Last updated 3/18/2008

Myles Spires Trial Delayed June 10, 2007 We have been informed by the State Prosecuting Attorney, Steve Trostle, that the trial of Myles Spires, originally scheduled for June 28, 2007, will now occur sometime in the months of September, October or November 2007.  As previously reported here, Spires was indicted for theft, embezzlement, misconduct in office, submitting a counterfeit invoice, forgery, uttering and attempt to commit theft.
 

Swearing-in of Mayor and Councilwoman June 10, 2007 Quincy Hines was sworn-in as mayor of Forest Heights at the May 16, 2007 Town meeting by State Senator Anthony Muse. Mayor Hines was also sworn-in by a representative of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Prince George's County in keeping with the Town Charter requirements. Taunya Hines was sworn-in by Mayor Hines as Councilwoman representing Ward III. She replaced Worthington Ross, who was removed from the Council under Charter  amendments passed on March 9, 2007.

Final Election Results May 10, 2007 After consulting with the Town Clerk, the final total counts of last night's election are as follows [numbers in square brackets are absentee ballot counts which are included in the totals] write-in votes are shown in italic:

For Ward III Council Seat: Taunya L. Hines (56)[2]; write-in Worthington Ross (6) Stoner (2)

Preliminary Election Results May 9, 2007 Unofficial election results for the Forest Heights special election for Mayor and Ward III council member were announced by the election board after the polls closed at 8:00 p.m. as follows:

For Mayor: Quincy Hines (92), Andrea McCutcheon (86) Larry M. Stoner (45), Mary Wimbush (31); write-in Joyce Beck (1), Myles Spires (5).

For Ward III Council Seat: Taunya L. Hines (56); write-in Worthington Ross (6) Stoner (2)

Court Hearing May 4, 2007 In a Prince George's County Circuit Court hearing, the judge dismissed a suite by former Mayor Myles Spires against the Council members who suspended him in September 2006. Our understanding is the judge did not rule on the basic contempt motion (39 page PDF file), but may put off a final ruling until after Myles Spires criminal trail expected to be held around June 28, 2007. According to the Prince George's Gazette motions will be heard regarding the criminal trail on June 2, 2007. The Town's has filed a response (10 page PDF file) to Spire's motions.

Town Meeting March 21, 2007 Prior to the meeting suspended mayor Myles Spires, in a rather pathetic scene, attempted to chair the meeting. In order to have him ejected from the podium, the members of the Town Council voted to have him removed, and the Forest Heights Police escorted him from the meeting room. On the vote to remove, all Council members voted yes except for Councilman Ross who voted no.

During the business part of the meeting, Councilwoman McCutcheon was elected President and members were assigned to the following committees: Councilman Clarke to Public Works and Health & Sanitation; Councilwoman McCutcheon to the Police Department; Councilwomen Goodall and Reifsneider to Finance & Budget; Councilwoman Smith-Barnes to Administration & Recreation. The Council then passed three resolutions: (1) to enact in 30 days the Charter amendments approved by the voters at the March 14, 2007 election; (2) continue the Town Clerk to act as Treasurer and adjust her pay accordingly; and (3) re-suspend Myles Spires as Mayor under Charter Section 33-93 (b) due to his indictment on criminal charges. All Council members voted yes on the appointments and resolutions, except Councilman Ross who voted no or abstained on each of the matters.

Final Election Results Below are the final results of the March 14, 2007 Town election for Council members and Charter amendment questions. These counts were determined by the Forest Heights Board of Elections on March 20, 2007, and include absentee ballots which were not included in the preliminary count made on March 14, 2007. Numbers in square brackets [] indicate absentee ballot counts:

Ward I - Jacqueline Goodall (39), Reginald Nickins (1)
Ward II - Anne Reifsneider (67)[3], Cliff Atkinson (22), George McDermott (9)
Ward III - William Clarke (33)[2], Larry Stoner (22), Tauyna Hines (12)[1], Maurice Hatchett (6), Doris Stephens (2), Lasyfner (1)

Ballot Questions:
Q1 - Yes 203 [3]; No 11
Q2 - Yes 195 [3] ; No 17
Q3 - Yes 185 [3]; No 28
Q4 - Yes 178 [3]; No 40
Q5 - Yes 186 [3]; No 26
Q6 - Yes 185 [3]; No 23
Q7 - Yes 190 [3]; No 22
Q8 - Yes 68 [2]; No 149 [1]
Q9 - Yes 185 [3]; No 28
Q10 - Yes 193 [3]; No 22

Election Results March 14, 2007 Below are the unofficial results of the election held today in Forest Heights. The results will remain unofficial until the Board of Elections meets tomorrow to confirm voter registration data with the P.G. Board of Elections.

