A woman has accused the Itta Bena Police Department of having her car towed illegally and asked for compensation, but an attorney said Tuesday that she does not believe the city is liable.
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Aldermen, Roslyn McClung said an officer came by the residence of her then-domestic partner to serve a bench warrant because her partner had missed a court date. However, McClung said, the officer arrived without the warrant.
She alleged that the officer then told her, “We’re going to keep your vehicle until we get him.” The vehicle was towed, and McClung was sent a bill for it.
She said the towing was unlawful because the car belonged to her and was on private property.
Police Chief James Stonewall said he had lifted the hold on the car so McClung could retrieve it. However, he said he couldn’t respond about the towing incident because he was not the officer on the scene.
Tangala Hollis-Palmer, who was the acting board attorney at Tuesday’s meeting, said she did not find anything in her research that said the city would be liable to pay McClung. She said the question was whether the towing itself was illegal.
Hollis-Palmer suggested postponing discussion on the matter until the officer could be present. The board voted 4-0 to table the issue until the Feb. 7 board meeting.
“There’s not always an obligation to do the right thing; I’m just asking you to do the right thing,” McClung said.
Also Tuesday, the board heard from Cedric and Mary Williams about removing an electrical pole in their back yard.
The Williamses said the pole is leaning and supports a wire that is hanging too low. They asked for the city to remove the pole since there is no easement allowing the city to use their land for its pole.
Mayor Reginald Freeman said that he would like to help but that the city does not have the budget to remove the pole.
The pole serves four houses and has transformers on it. Cedric Williams claimed that Maurice Mosley, a city utility employee, told him the pole needed to be replaced. Williams asked, “Why not move the pole 5 feet back, if it needs to be replaced anyway?”
Mosley said he told the Williamses the transformers might need to be replaced but did not recall saying the pole needs to be replaced.
Mary Williams said the couple was asking so they could develop the property. She said the pole is impeding the work of contractors the couple have hired.
“We’re doing about $100,000 worth of renovations, and we’re just asking to be able to do that,” she said. “I don’t think that’s a big ask.”
Freeman asked Mosely to obtain price quotes from a couple of contractors for the pole removal and then get back with the mayor so he could discuss it further with the Williamses.
In other business Tuesday:
- Freeman said he spoke with Greenwood Utilities CEO Brian Finnegan to resolve the past issues between the city and the utility. Previously, the city needed the county to act as a go-between when it needed help from Greenwood Utilities. The city ran into issues with this arrangement because the county is not legally authorized to issue purchase orders on the city’s behalf.
- Shirley McClung spoke about the fence that had been blocking Christy Lane to pedestrian traffic. She brought the issue before the board in September, and a letter was issued to the fence owner by the board in mid-November. The letter said the fence was to be taken down within 30 days, but it had not been removed as of Tuesday’s meeting.
On Wednesday, Freeman said the fence was removed earlier that day and the road is now open again to pedestrians.
- The board voted to ask the county for a $25 increase in the monthly salary for county inspector Victor Stokes beginning in the next fiscal year.
- Regina Harper spoke about upgrades she is making to buildings to bring them up to code. Stokes was supposed to speak about the upgrades at the board meeting, but he was not present.
Harper claimed that Stokes had not answered or returned her calls and that she was going to file a complaint against him with the state. Freeman called Stokes and told Harper that Stokes would be by at 1 p.m. Wednesday to complete the inspections.
When contacted early Wednesday evening, Freeman said he had not heard whether the inspections had been done.
- The board voted to advertise for a new deputy clerk. City Clerk Barbara Applon said the city needs two clerks but only has funding for one. “The phones are ringing off the hook, and I can’t do my job,” she said.
- The board entered executive session to discuss continued litigation with the Municipal Energy Agency of Mississippi. No action was taken.
The city has a large, longstanding debt to the wholesale provider of electricity.
- Contact Katherine Parker at 662-581-7239 or kparker@gwcommonwealth.com.
