Port Gibson – On the heels of a legal battle that ended last week with a court decision allowing him to continue as Port Gibson’s mayor, Fred Reeves now has a different set of problems looming at City Hall.

Bounced checks.

Reeves, who took office in January, said the city will have to rely on a $300,000 tax anticipation note to carry the city through after he realized 12 checks, equaling $10,515.93, bounced in late June.

Tax anticipation borrowing is nothing new in Port Gibson. Loans to stay current on bills were frequent during the tenure of former Mayor Amelda Arnold. The loans, plus interest, are paid back when tax revenues arrive. The money was credited to the city’s account July 11, the same day payroll for the city was due, Reeves said.

“We didn’t have the money to cover the shortage of funds,” he said. “I’ve been trying to tell the board we should cut back.”

An example is a recent vote from the board to fund a summer youth program, a move made in a June meeting. Reeves, who wasn’t sure how much the city pays each year to fund the program, said he urged the board to cut the program due to the insufficient funds.

“I didn’t have a problem with it – if we had the money,” Reeves said. “I said essential services only. With fuel prices going up, we should try to cut back rather than spend.”

Reeves said he considers essential services payroll, fuel for city vehicles, utilities, supplies and services needed for police and fire protection.

Instead of heeding Reeves’ warnings, the board overrode his decision. Reeves said Ward 3 Alderman Kenneth Davis, mayor pro tem, told the board he had the authority to override the mayor, even though Reeves was at the meeting. The role of the mayor pro tem, however, is to serve as acting mayor only in the absence of the mayor. Reeves said in the next few weeks he plans to seek an opinion from Attorney General Jim Hood to determine if Davis was within his right to overrule Reeves. Davis, who, apparently is in charge of the summer youth program, was not available.

Just weeks into his administration, Reeves became privy to at least two unpaid bills, one of which was $1,800 owed to Claiborne County and dated to 2003. The other, reflecting money owed to an engineering firm, was $13,847. Since his campaign, Reeves has put the city’s finances as top priority. His first order of business, in fact, was to have an audit performed to figure out discrepancies with delinquent financials. With the situation as it is in Port Gibson, the audit will have to wait, Reeves said.

“An audit will cost between $40,000 and $45,000. We just don’t have the money to pay a firm,” he said.

The last time an audit was done was under the last administration, and it was only a partial audit. After taking office, he suggested the board hire a new firm to perform an audit, but the board voted to keep Myles CPA Firm out of Tupelo, the same firm used under the previous administration.

Trying to steady City Hall’s financial footing has been something on which Reeves has focused despite a nine-month legal dispute. Claiming Reeves was not a resident of Port Gibson at the time of the Nov. 13 Democratic Primary, which he won, Arnold contested Reeves’ eligibility to be elected.

After Arnold’s failure to provide facts that proved Reeves was, in fact, not a resident of Port Gibson, Circuit Judge Prentiss Harrell ordered the trial, which had been set to begin July 9, be canceled.

Now that it’s clear Reeves will continue to run City Hall, he feels some of the issues he’s been having with the board will soon be resolved.

“Now that there’s no question of whether or not I’m the official mayor, I think the board will be willing to work with me. And, I’m certainly willing to work with them,” he said.

And, Reeves feels it’s only a matter of time before the city’s financial situation improves.

“My plan is to sit down with the board and reduce any unnecessary spending. I would love to induce new business and increase the tax base. But, raising taxes is my last resort,” he said. “We’re going to get the city back on sound financial footing.”