Efforts by local business owners to get members of the Jefferson County Quorum Court to participate in a meeting Monday night failed as County Judge Gerald Robinson postponed a meeting where Christmas bonuses and setting the 2024 tax rates were scheduled to be voted on,
The meeting started with only six of the 13 members of the county’s legislative body inside the Quorum Court room while six others, Justices of the Peace Reginald Adams, Afred Carroll, Lloyd Franklin Jr., Reginald Johnson, Margarette Williams and Melanie Dumas stayed outside in the hallway and foyer.
Justice of the Peace Cedric Jackson, who has voted with Franklin and the others was absent.
Some of the business owners confronted Franklin and accused him of trying to usurp the authority of Robinson, an accusation Franklin denied. Those business owners were at the meeting to complain about not getting paid for services they had already performed.
One of those business owners was Janet Hartz who spoke to Floyd Donald after Robinson was forced to postpone the meeting for lack of a Quorum.
Some of the confrontations between the business owners and Franklin became heated, according to witnesses.
County Attorney Terry Wynne told Deltaplex News that it is important for the Quorum Court to set the tax rates for next year before the end of the month or there could be consequences.
