Warrants issued for town officials

By Liz McMahan
Phoenix Staff Writer

April 10, 2007 12:33 am

— TULLAHASSEE — Town officials here are due to get two sets of papers from Wagoner County officials.
• Monday, the Board of County Commissioners directed a letter be issued to Tullahassee officials informing them they must hold a town meeting and election or that the commissioners will set up one for them.
• Misdemeanor arrest warrants were issued Monday in Wagoner County District Court for three of the four board of trustee members.
Benice Joy Howell, 51, who serves as mayor, and sisters Delphine Foreman, 40, and Michelle Lee Foreman, 38, who serve as trustees, are charged with two counts each of violating the Oklahoma Open Meetings and Open Records Acts.
Each count is punishable by a fine of up to $500 and up to one year in the county jail if convicted.
The board of trustees met in regular session Monday night for less than 10 minutes.
During the meeting, Howell declined commenting on either the failure to have an election or on the charges, saying neither was on the agenda.
The Open Meetings Act allows officials to discuss items on the agenda but does not allow voting on them.
Howell walked out of the meeting as soon as it was adjourned and refused to acknowledge questions from the Phoenix.
Neither would she comment on where money would come from to hire a consultant to help the board of trustees as approved at the board meeting Monday night.
The letter from the commissioners demanding the town hold an election was issued at the request of Wagoner County Assistant District Attorney Doug Kirkley.
He told commissioners the town has not held a town meeting and election of officers since 2001. State law requires towns not conducting elections by ballot to hold a town meeting and election the first Tuesday of April in odd-numbered years.
District 3 Commissioner Jim Hargrove said the letter will give Tullahassee “a chance to get reorganized and get the city back on the straight and narrow.”
The charges filed against Howell and the Foreman sisters Monday allege they did not properly post notices of the trustees’ March 12 meeting and took action on agenda items before the meeting was held.
They also are accused of refusing to provide local resident Joel Fischer copies of minutes from meetings.
In an affidavit seeking arrest warrants, Wagoner County Deputy Bob Haley said Howell paid the town’s water bill more than two hours before the March 12 meeting was to have been held.
The agenda for that meeting showed it was posted on March 7. Anne Fischer, wife of Joel Fischer, told Haley that she had checked for an agenda posting every day and that the March 12 agenda wasn’t posted until approximately 1:30 p.m. March 9.
The town has also received criticism from the District Attorney’s Office for not filing annual audit reports.
Without the audits or reports in lieu of audits, the town’s volunteer firefighters may lose their pension, according to state officials.
Reach Liz McMahan at 918-684-2926 orClick Here to Send Email