Lamenting the State of Muscle Shoals

 

Mayor & First Lady of Muscle Shoals

The following is a guest blog that we are publishing without edit:

There is a stench in Muscle Shoals. Almost like raw sewage, but one like we've never smelled before. The smell is permeating in the center of the swamp at  2010 Avalon Avenue. Yep - that's City Hall and all the stinking deals Mr. Lockhard and his special friend, Britney Walters are cooking up.

It all began when Mr. Lockhard was a councilman and eyed David Bradfords chair. He even claimed to "write budgets at Helen Keller Hospital" while was often seen working the food line at the cafeteria when he wasn't purchasing cleaning supplies and hiring housekeepers. The mystery is what the finance director and others were doing with all their free time while Mr. Lockhard single handed ran the hospital, hiring, buying cleaning supplies and dishing out meals. One has to wonder about those claims he made to get to sit in the chair after the greatest mayor in the history of M.S. chose not to run for re-election. We miss David Bradford more than he will ever know.

Lockhard creating a position for his special friend Mrs. Walters has taken a lot of twists and turns. She first came in as an accounts payable clerk then Lockhard gets elected and instantly makes a position as finance director for her, then soon becomes interim city clerk after Lockhard, Willie Tompkins, and  Ms. Walters push the 2 previous City Clerks out of the office with their backroom schemes. THREE city clerks since February 1st, 2022 is alarming!!!

Ms. Walters seems to have read Mr.Lockhard's playbook as she touts she was "In Banking" for 15 years. Once again, Mr. Lockhard and Ms. Walters, being IN a building does not mean you were IN a profession. There are janitors in banking as well - exactly what bank was she "president" of to earn her vague description of her work history? And, what did the previous blogger mean about a gap in her employment history? What she was really doing during the gap is yet to come.

Now, let's talk about Lockhard and the 3 Goofus council people (the Dobees as so amply put by a blogger) who can't conduct a legal meeting, but actually had a CITY EMPLOYEE interviewing the 2 candidates for City Clerk while the council sat on the sidelines. Everyone in the audience was baffled and astounded that no councilman - or wo-man - was allowed to ask a question. Yet, they sat there and listened to an employee ask the 2 candidates questions that seemed to surprise at least 2 of the councilmen by the looks on their faces. Exactly who drafted the questions for Ms. Walters and how ethical and legal is it to have a fellow employee she works closely with to interview her? That same employee interviewing the 2 candidates was brought into city hall by Ms. Walters and Mr. Lockhard. Maybe we will hear from the Ethics Commission about the legality of a CITY EMPLOYEE interviewing the candidates who will work under the direction of Mrs. Walters as City Clerk. The smell is really bad coming out of city hall on that one.

Next, let's try to make sense of Ms. Walter's "experience" in organizing and conducting elections. She says she was "up front" during the elections the last 4 years when the previous city clerk Ricky Williams ran those (elections are only every 2 years - so at best - she worked absentee ballots 2 times? Probably 2 more times than she has successfully reconciled a bank statement.). On my. Bless her heart.

Ms. Walters is now the 3rd city clerk since FEBRUARY 1, 2022 - that is only 18 months - not a sign of stability or experienced leadership for any of those goofus's involved in this little stinking scandal.

It's going to be interesting to see if Mr Lockhard and Mrs. Walters will come out from behind their closed door meetings to be understanding and sympathetic as she set forth as her goal. They should have practiced that on the best mayor in the history of Muscle Shoals when he visited City Hall and no one invited him past the keeper of the gate.

Equally surprising is the level of inexperience and lack of comprehension of this City Clerk position by Ms. Walters for someone who claims otherwise. Ms. Walters stated the only constant in city government is city council meetings on the first and third Monday each month. One would have expected someone with knowledge, sophistication and experience to say the most important constant is serving the citizens, maintaining a balanced budget, cutting expenditures, and such "banking and financial" priorities. One constant Ms Walters left from her long trilogy of words spoken is the expensive change of decorations and remodeling of the city offices whenever Ms. Walters gets tired of the decor and colors. That is one constant that is costing the taxpayers a lot of money.

How she managed Mr. Lockhard to get 3 or 4 promotions in 4 years, while the 3 "DoBees" passed over a 21 year experienced city employee is yet to be told. 

I will have to throw Mrs Walters a bone on one of her statements - she said a friendly conversation will go a long way - yes - friendly conversation with Mr. Lockhard has gotten her a long way in a short time.

And for you, Mr. Lockhard, you are setting records - too bad they are all bad records that are nauseating, yet good conversation for "hold my beer and watch this". Jeff Foxworthy could make a whole comedy show out of the revolving doors saga. 

Oh the tangled web we weave...