Navassa council strips mayor of administrative duties
By Lynda Van Kuren
StarNews Correspondent
NAVASSA, NC (StarNews) — In a surprise move, the Navassa Town Council this week voted 3-2 to reassign Mayor Eulis Willis’s administrative duties to the council. The motion was made by Councilman Athelston Bethel and supported by council members Minnie Brown and Jerry Merrick.
“We feel like we’ve not been given the latitude to exercise our responsibilities, and we want those duties reassigned to us,” Bethel said.
North Carolina law states that mayors do not have administrative or appointive authority. The council, however, granted Willis administrative powers four years ago when Navassa lost its administrator. The mayor assumed all administrative duties such as securing grants, acting as budget officer and overseeing the town’s department heads.
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