TURRELL, AR – Big problems in the small town of Turrell, Arkansas. Council members say town services could shut down if a budget isn’t approved by the end of the year.
If this happens, it’ll be the second year in a row the town and its services have been forced to shut down. Which means no police presence, the water won’t be treated and trash won’t be picked up. It’s something Councilman Emanual Harris doesn’t want to go through again. “It left us in a predicament where we didn’t know who was going to pick up the garbage or how it was going to get done.”
Council members tell myEyewitnessNews.com the mayor must present a proposed budget by December 31st. Harris is convinced that won’t happen because they haven’t spoken to Mayor Franklin Lockhart in months. “We’re not the bad guys; we’re the ones trying to help make this town better. We’re being portrayed as the bad guys and we’re not.”
Mayor Lockhart tells myEyewitnessNews.com his lawyer advised him not to speak with the media about the budget. But talking to Harris and members of the council would mean a lot to concerned residents like Nancy Davis. “Just because the mayor and city council can’t come to an agreement, other people in this town got to suffer, and we going to suffer without water and trash pickup.”
If the town is operating without a budget by January 31, 2010, it will be a violation of state law. Lockhart tells myEyewitnessNews.com he expects to have a budget complete by then.
Turrell, Arkansas is no stranger to financial difficulties. According to city records, more than $7,000 in checks have bounced in the last two years. The city currently owes the Internal Revenue Service more than $200,000.
