SRB and Council Allies Challenge Mapp Administration

As controversies over constables and official cars deepened Wednesday, Council President Bridget Rivers called for the governing body to have its own National Night Out event and newsletter in competition with the administration.

Former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs previously urged the council to reappoint two constables and to challenge the purchase of new vehicles for Mayor Adrian O. Mapp and City Administrator Rick Smiley. Both matters came up Wednesday as discussion items for the council.

Regarding the constables, Police Director Carl Riley said he was unaware that the city had any and said he did not recommend having them. Councilwoman Gloria Taylor called on Robinson-Briggs to explain. The former mayor said she sent Riley a letter in April 2014 about the constables, whose terms had expired. She said Riley told her he was reviewing the matter, Robinson-Briggs asked the council to put the appointments on the agenda for the May 16 regular meeting and read a statute on constable appointments after noting that Riley said the police force was down by 17 officers.

Riley said constables can't supplement the police force, as they do not have the same powers, and voiced other concerns, adding, "Nobody's going to tell me who to choose as my constables."

Councilwoman Rebecca Williams read another section of the statute on constables that said they must report monthly on their activities or lose their posts, whereupon Robinson-Briggs had a former constable come up and hand over a report.

"I know there are reports," she said, claiming former Police Director Martin Hellwig received them.

On the Explorers that were purchased out of the police budget, the discussion ranged from how to make sure "past practice" aligned with fiscal guidelines to Rivers' telling Smiley, "Maybe you should return the cars to Public Safety, where they belong."

"I won't be doing that," Smiley said.

"I want the mayor here," Rivers said. "I don't believe the mayor would have responded like that."

As Smiley insisted he could get any car he wanted from the police fleet, Rivers said, "I want you to give (the Explorers) back."

Regarding the Aug 4 National Night Out, Smiley first said it could not be held on the steps of City Hall because the administration had an event scheduled on the same night.

"If you have your event in the front, we will have ours in the back," Rivers retorted.

Then it turned out the administration's event was itself a National Night Out Program. Rivers said the administration should have discussed it with the governing body, adding, "If the administration is having one, we'll have one, too."

Councilman Cory Storch reminded the council that neighborhoods can organize their own events, and Smiley suggested that the council could hold them in each ward. Councilwoman Diane Toliver said people love having the event on the City Hall steps, saying to residents it's "like the White House."

In the end, Smiley suggested the two branches of government could work together.

The discussion items alone took over an hour. Near the end of the meeting, Rivers drew one more line in the sand.

"We have money in our budget," she said to the council members. "We need to work to have our own newsletter."

She said it could be used to publicize ward meetings and such, and suggested hiring someone "to do those things."

Mapp's online newsletter had come up in budget talks when some council members suspected a grants coordinator was writing it. Budget consultant Lawrence Caroselli had recommended elimination of the grants coordinator, but Finance Director Ron West said the staffer had brought in $1 million in grants. The newsletter was written by the mayor's chief of staff, who was also targeted for elimination in the 2015 budget.

The meeting was taped for viewing on local cable channels 34 and 96, so tune in to see all the action.

--Bernice