By Krista Duhon
news@joplinglobe.com
MIAMI, Okla. — Miami City Council members remained tight-lipped Monday night after meeting to discuss a city employee’s allegation of harassment against a Miami council member.
The council, absent northeast ward representative Rudy Schultz, emerged from executive session to take no action regarding a probe into claims lodged against councilman John Dalgarn, representative of the fourth ward.
City Attorney David Anderson said the “important thing” that citizens need to realize is that, despite the lack of information currently provided to the public, the council’s actions reveal the city’s commitment to addressing the seriousness of the allegations.
Anderson previously acknowledged he was authorized by the council to hire an outside investigator to look into the harassment allegation. The claim, according to Anderson, stems from an incident in which Officer Alicia Hogan encountered Dalgarn as she carried out her duties as a code enforcement officer. He would not disclose details of the incident, either.
City Manager Huey Long has refused to comment on the issue.
Hogan and Dalgarn also have declined to comment.
Monday’s meeting also included a six-month review of the city budget. Frank Crawford, representing the accounting firm of Crawford & Associates, based in Oklahoma City, told council members that the city is “treading water” as it heads into February.
“We are better than where we thought we would be,” Crawford said, noting that when the accounting firm first began to assemble the 2009-10 budget, it anticipated that January may have found the city “drowning” because of financial woes.
Crawford cautioned council members to keep an eye on the city’s general fund and assured the panel that a boost in that account will be necessary in the future. That boost, according to Crawford, will either have to come from tax revenue or from the fund’s other revenue source — the utility department.
In other business, the council:
n Appointed Greg Smith to the Miami Downtown Revitalization Authority.
n Approved the closure of Sixth Street Southeast and the alley between G and H streets for the purpose of accommodating parking needs for the Modoc Tribe.
n Discussed a possible half-cent tax proposal to rebuild city streets.
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