Blue Ridge City Councilman Jack Taylor said he has officially taken over “the function of the city,” following Mayor Rhonda Haight’s recent decision to ask city council members to take on responsibilities with city departments.
Taylor acknowledged his new responsibilities during the city council meeting Tuesday, November 19, stating, “Since Rhonda (Haight) has asked me to take over basically the function of the city inside City Hall here...I’ve accepted that responsibility.”
This shift in leadership comes just a month after Haight dropped a lawsuit against Taylor and the city, which had cost taxpayers nearly $130,000 at the time. The announcement also coincides with the city’s current financial health. Taylor confirmed during a recent emergency meeting of the council that the city’s finances needed attention following the unexpected resignation of the city’s finance director.
Concerns about financial management surfaced during a council meeting in July when Councilman Bill Bivins and Councilwoman Angie Arp questioned Haight about approximately $215,000 she claimed had been allocated for street projects. Bivins later discovered the funds had not been spent and asked the mayor to explain the inaccurate information.
Haight’s decision to allocate Taylor to the City Hall administrative position comes after she presented a budget to the council that was later found to contain significant discrepancies amounting to thousands of dollars.
Haight said regarding her decision, “With the absence of a city administrator, zoning/planning administrator, financial director and staff engineer, I have asked all five council members to take on lead responsibilities with departments as we have in the past. Mr. Taylor agreed to assist me with City Hall (office) operations...The city is a $26 million business and needs to be run with efficiency. The lack of personnel has put a burden on current city workers, and I feel that we will be able to come together in the spirit of teamwork for the betterment of the City of Blue Ridge.”