Ward I - Jacqueline Goodall (39), Reginald Nickins (1)
Ward II - Anne Reifsneider (64), Cliff Atkinson (22), George McDermott (9)
Ward III - William Clarke (31), Larry Stoner (22), Tauyna Hines (11), Maurice Hatchett (6), Doris Stephens (2), Lasyfner (1)

Ballot Questions:
Q1 - Yes 201; No 11
Q2 - Yes 192; No 17
Q3 - Yes 182; No 28
Q4 - Yes 175; No 40
Q5 - Yes 183; No 26
Q6 - Yes 182; No 23
Q7 - Yes 187; No 22
Q8 - Yes 66; No 148
Q9 - Yes 182; No 28
Q10 - Yes 190; No 22

More Breaking News March 14, 2007 10:30 a.m. Judge Nichols of the Prince George's County Circuit Court declined to address and rule on the plaintiff's (Myles Spires, Reginald Nickens and Worthington Ross) motion because of lack of proper service to the defendants.

Breaking News March 14, 2007 8:00 a.m. Suspended Mayor Myles Spires, and Reginald Nickens who was recently defeated in a Forest Heights Ward I election , have filed a complaint in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County, to overturn the election held on March 5, 2007, and to reschedule the election scheduled for Wednesday, March 5, 2007. Myles Spires is currently under indictment for 7 counts of felony theft, embezzlement, and other crimes alleged to be committed while mayor of Forest Heights. Reginald Nickens recently lost in a bid to be elected to a Ward I Council seat.

Special Council Meeting March 12, 2007 At at Special meeting on Friday, March 9, 2007, the Town Council appointed former Councilman George Wiggers to the seat he vacated in May 2006. Councilman Wiggers then introduced several Charter amendments that were approved by the Council. These Charter amendments can be viewed on the Town Documents page of this website. Voting in favor of the amendments were Council members Clifton Atkinson (Ward II), Andrea McCutcheon (Ward II), C. Lynn Smith-Barnes (Ward I), Larry Stoner (Ward III), and George Wiggers (Ward I). Worthington Ross (Ward III) voted no to all the amendments.

The amendments returned the terms of office from the current four years to two years as they were prior to November 2005. One of the amendments removed the current Suspended Mayor, Myles Spires, from office effective April 28, 2007, and another removed all Council members from office who were elected in May 2005, although it exempted any incumbents who were elected or appointed to those seats subsequent to the May 2005 election. Effectively, this will remove Councilman Worthington Ross from the Council on April 28, 2007. The amendments establish a special election on May 9, 2007 to fill the vacant seat of Mayor and the upcoming vacancy in Ward III. The Charter amendments will go into effect unless a petition is received on or before April 18, 2007 requesting the Charter amendments be placed on a ballot.

Councilwoman Smith-Barnes reintroduced a motion that had been passed on March 6, 2007 to again suspend Myles Spires from the  office of Mayor. This step was considered necessary because the Charter provision permitting elected officials to be suspended requires a two-thirds vote of the Council. Councilwoman McCutcheon also reintroduced a resolution to repeal the "trash tax" which had been imposed by the Fiscal Year 2007 budget passed on May 31, 2007. Although such a measure was passed in October 2006, the October 2006 action was thrown into question when Judge Nichols of the Prince George's County Circuit Court ruled in January 2007 that Smith-Barnes' and Wiggers' appointments to the Council in October 2006 were invalid because of a lack of quorum on the Council. Voting in favor of these measures were Atkinson, McCutcheon, Smith-Barnes, Stoner and Wiggers. Ross voted in opposition.

Upcoming Election March 12, 2007 Forest Heights voters will go to the pool on Wednesday, March 14 to elect three Council members, and vote on a number of ballot questions involving further changes to the Town Charter. More information on the candidates and the ballot questions can be viewed on the Election 2007 page of this website.

Barnes Sworn In March 6, 2007 Prior to the special Council meeting on March 6, 2007, C. Lynn Smith-Barnes was sworn in by Acting Mayor Larry Stoner as a council member to fill the seat vacated by Councilwoman Alice Hoskins. Hoskins resigned her seat in September 2006. Councilwoman Smith-Barnes had won the special election conducted in Ward I on Monday, March 5, 2007.

Spires to be Arraigned March 6, 2007 We have been informed by the State Prosecutor's office that Suspended Mayor Myles Spires will be arraigned on criminal charges on March 16, 2007 at the County Courthouse in Upper Marlboro. This is expected to be a brief session, and persons wishing to attend should contact the Court Clerk's office a few days prior to the arraignment to obtain the time and court room scheduled for that event.

Ward I Election Results March 5, 2007 8:30 p.m. In an unusually heavy turnout for a special emergency election called with short notice, Ward I voters gave 41 votes to former Councilwoman C. Lynn Smith-Barnes, 20 votes to Beverly Branch and 2 votes to Reginald Nickens. Gloria A. Brown and Luke Pierce Baysmore, Jr. each received one write-in vote.

After the votes were counted, Acting Mayor Larry Stoner said that there will be a special meeting at the Municipal Building on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. [Correction: the special meeting will be on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. in the Municipal Building.]

