ALMA, Ark. — The Alma City Council met Thursday (Feb. 4) for an executive session to discuss conduct concerns against Alma Mayor Jerry Martin.
After an hour-long discussion, the council adjourned with no changes to the Alma personnel.
There are no criminal charges against Mayor Martin, but the city council decided to hold the special meeting after receiving multiple phone calls from residents throughout the week about accusations of misconduct.
Councilmember Evan Thanker says he received complaints that were concerning and needed to be addressed.
"The issues did not sit right with myself or other members of the council so we wanted to get everyone on the same page,” Thacker said.
Thacker says since the meeting concerned personnel they had to close it to the public. Some locals still showed up to try to voice their concerns though.
“We’ve all been talking on Facebook about what’s been going on and we’re tired of it, he’s the face of our city,” said Alma resident Patricia Dukes.
Thacker says the council discussed both recent issues and others that have occurred over the last few months. They adjourned with no official announcement.
“There were definitely a lot of good things that came from the discussion, I think expectations are very clear now, and concerns are very clear,” Thacker said.
Thacker says there are no plans moving forward for another meeting to discuss these issues.
Mayor Martin declined an on-camera interview.