Alto mayor resigns amid controversy
Utilities director threatens lawsuit
BY LELAND ACKER

An overflowing manhole two weeks ago led to a special city council meeting Thursday which resulted in the resignation of Alto Mayor Carey Palmer. Mr. Palmer said he resigned due to controversy surrounding his decision to order Utilities Director Charlie Luse to report the sewage leak to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The city council voted unanimously to accept his resignation during the regular meeting Monday.

"It is with great regret we're having to do this," said Mayor Pro Tem Annie Walker. Mrs. Walker will act as mayor until the council decides how they will fill the vacancy.

City Administrator Debbie Dannelly reported the council could appoint Mrs. Walker as the acting mayor and leave her council seat vacant, or have her serve as mayor pro tem and council woman while keeping her voting ability. The council will hold a special election for mayor in May.

The situation stems from a Nov. 28 incident involving a manhole overflowing with sewage. Mr. Luse said a property owner notified him of the overflowing leak and the utilities department corrected the problem.

"State law says you have to report any sewage bypassing to the state," Mr. Luse said, adding that TCEQ was notified and no penalties would be assessed to Alto.

"They told us what we needed to do, and that's what we were going to do anyway," he said.

Mr. Palmer said he instructed Mr. Luse to call TCEQ because he didn't believe Mr. Luse intended to call TCEQ.

"I told him, 'You call them, or I will,'" Mr. Palmer said. Mr. Palmer said Mr. Luse then notified TCEQ of the sewage bypass.

Mr. Palmer said his resignation came as a result of a special meeting called Thursday to discuss the events of the sewage bypass.

"During the meeting, three council members decided to allow Mr. Luse to run the show as he wanted to," Mr. Palmer said. "They pretty well said he could call when he wanted to. They thought I was overstepping my bounds. I do not want to be associated with an organization where breaking the law is normal."

Mr. Palmer said Mr. Luse did not intend to contact TCEQ and the council did not want to force Mr. Luse to contact TCEQ. He said failing to notify TCEQ would have been illegal.

"I posed the question, 'When do you stop breaking the law?' he said. "The illustration was brought up that it wasn't illegal to speed if you didn't get caught."

Mr. Palmer said the sewage from the overflowing manhole ran across two people's property between the Alto school campuses and the Alto Housing Authority. He said he wanted to report the leak before the property owners did. Mr. Palmer said he believes the three council members who sided with Mr. Luse did so because he heard Mr. Luse had threatened to sue the City of Alto.

Councilman Kenneth Brethouwer confirmed Mr. Luse threatened to sue the city.

"He threatened us at the (Dec. 6) meeting that he would sue the city and the council," Mr. Brethouwer said. "He was working for an hourly salary, then he turned around and was getting a lot of overtime. So when his contract came up, we put him on a yearly contract. Now he's mad and is threatening to sue us. I don't think he has any ground to stand on."

"He says he's not exempt from overtime," Mrs. Dannelly said. "He's also not happy about his two reprimands."

Mrs. Dannelly said Mr. Luse believes he should be getting paid overtime under the fair labor law.

"He agreed to his current salary structure," she said.

During his report during the regular meeting Monday, Mr. Luse told council members that gas lines and meters will have to be moved when TxDOT widens U.S. 69 in Wells.

He said TxDOT plans to complete the project by the end of 2008. Mr. Luse said the city will have to pay to move the lines and meters, but will be eligible for some reimbursement from the state. Mr. Luse said the city will have to pay for the work before receiving reimbursements, adding that the cost of the project may cost "a few hundred thousand" and much of the work will not be eligible for state reimbursement.

"The stuff that's on highway property will not be reimbursed," he said.

In other action, the council approved a resolution casting a "yes" vote to allow the Cherokee County Appraisal District to purchase the building adjacent to their Rusk offices, which currently houses Tosh Insurance. The council voted to keep the "goods in transit" taxes as they are currently, amended the animal control ordinance to include chickens and fowl, removed Mr. Palmer's name from the bank accounts and added Mr. Brethouwer's.

Council members Mrs. Walker, Mr. Brethouwer, Bob Pearman and Monty Collins were in attendance; Mr. Palmer and councilman Earl Clark were absent.