Mayor and City Council at Odds

Mayor Jimmie Smith addressed the city council this morning issuing them all a copy of a municipal law document that explained the order. The mayor made it clear that he wanted to define the line of power and role between the city council and himself.

The document was only given to city council members during the meeting, but we spoke with the mayor who stated that the document included that they are to call the mayor’s office first before reaching out to seek advice from other departments.

“We want to make sure we provide any information that the council wants or needs”, stated Mayor Smith. “We're going to do that but there is a proper way to go about it and that is if they have a question or concern, they should call the mayor's office and ask, and then I will facilitate them getting that information”

Citizens afterward took the floor where Meridian’s street issues were made a point of concern. One resident said that she is holding the city of Meridian accountable for over a thousand dollar's worth of damage to her car after she ran into a manhole left by the city.

“Now that they have heard my complaint, I would like for them to reimburse me for the repairs”, said resident Betty Alford “It’s $3,000 worth of repairs that were done to my car. They are liable, they are responsible for not having any cones or netting around.”

A resident of over eleven years Delena Avara says that North Hill street is one of the worst streets for potholes in the city.

“It is potholes all the way up from North Hills to Mr. Discount; there are potholes every three to five feet on both sides of the road. I am a citizen, I’ve worked here, I pay taxes here. I have watched for over 11 years and absolutely nothing has been done to North Hill Street”

More updates are to come on the city’s street repairs.