Gibsland Update – 5/15/13

Gibsland aldermen boycott meetings

GIBSLAND — Mayor Odell Key has threatened to shut the doors to Town Hall because of the town’s worsening financial status and the lack of participation of aldermen at meetings over the past few months.

But two of four aldermen say their boycott of the regular and special meeting will continue until Key agrees to the cost-savings measures they voted on months ago are put in place.

The stalemate is the result of more than two years of unrest within the small Bienville Parish governing body. A criminal investigation into possible misuse of public funds is underway, but Sheriff John Ballance has been unable to say when it will draw to a conclusion.

Meanwhile, the town’s money woes are growing. On March 25, the town was hit with an Internal Revenue Service tax lien of $61,000 for failure to pay employee payroll taxes. Another lien followed May 6 for $21,204.