Transparency, Special Meetings and Margaret’s Financial Position

I want to give everyone an update on what has happened over the last 24 hours, but I also want to put it into the larger context of where Margaret stands financially and where I believe our attention needs to be as we prepare the next City budget.

There has been a lot of noise lately. I think the best response to noise is information.

So along with this update, I am making the City’s current financial reports available to the public.

What happened with Wednesday’s special meeting?

On Tuesday, Councilman Jonathan Ray made 2 short-notice request for a special-called meeting.

The second at 7:00 p.m., he requested a meeting for Wednesday, September 2 at 7:15 p.m. Then at 7:08 Councilman James Chapman responded and Councilman Kerry McIntyre responded at 7:12 p.m. At approximately 7:24 p.m., a handwritten notice was posted at City Hall.

The problem is simple: the public notice was posted too late.

Alabama’s Open Meetings Act requires no less than 24 hours’ public notice for this type of special-called meeting. A meeting scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Wednesday needed to be publicly noticed no later than 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.

It wasn’t.

None of the subjects provided to me appeared to present an emergency that would justify shortened notice nor a special meeting at all.

I am not refusing the Council’s request for a special meeting. I will call a properly noticed special meeting for Thursday, September 3 at 11:00 a.m.

But there is another issue.

The requested subjects included:

• “park rental fees”
• “summit park road”
• “city vehicles”
• “City departments”
• “City documents request”
• “9/7/26 meeting”
• “Reimbursement for church”
• “ALM Conference registration and reimbursement”

Some of those descriptions simply do not tell the public nor council what governmental business is actually being considered, especially business that requires overtime for all the employees who would need to attend.

Margaret’s ordinance requires the notice of a special meeting to state the specific purpose or purposes of the meeting. If a particular vehicle, department, records request or proposed Council action needs consideration, then the public should be told what it is.

People should not have to show up at City Hall to discover what their government intends to discuss or vote on.

There is also confusion about the reference to a September 7 meeting. The Council previously voted unanimously to move that meeting because September 7 is Labor Day. Councilman Ray made the motion to move it to September 14.

Councilwoman Samantha Davis asked why an already-resolved matter was being placed on this special-meeting list.

As of the time I am writing this, that question has not been answered.

There is a bigger issue here

Margaret is still without a City Clerk.

At the same time, an extraordinary amount of City time is being consumed by procedural fights, last-minute demands and disputes over the boundary between the Council’s legislative responsibilities and the administration’s day-to-day responsibilities.

That cannot become the normal way Margaret operates.

I will respect the lawful exercise of the City Council’s authority. I expect the same respect for the lawful responsibilities of the Mayor, our department heads and City employees.

Transparency applies to everyone.

The Open Meetings Act applies to everyone.

Margaret’s ordinances apply to everyone.

And the limitations of elected office apply to everyone.

Political disagreement is legitimate. I expect disagreement. But political disagreement is different from interfering with City operations or disregarding the procedures established by law.

When I believe conduct crosses that line, I am documenting it. When appropriate, I will submit those matters to our attorneys or the appropriate governmental authorities for review. If legal action becomes necessary to protect the City, its employees or the lawful operation of municipal government, I will pursue the remedies available to the protect the City.

That isn’t about punishing disagreement.

It’s about accountability.

Our employees and taxpayers are paying for this too

There is another consequence of repeated last-minute special meetings that tends to get overlooked.

Our employees have lives and families.

Calling nonemergency meetings on extremely short notice can require employees to stay late, return to City Hall or work additional hours. Those additional personnel costs ultimately belong to the taxpayers.

Our employees should not repeatedly have to rearrange their lives, and taxpayers should not have to incur additional costs simply because elected officials failed to plan City business responsibly.

We have roads to repair, infrastructure to build, parks to improve, public safety departments to support and finances to manage.

That is where I want our time and money going.

So let’s talk about the money

I’m releasing the City’s current financial reports through September 1 because residents shouldn’t have to rely on anyone’s political characterization of Margaret’s finances.

You can look at the numbers yourselves.

General-Fund-BudgetvsActualsFY2026-FY26PL

The General Fund budget-to-actual report currently shows approximately $2.724 million in recognized year-to-date revenue. It reports approximately $3.532 million in operating expenditures against an operating expenditure budget of approximately $4.577 million.

That means approximately 77% of the budgeted operating expenditures reflected in this report have been used. 

Personnel expenditures are approximately $1.903 million against approximately $2.035 million budgeted, or approximately 94% of that budgeted amount. 

There are individual accounts that are over budget and others that remain significantly under budget. That’s why responsible financial management means looking at the entire financial picture rather than selecting one transaction or account and turning it into a political talking point.