Town Council Elections March 5, 2007 The Town of Forest Heights is holding two elections in March 2007.

The first election on March 5 is a special election to fill a seat in Ward I that was vacated in September 2006 by Alice Hoskins, when she resigned from the Town Council. The three candidates running in this Special  Election are C. Lynn Smith-Barnes, Beverly Branch, and Reginald Nickens. The statements these candidates submitted for publication in a special edition of the Forest Heights News, as well as other campaign material distributed by the candidates can be found on our Election 2007 page.

The second election is scheduled for Wednesday, March 14 in accordance with the Town Charter. Candidates running in that election are Ward I: Jacqueline Goodall; Ward II: Clifton L. Atkinson, Anne K. Reifsneider, and George E. McDermott; and Ward III: William Clarke, Maurice Hatchett, Taunya Hines, and Doris Stephens. The statements these candidates submitted for publication in a special edition of the Forest Heights News, as well as other campaign material distributed by the candidates can be found on our Election 2007 page.

General information about Forest Heights elections including information on voter registration and eligibility can be found on our Voting and Elections page.

More Breaking News February 23, 2007 6:00 a.m. An article in today's Washington Post implicates Councilman Worthington Ross in the scandal involving Suspended Mayor Myles Spires' alleged attempt to bilk the Town out of $21,484.38. According to the article, Councilman Ross has filed an "affidavit" stating that the counterfeit Town Council resolution we posted yesterday was indeed passed by the Council in January 2006.

Breaking News February 22, 2007 5:00 p.m.  We have been informed by the State Prosecutor's office that Suspended Mayor Myles Spires has been indicted by the grand jury. We have not received the list of charges as yet , but believe they may include charges related to a counterfeit Town Council resolution submitted to the Town Attorney by Spire's Attorney in an alleged attempt to bilk the Town out of $21,484.38. The link to the Special Prosecutor's website is http://www.ospmd.org/. The press release posted on that website can be downloaded from www.forestheights.biz by clicking here.

Emergency Meeting October 1, 2006 At the emergency meeting of September 28, 2006, Council members Larry Stoner, Andrea McCutcheon and Clifton Atkinson unanimously elected former Council members George Wiggers and Lynn Smith-Barnes to fill the vacant seats in Ward I. Councilman Wiggers had held the Ward I seat until he resigned on May 17, 2006 when the term for which he was elected in May 2004 would have expired. Council President Larry Stoner announced that he was acting mayor while Myles Spires is under suspension as mayor. The Council elected Councilwoman McCutcheon as acting Council President while Larry Stoner is acting mayor.

The acting mayor agreed to release the details of the budget passed for FY2007 (July 2006 through June 2007). Links to this document and the audit report for FY2005 can be found on the Budget and Finance page of the Forest Heights News Report.

The Council repealed an ordinance requiring payment of annual fees by persons owning vacant lots in the Town.

After the meeting, Council President Larry Stoner indicated to us that the Council may have another emergency session on Wednesday, October 4, 2006. Watch for signs posted at the entrances to Forest Heights as to the 

Emergency Meeting September 28, 2006 An emergency meeting of the Town Council has been called for September 28, 2006 at 8:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building at 5508 Arapahoe Drive.

September 20, 2006 Town Meeting September 28, 2006 At about 8 p.m., a gathering of citizens and news reporters in the parking lot in front of the Forest Heights Municipal Building learned that the regular Town meeting, as required by Article 33-6 of the Town Charter, had been canceled. Council President Larry Stoner made the announcement on the front steps of the building. According to President Stoner, Myles Spires, who had been suspended as Mayor by the Town Council, had obtained a temporary injunction to keep the Council from enforcing its suspension resolution. He said that the Town planned to go to court to have the restraining order lifted.

April 7, 2006 Community Meeting August 4, 2006  A number of Forest Heights citizens gathered at St. Mark AME Church to discuss recent changes to the Forest Heights Town Charter. A number of speakers were critical of Mayor Spires and the Town Council. The formation of the Forest Heights Freedom Fighters was announced.

Town Trash Contractor Hit by Strike April 5, 2006 The Town's trash contractor, Waste Management, Inc., has been struck by its employee union, the Teamsters. As a consequence, trash on the east side of Forest Heights was not collected on Tuesday, April 4, 2006. We understand that at least some of the households on the west side did have their trash collected before the strike began.

We have been informed by the Town Clerk that Waste Management is able to begin collecting trash again. She indicated Goode may begin its work in Forest Heights will resume trash collection on Thursday, April 6, 2006. We will provide additional updates on this issue as the information becomes available.

Waste Management is a nation-wide company, with millions of customers across the country. A recent article in the Washington Post provides a news account on the extent and cause of the strike. Also, the Teamsters web site provides additional information on the strike from the union perspective.

