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Due to a mishandling of funds, the town of Mt Olive is in a major financial crunch. At Tuesday night’s Board of Alderman meeting, tough financial decisions were made requiring dissolving the town Police Department as well as dismissal of some city employees.
The State Audit Department along with the city accountant, explained there are no criminal charges…just misspent funds.
The biggest expense is the police department. After much discussion, the board voted to disband the department at this time. The Covington County Sheriff Department will assume jurisdiction of the Mt Olive area.
The state audit department suggested non-use of the vehicle assigned to the mayor. Each of the alderman took a cut in pay. The mayor did not.
The Mayor, city clerk, clerk assistant, and one maintenance worker will remain on the city payroll.
Additional funds are needed to keep the city running. Non matching grants as well as an increase in water bills are two ways the mayor and alderman are considering to increase working capital.
The Board and Mayor hope to reinstate the police department and other services once funds are available.
According to one of the alderman, the process does not have a speedy solution…hopefully after the first of the year, we can reassess the situation, and have a solution.
Mt Olive has such beautiful old homes on the Main Street, sad to see the empty store fronts though. Doing away with the police department could be a big mistake!