The village of South Jacksonville did not pass a budget Thursday during the village board’s special session meeting as tensions rose.
Trustees did end up passing an appropriations ordinance — after several heated arguments between Mayor Tyson Manker and trustees.
Arguments began erupting after trustee Megan Davidson, chair of the finance committee, made motions to table the Fiscal Year 2022 budget and remove from the budget salary adjustments for some village employees.
Davidson said she asked several times for salary information so she could look at it, double check the budget and get every board member’s opinion on it before making a decision of her own.
With the budget involving such big items as the code enforcement officer’s car and the fire chief’s salary, Davidson didn’t want the finance committee making decisions alone but with other trustees as a committee of the whole, she said.
Davidson said she asked village Treasurer Tiffanee Peters for a salary schedule earlier in the month but did not receive it.
Manker said Davidson had already received the information and her emails requesting the data again weren’t clear.
Davidson said she had not received any salary information.
“You don’t know what people’s salaries are?” Manker asked.
“No, that’s why I’m asking the treasurer,” Davidson replied.
The argument escalated from there. Manker asked how long she had been a trustee. noting that he is new to the job. Davidson said she also is a new trustee.
Other trustees then chimed in about when salary schedules were discussed.
“Let’s just talk about what people’s salaries are right now,” Manker said.
Trustee Paula Belobradjic-Stewart declined, saying that’s not the proper process. Another trustee then agreed that the committeeshould sit down and go through everything.
Manker said it had been done, but another trustee said it hadn’t been done as a group.
“To throw shade at me about the committee as a whole … y’all can ask for a committee meeting any dang time, so communication is a two-way street, so I don’t appreciate you asking for stuff and not getting it,” Manker said. “You were provided with everything you asked for. If you want a meeting, you can have a meeting.”
Trustees said they were asking for transparency, especially on salaries.
Belobradjic-Stewart said she couldn’t vote for a budget without knowing village employees’ salaries or who has been hired.
“I don’t have the info that I usually have, that’s where the confusion is,” Belobradjic-Stewart said.
Davidson said she also had asked if she could add a line in the budget for overtime so it can be monitored but she also didn’t get a response to that question. Davidson said the board can meet when she gets the information she requested.
Trustee Stacy Pinkerton also brought up a question about funding for the mayor’s office, saying the office usually has a $2,500 budget but the FY 2022 budget proposes $12,000 for the mayor’s office.
“Why on earth would you need $12,000 on a yearly budget?” Pinkerton said.
Manker said he didn’t put that number in the budget but also noted that it involves operation costs and his 50-hours-a-week work schedule.
Pinkerton said it dollar amount just didn’t make sense and the village’s funds wouldn’t cover $12,000; she also questioned if some of that money was used for a trip Manker took to Washington, D.C.
“Are you out of your mind? I paid for my own way,” Manker responded, saying he took offense at the question.
Pinkerton said she just wanted to know if it was true.
Trustee Mike Broaddus tried to ease the situation, noting that Manker’s trip to Washington, D.C., for a wedding also involved work on “communication issues” on behalf of the village. Broaddus noted he once took his own trip to Washington, D.C., as a representative of the village police department.
As budget discussion continued, Manker asked trustees to show up to future committee meetings and set up a meeting of department heads for Friday morning to try to get Davidson the information she requested.
The rest of the meeting involved other heated discussions before Manker abruptly left the meeting.
Belobradjic-Stewart and Pinkerton officially closed the meeting.
No meeting date has been set to resolve the budget issues or pass a budget.
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