Prichard’s City Council has formally objected to a judge’s order sending the body into mediation with Mayor Carletta Davis, saying in a motion filed Tuesday that council members have no confidence the sit-down talks will resolve the city’s ongoing fight over control of municipal spending.
The dispute stems from a civil lawsuit Davis filed in Mobile County Circuit Court in June against council members Teresa Fox-Bettis, Traci Hale, Stephani Johnson-Norwood, Roy Smith II and Annie Williams. Prichard’s first female mayor accused the council of overstepping its authority by trying to regulate city spending and by subpoenaing financial records, capping months of tension between her office and the council over the city’s finances.
City attorney Josh Briskman, representing Davis, filed a motion Monday asking Judge Jill Phillips to order both sides into mediation. “The only way for the city to truly prevail in this matter as a whole is to work out these differences itself,” the motion stated. “While it may well be necessary for the court to rule on these issues, the undersigned, on behalf of the plaintiff, respectfully requests that this court order this matter to mediation.”
Phillips granted the request Tuesday afternoon, issuing an order that appointed retired judge John Lockett to lead the mediation sessions between the mayor and council.
Council attorney Moshae Donald filed the council’s objection to that order later the same day. The objection argued that Davis’ support for mediation “disregards the fact that the city is in this public legal dispute only because [she] chose to file this action.” It went on to question whether the mayor would abide by any outcome reached through the process, stating, “Testimony and evidence demonstrate that there is no authority the mayor considers herself bound to respect — not Alabama Supreme Court precedent requiring council approval of contracts, not the council’s statutory authority over municipal finances and property, and not the multiple Attorney General opinions directly on point. The defendants have no confidence that the mayor would heed any resolution reached through mediation, even one ratified by this honorable court.”
Davis responded Tuesday evening in a statement posted to Facebook, saying she is willing to work through the disagreements with the council and hopes mediation succeeds in doing so. “My focus has never been on political conflict. My focus has always been on the people of Prichard and improving their quality of life,” Davis wrote. “Every day we spend in disagreement is a day we could be spending creating opportunities and improving services. Let’s move our city forward!”
It remains to be seen whether Judge Phillips will rule on the council’s objection or allow the mediation before retired judge Lockett to proceed as ordered.