The Meridian City Council’s biggest duty, dealing with the city’s multi-million dollar budget, will come due in the following months, but a cloud of distrust hangs over at least one council member and the mayor’s administration following numerous accusations and public bickering. 

Weston Lindemann, the representative for Ward 5, has been a vocal critic of Mayor Percy Bland’s administration, disrupting normally routine City Council meetings with verbal sparring matches, with tension exploding yet again following the recent firing of Parks and Recreation Director Kelvin McGruder. 

McGruder had been suspended without pay earlier this year but was formally terminated on July 18. In a video, shared to his Facebook page, Lindemann called for Bland to give “the citizens of the City of Meridian either an explanation or a resignation.”

“I think the mayor owes a real serious explanation,” Lindemann repeated last week. “If he can’t explain it then a resignation is in order.”

The posts, shared and promoted by Lindemann on Facebook, have reached thousands of visitors and garnered hundreds of comments, each rooting for their preferred representative. The “Whistleblower Fired” video about McGruder had two separate paid advertising campaigns from Lindemann, reaching between 10,000 and 50,000 Facebook users. 

While many Facebook users praised Lindemann for his transparency, others criticized him for not focusing on his own ward and issues, something said previously by Bland.

In a Thursday night meeting about a proposed public art exhibit in Meridian, two community members wrote about the conflicts: one calling the “current bashing of city adminstration” a challenge and another saying “better communication among politicians” was an untapped opportunity in the city. 

‘He needs to serve his role’

Bland said Lindemann, as a council member, should focus on representing his ward. 

“I was elected mayor to lead this city,” Bland said. “His duty is to the people of his ward, to create policies and create the budget… for now, he needs to serve his role.”

Bland denied the allegations of corruption from Lindemann and chose not to comment on Lindemann’s video asking for his resignation.

Lindemann publicly, and repeated, has questioned the authenticity of documents produced by Richie McAlister, the city’s chief administrative officer, and accuses the mayor of making illegal directives for the city’s 600 employees to forge timecards.

“Our financial woes are self-inflicted,” Lindemann said, pointing to “wastes and abuses” since Bland’s election in 2013. “I could go through a list of things that money is wasted on.”

Specifically, timecards for Parks and Recreation employees have been questioned. Lindemann has refused to approve the Claims Docket, an itemized and public list of payments made by the city, until the administration releases payroll information. 

“I have been given information that leads me to believe that there are major discrepancies between what (city workers) are paid each week and what the council approves,” Lindemann said. “Without having received all of the information, I can’t prove anything yet other than discrepancies and the mayor giving illegal directives.”

Council divided on priorities

Other city council members have largely avoided the frequent clashes between Lindemann and the administration, only occasionally siding with Lindemann during  council meetings. 

“I stay clear of the negative,” Tyrone Johnson, the representative for Ward 2, said. “My concern is what we’re doing to make the city a better place.”

Lindemann, in a previously released recording, had questioned the “low voter IQ” of Tyrone Johnson’s constituents, which Lindemann walked back following a response from Tyrone Johnson. 

“By having these things… it’s really dividing the city,” Tyrone Johnson said. 

Tyrone Johnson described divisive social media posts and arguments from both sides on public posts fueled by the frequent public clashes.

“I take a step back and watch that but my personal agenda is what needs to be done in the city,” Tyrone Johnson said. “There are so many other things… that we can put our energy and effort into. We need to work on our community.”

Kim Houston declined to comment on the events of last week, preferring to turn her attention to the upcoming budget meetings.

“I would like for us to go ahead and set those dates so we can get the budget for next year,” Houston said. “I think that’s really where we need to be focused right now.”

Fannie Johnson, the council president and Ward 3 representative, said she didn’t want to get involved with issues that weren’t her expertise.

“I think maybe it’s best we don’t get involved and leave stuff alone,” Fannie Johnson said. “I try to do what my ward wants… so the city can move forward.”

George Thomas, the representative for Ward 1 and longest-serving council member, simply said that the tension between the council and administration, “is not good for the city.”

“I don’t have a problem with questions being asked or finding out the truth,” Thomas said. “I do have a problem with any of the people making accusations that attack the person rather than what they’ve done.”

Thomas said disagreements, arguments and even accusations happen, but couldn’t figure out why the animosity had reached gotten so bad. 

“I hope that the bad things between people won’t hinder the budget,” Thomas said, noting the administration is supposed to provide the council with a preliminary budget by the end of the month. “We have some obligations – to the Max and to the Children’s Museum – and we need to make good on those promises with our budget.”

Lindemann acknowledged that members of the council hadn’t been as involved in questioning the administration’s authority as he’d hoped.

“I would like for the other council members to have a role,” Lindemann said, adding that some hoped to turn attention to other infrastructure issues. “But the fact of the matter is we can’t fix roads if we don’t have any money.”

McGruder’s termination

Lindemann claims that Bland fired McGruder for “Whistle Blowing,” or revealing potentially harmful information to other city employees. 

Bland countered, saying that McGruder was terminated because of his continued contact with city employees following his unpaid suspension in May. The suspension followed communication from the state auditor’s office about an investigation into McGruder and his department, Bland said. 

“People might not agree with who goes in or out of a position,” Bland said. “Those are some of my decisions and I get people not agreeing with that.”

A State Auditor’s Office representative said the office couldn’t confirm or deny an investigation into the city’s Parks & Recreation department.

Lindemann said he doubts the aims of the investigation and hadn’t seen proof, despite asking for it and participating in a phone call between McGruder and investigators. 

“I think that they’re lying about the investigation,” Lindemann said, citing a separate state auditor investigation into a Public Works employee. “They showed me documents about a different employee (investigation)… they should be able to produce the same for McGruder.”

The city’s attorneys and Bland’s administration said they gave McGruder strict directions not to contact other city employees in light of the investigation, which McGruder ignored when he reached out to Lindemann.

Over the past several months, Lindemann has made a number of accusations or served as a conduit for others to make accusations against the city. The Meridian Star investigated the claims made by or through Lindemann, but hasn’t been able to independently verify any of the accusations or connect with the other accusers.

For example, Lindemann said McGruder sent a letter or email to the city’s attorneys, a copy of which was provided to The Star and made public by Lindemann, but the city’s attorneys said they never received it. 

Accusations in the letter, against several current and former city employees, needed more investigation and McGruder couldn’t be reached to confirm he sent the letter. 

Earlier this year, Lindemann recorded a phone call he had with Bunky Partridge, the former Community Development director, and the recording was “leaked”, bringing more accusations into the public sphere. While many of these accusations have been investigated by The Star, they, too, couldn’t be confirmed.

Lindemann said he hadn’t discussed the investigation, or other issues, with the city’s attorneys because of a “lack of trust on both sides.”

“I think people deserve to know how the money is being spent,” Lindemann said. “Ultimately, an auditor would have to do an investigation. The facts are going to come out… and we’ll need to ask ourselves, ‘How do we move forward for the betterment of our community?’ “

Logan Reeves, with the State Auditor’s office, said any individual can call for an investigation or report fraud, but that the complaint must be formally filed by phone or on their website.

“Every instance of fraud that is reported is investigated,” Reeves said. “A successful investigation is contingent on valid and useful information.”