Also in that June 2009 meeting, Mayor LaForce pushed through an ordinance changing the requirements to serve on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board from qualified electors of Searcy to qualified electors of Searcy or White County. This change finally brought past appointments of Board members who lived outside Searcy, like J.D. Yingling, in compliance with the City's ordinances. (Because the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board is not a Commission with authority over spending, the requirements under the Arkansas Constitution for its members are not as strict.)
Despite Mayor Belinda LaForce's and City Attorney Buck Gibson's assertions that the A&P Commission appointments were not unconstitutional, Aldermen Mary Ann Arnett and Mike Chalenburg requested a legal opinion on the issue from the Lightle Law Firm, and they received the law firm's response June 15, 2009. The City Attorney and the Mayor were copied on the response and received the legal opinion. In the opinion attached to that email, the Lightle Firm advised the city to obey the Arkansas Constitution and Attorney General's opinion.
In his response to the Lightle Law Firm, Alderman Chalenburg said, "It may be a disappointment to some, but we do need to abide by the law. We simply believe that if there is a good chance that the appointment process of the A&P Commission is suspect it would be better to deal with it now and not later...I also agree we need to abide by the law." However, Mayor Belinda LaForce, City Attorney Buck Gibson, Alderman Mary Ann Arnett, and Alderman Mike Chalenburg did not take action to correct this violation of the state constitution.
In a March 4, 2010, article in the Daily Citizen, Warren Watkins reported that the City Attorney and the Mayor said the following:
- "Three commissioners may have to resign if the city council follows their attorney’s advice. At a joint meeting of the Searcy Advertising and Tourism Promotions (A&P) Commission and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board held Wednesday afternoon at city hall, Searcy City Attorney Buck Gibson advised those gathered that an amendment would need to be made to the council’s ordinance for the A&P tax and commission requiring A&P commissioners to be Searcy residents."
- "Mayor Belinda LaForce said she was concerned with the residency issue and noted it had surfaced some months ago and needed to be resolved. A&P commissioners Oliver Montano, Bob White and Amanda Foust do not live in the city, LaForce said."
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