ATHENS — Councilman Chris Seibert said he will not resign from his District 1 seat on the Athens City Council after shirking responsibility for failing to purchase licenses or pay city taxes on his many business ventures.
Several people spoke in his defense at Monday's City Council meeting, downplaying his infractions and many residents' concerns over the recent Haitian migrant influx in the area, which Christ Seibert had been accused of exploiting for personal gain via his rental properties.
The August 12 regular council meeting became particularly contentious over the discussion of an alleged estimate of 1,500 Haitian migrants that have been foisted on the town. Several constituents lodged accusations against Chris Seibert for owning multiple properties housed under several LLCs that he rents to Haitian migrants.
Last week, 1819 News reported on a petition circulating demanding Chris Seibert's resignation. One issue was that Seibert had never purchased a city business license or paid city taxes.
The petition alleged, “He has used his political position to cheat the people of Athens out of tax revenue desperately needed for the large influx of growth in this community.”
At Tuesday's meeting, District 4 Councilwoman Dana Henry read into the record a letter from the City of Athens concerning city business licenses. This letter had also been posted on the City of Athens Facebook page. The letter addressed Seibert’s lack of city licenses for his properties and stated that the city worked with him to bring his properties in line with the city business license ordinance. The letter also stated that they would not penalize Seibert for the multiple years of not holding a license or for the non-payment of fees and penalties.
“Several months ago, the City Clerk’s office saw that and notified Mr. Seibert those LLCs needed a business license. Mr. Seibert reported that he was unaware he needed them, but he would get them, and pay for any current and past years," the letter stated. "Mr. Seibert has now completed the process of obtaining those business licenses for those LLCs, paying all the license fee charges for all current and past years.”
Seibert’s CPA, Athens-Limestone Library chairman Chis Anderson, chose to speak on the process of aligning Seibert’s businesses with the city business ordinance.
“To be transparent, I’m a friend of Councilman Seibert and worked with him for many years,” Anderson began. “Sometimes a mistake is just a mistake, not corruption or willful intent."
Anderson admitted that he completed the rental business license applications for Seibert and calculated what would have been owed, alleging that even if he were to pay the fees, it would be “the smallest line item” in his profit and loss statement.
Anderson attested to Seibert’s authenticity and that he had not entered into any contracts that would bring that into question. Anderson made the case that Seibert has taken steps to be in compliance.
The councilman’s father, former Limestone County commissioner David Seibert, stepped up to speak to the vision for growth in Athens and congratulated the council and Mayor Ronnie Marks on how well they have handled it. David Seibert said he was proud of the growth, the county and what has been accomplished. Then he said that he was “proud of Chris."
"I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished in this town, and I want to keep it up,” he added.
After personally thanking Mayor Marks for his part in the growth of the city, he talked about how they had served in the military at the same time. Commissioner Seibert ended by saying, “I want you to keep up the good work and don’t get discouraged. Keep doing what you do. OK, Chris?”
Before opening the public comments portion, Councilwoman Henry issued an admonition.
“I also want to remind everyone that this is not a forum for name-calling, mudslinging or generally poor behavior, and that will not be tolerated," she advised. "We had an incident a few weeks ago where that went on, and we tried to put a stop to it. This is an arena for civil discourse. If you have a complaint, if you have an item of concern, this is the opportunity to do that. However, this is not an opportunity for anyone to slander or malign an individual. If you have a concern, this is the appropriate time to do that, to address that. But to devolve into name-calling is inappropriate and is not keeping within the dignity of this sort of meeting. So, that will not be tolerated.”
Henry once again outlined the procedure that comments be limited to three minutes and gave further instructions on keeping their remarks brief, non-repetitive and on topic.
A building contractor took the time to express his opinion on the issue of Haitian migrants.
“There’s been a lot of discussion about the number of Haitians coming into the city," the contractor outlined. "And I want to tell you that Chris is not the only person who had to deal with it. I’ve built brand new townhouses, they’re really nice. They come in, they apply, and they qualify, so they’re able to rent them, and I don’t have a problem with that. And I don’t have a problem with that, because if I did, the federal government would have an answer for them and I’d be hauled into federal court.”
The contractor’s perspective was that communities in and outside of Alabama were dealing with the influx of Haitian migrants, so people should not take issue that it was also being required of them.
As he took his seat, someone from the audience told the contracter, “You’re a sellout.”
One man was not happy with what he considered an easy pass given to Seibert over the issue with his business licenses.
“The excuses you gave for Mr. Seibert, just for him to pay the business fees, not only should he pay the fees, he should also pay the fine," he declared. "Mr. Seibert should also resign.”
“Mr. Seibert you’re a traitor, and you’re a disgrace,” he added.
Attendee Jarrod Schulte took issue with the fact that although the City of Athens had apologized and Seibert's CPA had apologized on his behalf, but Seibert himself had not.
“You just can’t simply sweep this under the rug. This is not a good look,” Jarrod Schulte stated, adding that the decision on the licenses should not have been made by the City, but by the State according to his reading of the law.
Another constituent, Amanda Schulte, alleged that a text message she received from Seibert’s attorney and that included Chris Anderson gave the appearance of intimidation. The text asked for Amanda Schulte to meet with Seibert and his attorney without her husband. The attorney and Anderson felt that her husband had gotten overwrought at the August 12 council meeting and that it would be better if he were not included.
“As a woman it made me feel extremely uncomfortable, and still scares me,” Amanda Schulte said. She also called for Chris Seibert’s resignation. Chris Anderson stepped up again to rebut some of her allegations and add the context that he offered to have another female present at this suggested meeting.
After a few other public comments, the majority of which were complimentary of the council and the community, Chris Seibert gaive a statement in which he defended himself said he had "no plans to resign."
“So, I’ll just say, you know, thank you all for coming. I… honestly, there’s a lot of supporters and obviously a lot of non-supporters. But, we do appreciate your interest in local government. And I hate, and I apologize for my kids, to everybody, that a lot of the last few meetings, for whatever reason, have centered on me. We have offered, as you just heard, to meet with those who have these issues, whatever these issues need to be or are perceived to be, and that offer was not accepted. So, I’ve never, honestly, spoken to these folks. And so, I have done nothing unethical, and all these issues, from the city’s standpoint, from my standpoint are resolved. I made a mistake, we’ve rectified it, and as far as I’m concerned, I have no plans to resign," he stated.
Chris Seibert quickly made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Sylacauga and Coffee County plan to hold town halls with local, state and federal officials to address the Haitian migrant crisis.
The second round of public comment begins near the 1:28:00 mark.
Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, As the Girl Turns, is an investigative journalist, author, opinion analyst, and contributor to 1819 News, Redstate, and other publications. Jennifer writes on Politics and Pop Culture, with occasional detours into Reinvention, Yoga, and Food. You can read more about Jennifer's world at her As the Girl Turns website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram.
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