash containers when he only had one. The containers cost about 13 dollars each so he was being overbilled by $26 a month. Mr. Bonner met with the town manager and asked for a refund for the overpayment. Mr. Bonner had been paying for the 3 containers since about March of 2016. In March 2016, Mr. Bonner had taken over responsibility of the utility account from his landlord. The town manager told Mr. Bonner that the landlord had left a delinquent balance and he would only refund Mr. Bonner if he helped the town manager collect the landlords delinquent balance. Mr. Bonner told the town manager that he had no obligation for the past balance and it was not his business. The town manager then told Mr. Bonner that he would not get a refund. The overcharge was the town's mistake. The town manager would not reimburse for the mistake and even went further to offer a refund only if Mr. Bonner helped him collect someone else's debt.

    I am not aware of a single instance when the town has not made citizens whole for mistakes made by the town. The town government until recently was made up of citizens who put the citizens first. Our town government had a 9 year run of almost entirely people first Councilmen.

    Mr Bonner came to my office after his meeting with the town manager and explained the situation to me. He told me he was frustrated and expected his money back. I told him I had a meeting coming up and I would get into the issue with the town manager.

    At the town meeting on February 13, 2017, I asked the town manager about the issue with Mr. Bonner's utility account. The town manager looked me and the town in the eye and said he knew nothing about the matter. He said that he had no idea what I was talking about. I was surprised at his answer but simply asked him to check on the issue and give me and the council an update as soon as possible. After the meeting I called Mr. Bonner and told him what the town manager said. Mr. Bonner was outraged and told me the town manager was lying. Mr. Bonner told me that the town manager had even sent a town employee out to see how many trash containers were at Mr. Bonner's business. He also told me that the town clerk was nearby when he spoke to the town manager and must have some knowledge about the meeting Mr. Bonner had with the town manager.

    I became concerned about the issue because I knew Mr. Bonner had come to my office and told me about the meeting in January, 2017. It would be odd for Mr. Bonner to come tell me he met with the town manager if he in fact had not.

    I called the town employee who went to Mr. Bonner's business to count the trash containers and he validated Mr. Bonner's story to me. I also check with the town clerk who told me she knew nothing about a meeting between Mr. Bonner and the town manager. She later confessed to her preacher that she was aware of a meeting between Mr. Bonner and the town manager. I was learning that the town manager lied to the council and me at the February 13th meeting.

    At the next town meeting March 13, 2017, I questioned the town manager about Mr. Bonner's utility account again. He told the council that he first learned about the issue in November of 2016 and adjusted the trash container charge immediately for Mr. Bonner. I pointed out, at the meeting, that he had previously said he knew nothing of the issue at the February 2017 meeting and now he was claiming to know about the issue since November of 2016. The town manager was also asked by Councilwoman DeRuiz how many trash containers Mr. Bonner currently had? The town manager said he did not know. I quickly pointed out to the council that the town manager did know how many containers were at Mr. Bonner's business because the town manager had sent a town employee to check before the February 13, 2017 meeting.

    After the meeting in March of 2017, I asked to see Mr. Bonners Utility Bills since November of 2016. I looked at the bills and found that the charge for 3 trash containers was not reduced until January of 2017. This showed that the town manager lied again concerning Mr. Bonner's trash issue. If town manager had adjusted the bill immediately in November of 2016, the trash overcharge would have been gone by at least December 2016.

    The town manager had also maintained that he never offered to refund Mr. Bonner's overpayment if he would help collect his landlord's past due account. The town manager then stated at my office before the April, 2017 town meeting, that he had in fact told Mr. Bonner he would only refund his money if he helped with the delinquent bill. The town manager obviously was using lies to stand his ground in refusing to grant Mr. Bonner a refund or credit.

    Since this utility issue began Mr. Bonner has been the recipient of more mistreatment. He was attacked at his business by a man who has repeatedly threatened to kill Mr. Bonner. The assailant attacked Mr. Bonner while he was standing on his own property. Mr. Bonner cut the attacker with a small knife defending himself and then while trying to get away from the attacker was struck with a car jack in the back. There was an eye witness to the event but the Belhaven Police Department refused to take any actions against the assailant.

    Also Mr. Bonner has experienced more mistreatment with this utility bill. He came to me around the first of April and showed me his bills. They didn't seem to add up correctly. The town did a reread on his electric meter and found that his bill was overcharged by about $150. It is rare for our electric meters to be misread.

    The town council was made aware of the mistreatment of Mr. Bonner at the last town meeting on April 9th. I laid out all the lies that the town manager had told and the mistreatment Mr. Bonner has endured. The Council would take no action and even refused to enter Closed Session to talk about the actions of the town manager. The only town councilmen who seem to be concerned are Amos Wilson and Steve Carawan. Councilwoman DeRuiz and Councilmen Credle and Satterthwaite are endorsing the town managers actions. Town Councilman Satterthwaite even stated he had seen 3 trash containers at Mr. Bonner's business. I visit Mr. Bonner's business at least once a week and know for 100 percent that Councilman Satterthwaite lied about the 3 trash containers to aid the town manager. Councilman Satterthwaite also videos all the town meetings for the local cable station. He left the camera at home for the April 9 meeting to keep the public from seeing what the town manager and he support.

    I am saddened by the above events. I have supported Councilman Satterthwaite, Councilwoman DeRuiz, and the town manager in the past. I have had full confidence in their judgement in the past. It is frightening when even elected officials you know and have supported turn on the people for personal political interest. I don't understand their support of a town manager who is using lies to abuse a citizens. We need some change in Belhaven. Either the Councilmen need to rediscover who they serve or the citizens need to elect new representatives. I will just keep doing my job fighting for the citizens and hope God opens some eyes.

    Sincerely,

     Adam O'Neal
        Mayor of Belhaven