Martin Nicholson (Photo courtesy of Ballotpedia)
Saying he “can’t fix the city,” Briarcliff Mayor Martin Nicholson resigned Tuesday afternoon during the city council’s regular monthly meeting. Recorder-Treasuer Renate Schmitt-Klika will take over as interim mayor until the council appoints a new mayor. Nicholson had been mayor for about three months after being appointed to the position when former mayor Keith Lewis resigned due to health reasons. Prior to that, Nicholson had been on the council for about one and a half years.
Nicholson made a lengthy post on Facebook over the weekend detailing many problems within city government in Briarcliff. He says it is just too much to deal with for him and his family.
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Nicholson says one of the biggest problems he has found is the way the Briarcliff Improvement District Board operates.
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The former Briarcliff mayor says he has reached out to several legal authorities to look into the city’s funds.
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Another part of the funds Nicholson has a problem with is the way some of them were moved from one account to another.
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Nicholson says he also worries about the city having serious money problems because of the cleanup expense from last year’s tornado that hit the town. Former Mayor Lewis had suffered a stroke, and Nicholson says that had affected his judgment.
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Nicholson says when it comes to dealing with things such as city business, he is no stranger. He served as 24th GOP RD Chairman in Delaware before moving to Briarcliff and has 20 years in politics.
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Normally, a city council will appoint a new mayor at its next meeting.
Here is the Facebook post made by Nicholson:
Public Announcement
A message from Briarcliff Mayor Martin Nicholson
Good afternoon Neighbors, this will be informative, but lengthy. I would like to give an update to the people of Briarcliff, Arkansas. With the illegal activity that has been going on, I’ve contacted the proper agencies for an investigation of the city’s finances over the past 5 years. This includes the State’s Attorney General, Tim Griffin, the Division of Legislative Audit, the Ethics Board, the County Prosecutor and the CID. I can’t elaborate any further other than that because it is an ongoing investigation. I promise you, if any illegal activity has been going on with your money, people will be held accountable.
As many of you know, our previous mayor, Keith Lewis, went through some serious medical issues after the tornado. Keith’s health is always in our prayers here at the Nicholson house, as well as many people throughout our community. It was the stroke and his inability to utilize 100% of his processing power of his wonderful brain that unfortunately caused his inability to fulfill his position as Mayor. With his compromised health, there is a belief his mental state was taken advantage of by a select few who had control over our finances.
When we first moved to the city, we decided to get a variance for our 3rd dog. As I went to city hall for this variance all we witnessed was mayhem and craziness at council. As I interrupted this shouting match, I asked if anyone ever heard of Robert Rules of Order. Only one of the sitting council members knew what I was talking about regarding these rules. Tommy Webb, thank you for being on top of things. Upon attending the next council meeting, there attached to the agenda was an abridged copy of the Robert Rules of Order. Moving forward as I became a councilman, I worked with the Mayor Lewis to assist him on doing his job as such. Since I have been involved with this city I have witnessed the following:
1: Council members not understanding the function of the budget and how it actually works (yes they represent you).
2. Illegal collaboration with certain council members trying to sway votes to go a certain way.
3. Council members using their position for power in an attempt to not have ordinances apply to them.
4. The outright ignoring of city ordinances when votes did not give the desired outcome.
5. An utter and disgusting display of family members threatening and causing serious disruptions in the day to day functions of the city. Including physical violence against city employees and the previous mayor. So much so, that the mayor asked for this individual be banned from city property. Which has been ignored to this day.
6. Outright illegal transactions with city funds in attempts to circumvent Arkansas law.
7. The outright misuse of funds after they have been appropriated for a project.
8. Holding illegal meetings, per Arkansas Law, without proper authorization and without proper record keeping (Trespassing).
9. Completely ignoring rules of decorum with personal attacks to other council members in or at public meeting and/or public forums.
10. Illegally entering yearly financials with a $200,000.00 discrepancy of an illegal transfer of funds.
Our city structure in the city is a Briarcliff Improvement District (BID) and Mayor City Council type of government. Unfortunately, there is no city ordinance on record that determines the board for the BID after the city received it’s charter in 1998. So as of right now, the Mayor and city council are running both entities. Once the city is in a better position, we will write an ordinance for the legal and proper procedure of the board’s formation in accordance with Arkansas Law and not in the haphazard manner it is has been. I cannot think of one reason why a group of people would want to keep doing things illegally after the shifting of funds? We are getting resistance from certain members of the community who wish to continue to run this board in this manner, knowing there could be serious consequences for our city for any future funding or projects we may need. As of right now, there is an illegal transfer of $200,000.00 from the city account to the BID account. The BID account is not as legally scrutinized as the general city account is. This has been the history of Briarcliff and the constant skuttlebutt of corruption and collusion. After speaking with the authorities, we will leave those funds where they are until I am told to move them where they belong from those involved in the investigation. I will be meeting with the quorum court judges at the next meeting for a legal interpretation of the current structure, until then we will hurry up and wait. However, the citizens need to realize what our true balances are. Those who have a copy of the budget, add $200,000.00 to the amount of the main city account and deduct roughly $98,000.00 for the purchase of the excavator. That should keep us roughly just under $450,000.00 in surplus. Now that I’m learning more about grant writing, we shouldn’t be paying full price for equipment any longer. For those who are helping with this grant writing process to help propel our city forward, thank you. I greatly appreciate your help and can’t wait to have the involvement on city council or the BID.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to call your mayor @ 302-397-1558 or 870-706-0697.
Mayor Martin Nicholson
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