Town Council Workshop and Special Meeting March 6, 2006 The Town Council will hold a special meeting concurrent with its monthly workshop meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Municipal Building on March 6, 2006. Topics of the Special meeting will include appropriations, Charter amendments and ordinances.

Charges Dismissed March 6, 2006 On February 22, 2006 the State Prosecutor for Calvert County dismissed all assault charges, as reported here on December 21, 2005, against former Mayor Joyce A. Beck.

Town Council Special Meeting January 30, 2006 The Town Council will hold a Special Meeting on Monday, January 30, 2006 at 8:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building.

Myles Spires Sworn in as Mayor January 30, 2006 Myles Spires was sworn in as the Mayor of Forest Heights on January 27, 2006 at 9 a.m. by Rosalyn E. Pugh, Clerk of the Prince George's County Circuit Court, in the Upper Marlboro Court House.

Spires Elected Mayor January 24, 2006 In a special January 24, 2006 meeting called by the Town Council, Councilman Myles Spires was elected by the Council to fill the seat vacated by former Mayor Joyce Beck. The Council voted 5-0 to elect Councilman Spires to the Office of Mayor under a provision of the Town Charter for filling a vacancy in the Office of Mayor. Councilmen Larry Stoner, Worthington Ross, Myles Spires, Clifton Atkinson and George Wiggers voted in favor of the appointment. Councilwoman Alice Hoskins was absent from the meeting due to illness. Councilman Spires is expected to be sworn in on Thursday January 26, 2006 by the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Prince George's County.

An emergency ordinance was enacted at the special meeting regulating the conduct of petitions in the Town of Forest Heights. Also passed were two resolutions, the first appointing the Town Clerk to the position of Acting Town Treasurer for a period not to exceed 90 days, and the second to authorize payment $17,700 for the FY2004 audit. These documents will be posted on the Town Documents page when they become available.

Town Council Special Meeting January 23, 2006 The Town Council will hold a Special Meeting on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 at 8:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building to discuss further implementation of the Charter changes that went into effect on January, 17, 2006.

Judge Smith Cancels Injunction January 18, 2006 On January 17, 2006 Judge Thomas Smith of the Circuit Court  for Prince George's County, lifted the injunction restraining the Forest Heights Town Council for implementing the Town's Charter amendments passed on November 16, 2005 was lifted. The Charter amendments were to go into effect on January 6, 2006, but were put on hold by a temporary restraining order (PDF Format) issued by Circuit Court Judge James Lombardi on January 6, 2006, which was set to expire on January 17, 2006. The plaintiff's, Anne Reifsneider, et al., then filed for a permanent injunction, which resulted in the order by Judge Smith. At the hearing before Judge Smith, attorney's for both sides in the dispute questioned witnesses, focusing on whether the petition had been validly presented to the Council, the Town's legislative body. Judge Smith ruled that it had not been presented according to the requirements of Article 23A of the Maryland Code, and so found for the defendants. [Additional newspaper articles on this and other recent news for Forest Heights can be found on the Forest Heights News Report links to other sites page.]

Council Votes Not to Accept Petition January 6, 2006 At the Special January 5, 2006 Meeting called by the Town Council, the Council voted 4-3 to not accept a petition requesting a referendum on the proposed Charter amendments introduced by the Council at the November 16, 2005 Town meeting. In introducing his motion not to accept the petition, Councilman Spires said he did not believe the petition had been presented to the Council [as required by Article 23A of the Maryland Code]. Amendment 6 (see the December 20, 2005 news item below for the text of the amendments) removes Mayor Beck from office effective January 6, 2006. Voting in favor to not accept the petition were Councilmen Clifton Atkinson, Worthington Ross, Myles Spires and Council President Larry Stoner. Voting no on the motion to not accept the petition were Mayor Joyce Beck, Councilwoman Alice Hoskins and Councilman George Wiggers.

After the vote, Mayor Beck declared she would contest the decision in court.

Special Meeting Called for January 6, 2006 January 6, 2006 After the vote on the petition, the Council agreed to meet again at 6:00 p.m. on January 6, 2005 at the Municipal Building. This will be an open meeting and the public is welcome to attend.

Town Council Special Meeting January 5, 2006 The Town Council will meet tonight, January 5, 2006 at 8:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building to consider whether a petition requesting a referendum as been appropriately presented to the Council as required by Maryland code Article 23A § 13(f) and (g) (PDF Format) (HTML Format). A copy of the signed petition is currently not available to the Forest Heights News Report.

Petition for Referendum Presented and Withdrawn January 5, 2006 At the December 20, 2005 Town Meeting, Citizens Anne Reifsneider and John Kennedy presented a petition containing 329 signatures requesting a referendum on the 11 charter amendments approved by Town Council at the November 16, 2005 Town Meeting according to a letter read by Ms. Reifsneider into the record. Ms. Reifsneider requested that the petition be placed in the Town safe until such time as the election board is nominated and then brought out for verification. However, later in the meeting, Ms Reifsneider requested to pull back the petitions so that more signatures could be added to them.

