Kinston council addresses journey finances considerations amid News12 investigation

We’re listening to from the Kinston City Council following a News12 investigation into how your cash is spent.

We reached out to all councilmembers to get their response, and as of Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 9, we’re nonetheless ready to listen to from two of the 5 members.

After months of amassing knowledge, we realized that because the fiscal 12 months 2016-2017, the Meetings and Travel finances line has grown by greater than $30,000.

In comparability, neighboring cities resembling Greenville, Jacksonville, and New Bern reportedly spend considerably much less on journey and conferences.

Councilman Chris Suggs posted a response on social media after which addressed the difficulty at a current council assembly, saying, “One of the big reasons for so much confusion and chaos and drama that’s going on in our city politics right now is because they’re not hearing from us. People have elected us because they trusted us to make decisions on behalf of this city. But then when they have questions, it’s radio silence. We’ve got to be the ones on the bullhorns shutting down some of the noise and sharing the clarity and the right information with our community.”

Antonio Hardy, one other council member, commented, “As council member Suggs stated, we do not have lobbyists to go out and advocate for funds for the city of Kinston. Also, the majority of those funds are not used each year so it goes back into the budget for the following year. Certain training is required by law. I feel it’s important that someone is sitting at the table.”

Councilwoman Felicia Solomon expressed her willingness to debate the matter additional, stating, “Hello Abby! Thank you for reaching out. Yes, I am more than willing to speak with you. Please share your availability?”

Chris Suggs additionally famous, “During budget deliberations earlier this year, I expressed opposition to increases in the Mayor & Council’s travel budget as well as the Mayor & Council’s salary. However, at the request of a majority of councilmembers, the City Manager’s proposed budget included those increases and the budget was adopted by the Kinston City Council in June. No citizens shared concerns regarding these line items during our budget hearing.”

We checked the finances for leftover funds as talked about by Antonio Hardy: The adopted finances for 2023 allotted roughly $27,000 for conferences and journey, however precise expenditures totaled $34,500. For 2024, the adopted finances is $35,000, with actuals reaching $45,800.

News12 continues to hunt responses from all council members and can present updates because the story develops.

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