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UPDATE: Navassa mayor admits town property often used for personal interests | News
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UPDATE: Navassa mayor admits town property often used for personal interests
NAVASSA, NC (WECT) - At least one public official is questioning the use of town resources in Navassa.
Navassa Town Council Member Athelston Bethel tells WECT.com he saw maintenance manager Carlos Garcia hauling dirt with town equipment on property not belonging to the town over the weekend.
Thursday night, Carlos Garcia said Mayor Eulis Willis told him to use town equipment to move dirt onto a personal residence. He says he worked for several hours over the course of several weekends.
"I was asked to do it and I went ahead and did it, I'm asked to do a lot of things here," said Garcia. He says he did it on his personal time and was not paid.
The dirt was moved for landowner Scott McCaffrey's property. McCaffrey told WECT that he spoke to the mayor about the dirt, and the mayor told him he could have it. When McCaffrey offered to pay for it and for the expense of moving it, he says he was told that he did not need to.
On Wednesday, WECT asked the mayor about the transaction, however he told us that he knew nothing about the transaction. On Thursday, when we asked him about that response, he only said "I did not want to be interviewed by Gavin." (Gavin Johnson is a reporter at WECT.)
During Thursday's meeting, the mayor said there is no policy against using town equipment for non-town related projects. He said it has happened several times over the years.
Navassa Town Councilman Tony Burgess said he would like all issues to go before the board.
"Some people seem to have it all wrong, there is a certain protocol, just because you sit on the board just because you are the mayor doesn't mean one person can go out and call all the shots," Tony Burgess said. "We got a protocol we have to go through, its not governed by Navassa."
WECT obtained work orders showing last April Willis signed off for Garcia to tear down a mobile home located near a tree not belonging to the town. We also obtained pictures of the debris being hauled off in a town truck. Despite the mayor's signature, other council members say they did not know about the project until the home was demolished.
Then there's a work order showing in December Willis approved a work order allowing town employees to build a wheel chair ramp. Other council members tell us, they were also unaware of that project until after it happened.
The district attorney says if this is reported to authorities, he would review it to see if any laws were broken.
Copyright 2013 WECT. All rights reserved.
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