Subsequent to the December 20 Town Meeting, a copy of a transmittal letter (PDF Format) dated December 23, 2005 from Ms. Reifsneider and Mr. Kennedy was placed in the Town Council's Municipal Building mailboxes on December 27, 2005 indicating that a petition containing 346 signatures had been delivered to the Town.

Mayor Beck to Stand Trial February 22, 2006 December 21, 2005 According to court docket papers (PDF Format), Mayor Beck is scheduled to stand trial for two counts of assault on February 22, 2006 at 1:15 p.m. in room 263 in the Prince George's District Court in Upper Marlboro, Prince George's County, Maryland. Also scheduled to stand trial with Ms. Beck on one of the assault charges are Katharina Clark and Mary Wimbush. of Forest Heights.

Both cases stem from alleged incidences in the Forest Heights Municipal Building located at 5508 Arapahoe Drive in Forest Heights in which a door was alleged to have been used in the assault -- in the first incident a Forest Heights Police Officer in the entrance hallway outside the Town Clerk's Office, and in the second incident in the main meeting room on the second floor of the building. Details of the charges filed by former Police Chief Michael Eubank involving Lt. Waithe of the FHPD can be viewed by clicking here (PDF Format 1.1MB) (HTML Format) and the charges filed by former Councilwoman Lynn Smith-Barnes (PDF Format) (HTML Format).

Please note that the court documents cited above may be changed in the future by the District Court, and therefore should not be relied upon for legal purposes. Persons wishing to use such documents for legal purposes should obtain current documents from the Clerk of the Court in Room 170B of the Prince George's County Court House in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Mayor Beck Charged with Assault October 26, 2005 Mayor Joyce A. Beck was charged with second degree assault in Maryland District Court in Upper Marlboro on October 20, 2005. According to court papers (PDF Format) her trial date is set for November 23, 2005. The charge relates to an alleged incident occurring on September 12, 2005 at the Forest Heights Municipal Building.

Police Chief Dismissed October 25, 2005 Mayor Beck fired Michael Eubank as Chief of the Forest Heights Police Department and appointed Officer Larry Blake as the acting commander of the Police Department. The FHPD has now three police officers protecting Forest Heights.

Mayor Nominates Treasurer September 9, 2005 Mayor Beck nominated Joycelyn Boissiere to be the Town Treasurer at the September 6, 2005 Council workshop session. Ms. Boissiere indicated that she had worked for the Embassy of Nigeria and several firms as an accountant, and has an associate degree in accounting from Prince George's Community College. It is expected that the Council will consider her nomination at the September 21, 2005 Town meeting.

There was some discussion as to whether the Council would go into an executive session to further discuss the hiring of Ms. Boissiere, but it was finally decided that an executive session was not necessary. However, during that discussion, Mayor Beck described the Town in rather stark language, complaining the Town was operating in a state of financial or fiscal chaos for a number of years. She said that the Town looked like trash and a ghetto. She also said that she was ready to ask the State to revoke the Town Charter. Readers are invited to listen to Mayor Beck's full statement on this matter by clicking here. [Note this is a large 2.3 Megabyte MP3 file and can played on Window's media player or other multi-media software programs. It is approximately two and a half minutes long. Your PC must have speakers attached, and should have DSL or cable high-speed internet access.]

At the workshop session the Council also discussed the possible operation of an on-call bus service using a 17 passenger bus awarded to the Town as a grant by Prince George's County. Some input was obtained from Town residents attending the meeting on various aspects of providing bus service to transport senior citizens, handicapped persons, students and other Forest Heights residents to medical appointments and other destinations in the vicinity of the Town. The service would also be made available to residents of nearby communities  such as Glassmanor and Birchwood City. Mayor Beck proposed that the fare would be $2 to cover the cost of operating the vehicle, but would be low enough to generate sufficient demand to justify the operation of the vehicle.

Mayor Beck announced that the Town would be participating in an effort to raise contributions for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. She said that a flyer would be distributed the next day to Town residents with specific instructions. She said that a Town employee, Gloria Wallace, had attended a press conference held by the Governor and the County Executive, at which coordinated efforts were presented for Maryland and Prince George's County in providing relief aid.

Jim Halsted of J&J Contractors gave a presentation at the beginning of the work session on his proposal for replacing the roof on the municipal building. Based on his inspection, he recommended replacing the entire roof, including the caps on the top of the building's walls. He noted that the original roof was gravel over tar paper which did not require a drain slope, but in subsequent years that surface was replaced by a membrane roof which led to water accumulating on the roof. His proposal, for about $40 thousand, would use insulating material to create a proper taper for drainage. The other proposal presented at the meeting was for Clinton General Contractors, and under that proposal, only part of the roof would be repaired for about $8 thousand. Mr. Stroud, of Habitat for Humanity, who gave the presentation, said that he did not believe the entire roof needed to be replaced at this time, although eventually it would have to be replaced.

