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Steve Myers
Site Admin
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Lie test: I will if you will
Coleman shuns $250,000, wants mayor to submit
City Council President Johnnie Coleman says he won't take $250,000 from Mayor Don Williamson to take a lie detector test on whether he's accepted bribes.
Coleman said Monday he would take the test for free - provided Williamson does the same.
"In fact, I would take a lie detector test for free as long as he's taking one about his smoking at City Hall or has he ever bribed a public official," Coleman said.
The war between the City Council and Williamson continued Monday, highlighted by members probing the use of city generators at the mayor's home and responding to his apparent lie-detector challenge.
Members said Williamson, while speaking recently on Dave Barber's radio talk show, offered them $250,000 to take a lie detector test on whether they have accepted bribes. Several said they would take the test if the mayor does.
Williamson, who didn't return a Flint Journal call seeking comment Monday night, has been under scrutiny for possible violations of a Genesee County no-smoking rule at City Hall.
Williamson has denied the charge and said he has quit smoking, but his office has been accused of not cooperating with a county investigation.
The counterchallenges are part of a series of disputes that have led to several court battles and public confrontations. Other developments Monday included:
A rare special order where members questioned three city employees under oath, including the fire chief, about Williamson using city generators at his home during trick-or-treating Oct. 30.
During the questioning, several members said the mayor got special treatment and violated a city ordinance and his own executive order that bans city employees from using city equipment for private use.
City officials have said the mayor faced an emergency situation after high winds knocked out power hours before he expected more than 2,000 children at his home. He paid $1,000 for the generators' use and delivery, even though the cost to the city was about $340.
Council members said the generators were not returned until the following Monday, and Williamson paid the $1,000 the day after they began their investigation.
=?embers set a Nov. 22 public hearing to take comments from nonprofit organizations on the effect of the mayor's decision to withhold some federal block grant funds. They also requested that a representative from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development attend next week's council meeting to answer questions about the same issue.
Since taking office, the mayor has been reviewing grant awards made under former Emergency Financial Manager Ed Kurtz amid allegations of past misuse.
The council gave final approval to an ordinance requiring the administration to provide the council with a monthly list of vendors who are owed money by the city.
The measure is the latest in a council effort to get financial information from Williamson. The mayor has countered with putting some financial data on the city's Web site and requested the council bring him specific financial requests.
The council introduced an ordinance that would prohibit creating or reorganizing city departments without the council's approval. Williamson has made several changes to city departments since he took administrative control from the state July 1.
Full Story:
http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-24/1100017789112420.xml |
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Wed Nov 10, 2004 6:51 am |
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