“This is what the majority of the town’s people wanted. Jewel has done an outstanding job as mayor of this town,” Dwyer said.
Horne will remain the mayor but requested her pay be suspended until an investigation by Muskogee County District Attorney Larry Moore’s office is complete. Town Clerk Susan Dwyer said Horne suspended her own pay on June 8, which was weeks before her re-election.
“Jewel announced her decision on June 8 to suspend her own pay. This was her decision. She had the request, had it notarized and presented it to me,” Dwyer said.
Dwyer said Trustee Sonny Tipken also requested his pay be suspended until the investigation was complete as well.
A few months ago, several complaints about possible irregularities and misappropriations of the trustee’s salaries were made to the district attorney’s office.
Moore sent an investigator to start investigating town records. The investigation has revealed that more than $300,000 might have been misappropriated from the town. Moore then asked the state auditor to conduct an investigatory audit.
State law requires authorization for the pay to be passed before the town elections. According to town officials, no ordinances authorizing the salaries for the trustees or the mayor can be found.
“Some of the past trustees say there is an ordinance stating the amount of money the trustees are paid. We don’t know what happened to them. We don’t know if they were lost in the move or purged,” Dwyer said.
Horne has been Webbers Falls mayor for 16 years. Former Trustee Matt Myers has previously said Horne has walked out of meetings, leaving what is supposed to be a five-member board without a quorum to conduct a vote and stalled them from voting on electing a new mayor.
Webbers Falls has been operating with only three trustees on the five-trustee board since May after Myers resigned leaving Horne, Tipken and Dennis Burton at the minimum needed for a five-member board to conduct town business. Loren Dwyer and Robert Ogg were elected as new board members during a special election held on July 14.
In regard to the Webbers Falls Board of Trustees, Dwyer said everything is going good. She said business is being taken care of and that is what matters.
Board members also voted during the July 21 meeting to terminate the employment of Webbers Falls Police Chief Tim Brown, who was earlier suspended for allegations of wrong doing against former police officers. Both officers were cleared by Moore’s office.
“We are really hoping to get things turned around. We are tired of the bad publicity our community is receiving. Webbers Falls is a great little community with good people,” Dwyer said.