Mr. Stroud, speaking then for Habitat for Humanity, also gave a presentation regarding a proposal by Habitat for Humanity to build a house on the vacant lot at 135 North Huron Drive. The vacant lot, formally a WSSC pumping station, is now owned by the Town of Forest Heights. Under a proposal by Mayor Beck to donate the land, Habitat for Humanity would construct a house using volunteer labor, and then sell the House to a low income family, with the highest priority being a family now living in Forest Heights. Mr. Stroud said that his organization would provide continued support to the new owner, and in their experience these owners tend to be good neighbors and an asset to the community.

Council Amends Town Budget August 29, 2005 At a special meeting of the Town Council on August 29, 2005, the Council further amended the Town's FY 2006 budget to adjust the appropriation for the Forest Heights Police Department and other technical amendments. The budget can be viewed in PDF format by clicking here.

While the Council was debating the budget, Mayor Beck abruptly called the public hearing on the budget adjourned and declared the remainder of the meeting a work session. However, the Council refused to agree to adjourn the meeting. Mayor Beck ordered the acting town clerk to leave the room, and Mayor Beck also left. The Town Council continued the meeting with Council President Larry Stoner chairing the meeting.

Council Passes Emergency Ordinance August 29, 2005 At the conclusion of their work on amending the Town budget, the Council passed an emergency ordinance limiting unescorted access to the Police Department area within the municipal building. The concern was that the Forest Heights police could lose their access to FBI and other investigative data bases under the current situation wherein a person who was not a sworn officer or an official of the police department could enter the police area and read investigative reports and other sensitive material that were meant for police officers. Councilman Wiggers introduced a proposed resolution that would formally establish the Forest Heights Police Department under section 33-20 (b) (39) of the Town Charter. However, during the discussion on the proposed resolution, Councilman Spires said that the FBI was aware of the situation, and that he had been informed that either the Council take action on the matter or the FBI would take steps to revoke the Forest Heights Police Department's access to the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS).

The Maryland Code provides that "except in accordance with applicable federal law and regulations, a criminal justice unit and the central repository may not disseminate criminal history record information" [Md, Code Ann. Crim. Pro. § 10-219 (a)] and furthermore, a criminal justice unit, includes among other things a municipal police unit when such unit is exercising jurisdiction over criminal matters, alternative dispositions of criminal matters or criminal history record information [Md. Code Ann. Crim. Pro. § 10-201 (f) (2)].

Councilman Spires therefore moved that the resolution introduced by Councilman Wiggers be amended to make it into an emergency ordinance which would, among other matters, forbid any civilian, town official or non-police department personnel access to the police facility without an escort by an officer or police department official. Councilman Spires said such an ordinance was necessary in order to maintain the effectiveness of the Forest Heights Police Department in maintaining safety and security in the Town of Forest Heights.

The emergency ordinance was passed on a 5-0 vote by Councilmen Atkinson, Ross, Spires, Stoner and Wiggers. The emergency ordinance can be viewed in PDF format by clicking here.

Chief Eubank Demoted August 23, 2005 The special Town meeting of August 23, 2005 was initially called to work on the Town budget, but the Council decided that it did not have enough information to work on the budget that evening. Mayor Beck attended the meeting, but announced that she would sit in the audience as a citizen, as she did not have proper notice that the meeting was being called. Notwithstanding her assertion that she was not participating in the meeting as a Town official, Mayor Beck continued to participate in the meeting, at one point asserting that she was the Mayor.

There was a caustic interchange during the meeting between Mayor Beck and Councilman Spires about the Police Department, and Councilman Spires asked Mayor Beck whether Eubank was the chief of police. Mayor Beck responded that he was the chief and sitting downstairs. At that point, Councilman Spires read into the record a July 26, 2005 letter from Mayor Beck to Chief Eubank relieving him of his responsibilities as chief of police. The letter is now in the public domain, and it can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here. In the ensuing discussion, Mayor Beck called the letter a lie and demanded to know who had provided it to the Council.

Council Passes Three Resolutions August 17, 2005 At the August 17, 2005 Town meeting, the Forest Heights Town Council passed three resolutions (1) Adoption of Rules of Order (PDF Format), (2) Amendment of the Town Budget (PDF Format), and (3) Replacement of the Treasurer at the Request of the Mayor (PDF Format).

In the Council's debate over the passage of the Rules of Order, Mayor Beck made two points: (a) section 33-6 of the Town Charter requires that the Council adopt the rules of order at the Town meeting on the third Wednesday in May because it states: "The Council shall meet at 8:00 P.M. on the third Wednesday in May of each year for the purpose of organization, after which the Council shall meet the third Wednesday of each month.
Special meetings shall be called by the Town Clerk upon the request of the Mayor or at least three of the members of the Council. All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public, and the rules of the Council shall provide that residents of the Town shall have a reasonable opportunity to be heard at any meeting in regard to any municipal question", and (b) the Council had already adopted rules of order at the February 2005 workshop session. Councilman Wiggers pointed out that section 33-6 does not prohibit the Council from adopting rules of order at any times, and section 33-10 gives the Council express authority to adopt its own rules. Councilman Ross pointed out that the rules developed in the February 2005 workshop were not formally adopted as the Council does not normally vote in workshop sessions.