Public Utilities

Our Public Utilities financial report currently shows approximately:

PW-BudgetvsActualsFY2026-FY26PL

$2.068 million in operating revenue

$1.642 million in operating expenses

$426,000 in net operating income

$353,300 in net income after other income and expenses. 

Those are important numbers as we continue investing in Margaret’s water and sewer infrastructure.

The utility check register also shows where that money is actually going, including purchased water, repairs and maintenance, equipment, water and sewer operations, GIS work, training and other operating expenses. 

I provide Council with every check register and the bank statements too

I want to clear up another point because there have been repeated suggestions that members of the Council do not have access to detailed information about City spending.

Since January, I have provided the Council with the City’s bank statements and detailed check information for their review. They have the ability to see where City money is going, review individual expenditures and ask questions about anything they believe requires an explanation.

The public financial reports I am sharing with this update are intended to give residents a clear picture of the City’s overall financial position. I am not publishing every check register or every bank statement online, because those records can contain account information, customer information and other details that should not simply be placed on social media or a public website without appropriate review.

But the Council receives that detailed financial information.

Every check. Every bank statement. Every month.

And I have been providing it since January.

That distinction matters when claims are made that the Council is somehow being denied financial information. There is a significant difference between not having information and having information but disagreeing with how the City is being operated.

I welcome legitimate questions about City expenditures. That’s one of the reasons I provide the Council with the underlying financial records rather than asking them to simply take my word for it.

Transparency does not mean that every elected official will agree with every expenditure. It means they have the information necessary to review those expenditures and hold the administration accountable.

One important disclaimer about these numbers

These are current management reports generated from the City’s accounting system. They are not the City’s final audited FY2026 financial statements.

We are approaching fiscal year-end and there are classifications, transfers and accounting entries that still need to be reconciled.

That’s normal, but it also means I don’t want anyone, including me, taking an isolated number from one of these reports and presenting it without context.

Financial transparency means showing the good numbers, the bad numbers and the numbers that still need explanation.

Now comes the next budget

This is where I want residents to pay particularly close attention.

The City Council has an important responsibility in adopting Margaret’s budget.

The current financial reports do not, by themselves, support a narrative that Margaret is experiencing a financial crisis requiring indiscriminate reductions in staffing or essential City services. General Fund operating expenditures are currently reported at approximately 77% of the annual operating budget, personnel expenditures at approximately 94% of their budgeted amount and Public Utilities continues to report positive operating income.  

That does not mean every expenditure is justified forever.

It doesn’t mean every department or position is beyond review.

Quite the opposite.

Responsible budgeting requires us to examine staffing, compensation, contracts, services and significant expenditures and ask whether taxpayers are receiving value for their money.

I welcome that process.

What I will oppose is using the budget process as a political weapon against City employees or attempting to accomplish through appropriations what individual elected officials cannot accomplish through day-to-day administrative control.

If someone proposes eliminating a position, I think residents deserve answers to some basic questions:

What money does the cut actually save?

What work does that employee currently perform?

Who will perform that work afterward?

What City service will be reduced or eliminated?

What financial or operational analysis supports the recommendation?

Those aren’t political questions. They’re budgeting questions.

Our employees are not political collateral

This is particularly important to me.

City employees should not come to work wondering whether their family’s livelihood depends upon which elected officials are fighting with each other that week.

They have continued answering police calls, responding to fires and medical emergencies, repairing infrastructure, maintaining our roads and parks, operating our water and sewer systems, handling court responsibilities and keeping City Hall functioning through an extraordinarily difficult period.

They deserve a budget based on Margaret’s operational needs, not personalities.

If the Council ultimately chooses to eliminate funding for personnel or services over the administration’s objection, I will make the consequences transparent.

I will tell the public what was proposed, who proposed it, what operational impact was presented before the vote, how each member voted and what services are affected afterward.

That’s not about attacking anyone.

When you cast a vote controlling taxpayer money, you should be willing to explain it.

I certainly expect to be held to that standard as Mayor.

Where we go from here

I’m tired of Margaret’s story being dominated by political conflict.

I suspect a lot of our residents are tired of it too.

There are legitimate disagreements about how this City should operate. Those disagreements can be debated publicly, voted on and, when necessary, resolved through the legal process.

But they cannot consume the City.

We have roads to fix.

We have water and sewer infrastructure that needs investment.

We have parks and community facilities to improve.

We have Police, Fire and Public Works employees who need the resources to serve a growing city.

We have another budget to build.

And we have residents who deserve a government focused on them.

That’s where my attention is going to remain.

In the meantime, I’m providing the financial reports because you shouldn’t have to take my word for Margaret’s financial condition.

Read them.

Ask questions.

Hold me accountable.

Hold the Council accountable.

And judge all of us by the same standard.