Commissioner Williams, Not Hilligoss, Apparent Source of Mayor's Ire

A review of city commission meeting videos has revealed that only one commissioner has missed a significant number of meetings. Commissioner Daniel Williams has been absent from 12 meetings since being sworn in only ten months ago.

William’s absences included seven of 20 regular city commission meetings, four CRA meetings, and one agenda workshop.

The review was conducted after the recent absences of two commissioners and the forced departure of a third left the board without a quorum at their agenda workshop last Wednesday.

Mayor Eugene Fultz was left “frustrated” by the poor attendance and voiced that emotion after Commissioners Williams and Jack Hilligoss missed both the Wednesday workshop and the Tuesday meeting of the Community Redevelopment Agency.

The two absences last week were Hilligoss’s first since September 21. Among items discussed at those meetings were an $18.5 million bond issue, several new housing developments, and two large annexations.

Both Fultz and Hilligoss missed three meetings over the past ten months, with one of Fultz’s having come before Hilligoss, who was appointed to the Commission, began attending meetings September 1.

Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson and Commissioner Terrye Howell each missed only two meetings during the reviewed period.