In the debate over the amendment to the Town budget, Mayor Beck said that the Council could not amend the budget based on advice from the Town Attorney which she read at the meeting. Click here for a copy of the Attorney's letter. [Editor's note: We would typically not publish a letter containing legal advice from the Town Attorney, but since Mayor Beck read the letter into the public record at the meeting, it is now in the public domain.] Councilman Wiggers noted that the proposed amendments to the budget did not contain any increase in Town taxes, which Attorney Ticer's letter indicated were not legal based on a precedent in the State of Rhode Island. Councilmen Atkinson, Ross, Spires, Stoner and Wiggers voted in favor of adopting the budget, and Mayor Beck abstained, indicating she and the town residents had not been included in putting the budget amendment together.

Councilman Wiggers introduced the resolution that would formally appoint the Town Clerk, Bonita Anderson, as the acting Treasurer until the September Town meeting. Mayor Beck and Councilman Spires objected to a section in the resolution which would require the former Town Treasurer, Pearman, Bobo, Fulse, LLC, to be retained as a consultant to provide a transition for the new Treasurer. The resolution was amended to remove that requirement before being approved by the Council.

Council Passes FY 2006 Budget June 25, 2005 At a special meeting of the Town Council on June 24, 2005, the Forest Heights Town Council voted to pass a budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2005 on a 4-0 vote. In attendance at the meeting were Council President Larry Stoner (Ward III) and Councilmen Clifton Atkinson (Ward II), Worthington Ross (Ward III) and George Wiggers (Ward I).

Councilman Ross introduced the budget resolution, which was seconded by Councilman Wiggers. In the debate that followed, and with further input from the citizens present at the meeting, the proposed budget was amended on the floor by a motion from Councilman Wiggers to increase the salaries of all members of the Police Department, including the civilian clerk, by seven percent over their current salaries. All other Town employees were to receive a four percent increase in pay. Salaries of elected official must be set by ordinance, so they were not affected by the raises given to the Town's civil service. The increase in pay for the Police Department was deducted from the amount allocated for street repair.

The budget generally followed the proposed budget submitted to the Council by Mayor Beck with the exception that revenues were increased by about $34,000 because of information received by the Council from the Maryland Comptrollers office on the amounts of income tax revenues to be received by the Town in FY 2005. Other changes included an allocation of overtime and court pay for the Police Department, and overtime pay for the Clerk's office and the Public Works Department. Also, the Council increased the allocation for training and conventions for members of the Town Council and for dues conferences and meetings for the Police Department. Finally, the amount originally proposed by the Mayor for street repair was reduced by $100,000 and a new item for a CDBG street project of $100,000 was added, but made contingent upon the approval of such a grant by Prince George's County.

The budget resolution can be viewed by clicking here (PDF Format).

Council to Meet on FY 2006 Budget June 23, 2005 The Town Council will meet tonight, Friday, June 24, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. at the Municipal Building to consider the Mayor's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2006. The Council is expected to pass a budget at the meeting. Mayor Beck announced at the June 22, 2005 public hearing on the budget that she had a prior commitment and would not be able to attend. It is anticipated that Council President Larry Stoner will chair the meeting in her absence.

Mayor Beck issued a note to the Council and Town employees, with a copy to the Town residents advising that in the absence of a budget it is "likely that all administrative, public safety and environmental services will be suspended effective July 1, 2005 and until Forest Heights Town Council has adopted a Fiscal Year 2006 Town Budget." Click here for the complete text of the Mayor's Memorandum (PDF Format).

Public Hearing on Budget June 6, 2005 A public hearing on the FY2006 Budget has been scheduled for June 22, 2005. Mayor Beck's proposed budget can be found

Mayor to Present FY2006 Budget May 28, 2005 The Mayor and Town Council will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31, 2005. It is anticipated that Mayor Beck will submit her proposed FY2006 budget to the Council at this meeting. Under section 33-45 of the Town Charter, before adopting the budget the Council is required to hold a public hearing thereon after providing a two weeks notice. At this time, we have not been informed of the date of the public hearing.

Meeting of the Mayor and Council May 23, 2005  Addendum Mayor Beck chaired her first meeting of the Town Council as Mayor. The primary focus of the meeting was to discuss the Town budget for FY2006, but a number of other items were also included on the agenda (PDF Format) (HTML Format). In attendance were Mayor Beck, and Council Members Alice Hoskins, Myles Spires, George Wiggers and Larry Stoner (arrived late). At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Beck emphasized that the meeting was not being conducted as a public hearing on the Town budget as had been previously announced but would be conducted as a workshop meeting.

