As the former Maxton mayor, I have been silent too long while I watched the citizens of Maxton get raped by their elected officials, who seem to have destroyed everything the town had accomplished during the past 17 years.
We now have a town manager and a police chief who are allowed to live out of town, 40 minutes to an hour away from Maxton. Are the commissioners of Maxton following their own charter, because as I recall both positions call for the people who hold these positions to live in town? How much could a person who refuses to live in Maxton care about Maxton? Who is paying the gas bill for these men to travel back and forth?
Oh, that’s right, the former manager left plenty of money in Maxton’s coffers to pay for their gas bill and apparently to give the commissioners of the town an unprecedented raise in their own salaries. Did the staff members who have remained dedicated to the town citizens get the same percentage of increase in pay as the commissioners?
The entire time I was the mayor, there was not one year we even considered cutting the library’s budget. Increase it, yes, but not cut it. The library serves as one of the most stable indications of a town’s wealth and respect for its citizens, not the fireworks or the Collard Festival. Were those budgets cut?
When Katrina Tatum was manager the town looked great; but look at it now, all grown up. Has the maintenance budget also been cut? A total of $8,000 in raises for the elected officials could keep the library going or cut plenty of grass.
Lilly A. McKoy
Maxton
She is exactly right about her tenure as mayor. The town was making progress. I can't believe the commissioners are giving themselves a raise and yet cutting the library and the grass mowing. htis is a shame.
I'm calling on all Maxtonians to withhold their taxes this year. If this happens then perhaps it will get the attention of the outsiders who hold our jobs! Who is with me?