Cunningham, city manager square off

The first study session of 2009 for the Shelbyville City Council erupted into a shouting match Monday between a councilman and the city manager.

Councilman Lee Roy Cunningham verbally attacked planning and codes director Kip Green, accusing him of keeping business from coming to Shelbyville, while city manager Ed Craig said that Green was merely upholding the laws on the books.

The argument was a culmination of a long series of questions from Cunningham on a variety of topics, such as questions over bids for the repair of city vehicles and methods taken with accounts payable by the city.

Cunningham later said he was simply bringing complaints to the table from Shelbyville citizens.

The argument began with Cunningham saying that Green's enforcement of codes had "turned away business or run them out of town, more or less. We need to be bending over backwards to help everybody open up businesses around here."

This statement appeared to anger Craig, who said in each of the cases that Cunningham was referring to, the businesses in question had not complied with city codes, even though the city granted an unidentified man a business license who was not in compliance.

The other case referred to a man who wanted to open up a business in a building owned by Cunningham. Before the business was opened, the parking lot was required to be paved because there was an increase of more than 25 percent of usage of parking space, with Craig adding that the city passed an amendment to the code to satisfy Cunningham's complaints over the matter last year.

Heated exchange

"It would be so helpful to us if we could have a discussion where we're doing wrong when we (the city) got the facts right," Craig said.

"We are getting the facts right. We're causing people not to get business licenses," Cunningham replied.

"We're causing people to comply with the codes," Craig shouted.

"OK, then we need to change the codes," Cunningham retorted.

Craig exclaimed that the council had already changed the codes for Cunningham in the matter concerning his property, with the councilman replying that the city is "not helping people like we should be helping them."

Cunningham claimed that another businessman told him that he would never build another building in Shelbyville.

"He answered my question right quick. Whether you're doing anything right or wrong I don't know, but I don't know why you would hire a man who was fired from another place," Cunningham said, referring to Green. "But I think I do know."

Green was formerly employed by Coffee County and Cunningham claimed that Green was hired because he was the preacher of former mayor Geneva Smith.

"That's not true," Craig said.

Politics is politics, Cunningham replied.

"I hired the man because I felt he could do the job," Craig said. "He has done the job."

Cunningham asked if Green had any complaints against him and Craig said he had complaints on public works director Mark Clanton, police chief Austin Swing, airport manager Hank Williamson, recreation director Sylvia Pinson and himself.

"People are going to complain about people when they're doing their job," Craig shouted.

"Not if they're doing their jobs right," Cunningham said. "I know you can't satisfy everybody all the time, but we're not satisfying enough people, that's my opinion."

Mayor Wallace Cartwright said he had received more compliments about "things going better in the last two years then I've heard in the last 10, so I don't have any comment to that," referring to the argument about Green.

Freeze suggested

Also earlier in the meeting, Cunningham had reiterated his desire for a spending and hiring freeze, stating that the Shelbyville Recreation Center has been losing money, the city had a deficit, and the council needs to start looking at cuts.

Craig repeated figures given to the council in November, stating that the city "is on budget" and that while deficits are budgeted into the numbers, Shelbyville has never really had one.

Councilwoman Kay Rose said that she thought "we had settled this two months ago," referring to the proposed hiring freeze and deficit questions.

Cunningham also attacked Craig over the city paying for demolishing two buildings on Depot Street last year, but Craig said that a suit would soon be filed against the owner of one of the buildings to recoup the costs incurred.

The councilman also objected to the city repairing the roof at the old Harris Middle School gym, stating that he had been told the Boys and Girls club had asked for the building. Craig said selling the building would leave many sports leagues without a place to practice.

After the end of the meeting, Craig was heard telling new councilman Thomas Landers that city study sessions were not normally like this and that this was the first time such a heated argument had occurred.