Town Treasurer Dennis Bobo briefed the Council and other attendees on a draft proposed budget for FY2006 (PDF Format) that was distributed to Council members and the attending citizens. Mayor Beck again emphasized that the numbers included in the proposed budget distributed at the meeting were not likely to appear when she formally submitted a budget to the Council.

Mayor Beck announced that there is a problem with respect to the work ongoing at the Municipal Building to make it handicapped accessible. The problem is that the terms of the grant was limited to making the building handicapped assessable, and did not include moving the Police Department from its current location to what had been the Room 2 area. If an agreement cannot be reached with the Prince George's County Department of Housing and Community Development, the Town may have to absorb the cost of the project related to relocating the Police Department within the Municipal Building.

Mayor Beck said that she was not able to reach an agreement with Councilman Spires regarding withdrawal of his lawsuit against the Town. Councilman Myles Spires blasted Councilman Wiggers regarding his alleged role in the circulation of defamatory information during the recent election campaign.

Mayor Beck proposed to hire former Maintenance Supervisor Bill Clarke as the part-time Director of Public Works. Mr. Clarke's appointment was approved by a voice vote of the Council. Mayor Beck then submitted Acting Chief Eubank to be appointed as the permanent Police Chief. Upon an affirmative vote of the Town Council, Michael Eubank was appointed the Chief of the Forest Heights Police Department. Finally, Mayor Beck proposed hiring Wilmer Ticer, Esq. a former attorney for the Town of Forest Heights as the Town Attorney to replace Kevin Best, Esq. who resigned after the election. With one abstention, Mr. Ticer was approved as the Town Attorney.

Meeting of the Mayor and Council May 23, 2005 The Town Clerk, Bonita Anderson, has announced that the public hearing on the Town's budget for FY2006, originally scheduled for May 23, 2005 will not be held on that date. No new date for the budget hearing has been announced. Instead Ms. Anderson said that the Mayor and Town Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. on May 23 to discuss the budget. No other information is available at this time regarding the budget. An example given later was that the proposed budget contained an amount of $64 thousand on page 5 for a Town Administrator. Mayor Beck announced that she intended not to hire an administrator to replace Cynthia Farrar who resigned on May 11, 2005.

Mayor Beck announced that she would keep office hours in the evening after her full-time job with the County, and that she intended to keep Bonita Anderson as the Town Clerk. She also said that she would keep an assistant to help Ms. Anderson in the office. Mayor Beck also urged citizens to become familiar with the General Powers of the Council under section 33-20 of the Town Charter (PDF Format).

Joyce Beck Sworn in as Mayor May 18, 2005 Ward II Councilwoman, Joyce Beck, was sworn in as Mayor of Forest Heights by State Senator Gloria Lawlah. Also sworn in were newly elected Council Members Alice E. Hoskins of Ward I and Myles Spires of Ward II, and re-elected Councilman Worthington Ross of Ward III. Outgoing Ward I Councilwoman and Council President Lynn Smith-Barnes acted as the presiding officer for the meeting.

Town Council Special Meeting May 16, 2005 The Town Council met on May 16, 2005. Councilwoman and Mayor-elect Joyce Beck chaired the meeting and was also attended by Council members George Wiggers, Cliff Atkinson, and Larry Stoner. Council President Lynn Smith-Barnes arrived about mid-way into the meeting. A number of citizens also attended the meeting. Councilman Worthington Ross was unable to attend because of illness.

In response to a comment by Councilman Wiggers, Mayor-elect Beck said that she did not campaign on a platform of reducing taxes, but indicated she would be open on that matter. She reiterated her campaign promise to negotiate with Councilman-elect Myles Spires regarding the withdrawal of his court suit requesting the court, among other matters, roll back the tax increase approved last year. In the ensuing discussion several citizens indicated they would support a tax increase provided they receive services from the Town. In addition to the need to repair the Town's streets, citizens also voiced concern over a need for improved police protection.

Founder's Day and Yard Sale Canceled May 17, 2005 The Founder's Day celebration and Yard Sale scheduled for May 21, 2005 has been canceled.

Town Attorney Resigns May 16, 2005 Mr. Kevin J. Best, Esq., Town Attorney has tendered his resignation.

Maintenance Supervisor Retires May 17, 2005 Bill Clarke, the Town's maintenance supervisor, a fixture in the Town Maintenance Department for 23 years, has retired. A Forest Heights resident, Mr. Clarke and his wife Katie Clarke, have generously volunteered their time to the betterment of the Town. They have continued to participate in Town civic activities after Mr. Clarke's retirement. The Forest Heights News Report congratulates Mr. Clarke on his long career in service to the Town and wishes Bill and Katie the best in their retirement.

Special Meeting of the Town Council May 16, 2005 The Town Council will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 16, 2005 at the Municipal Building.