WALTHOURVILLE — In a unanimous vote Tuesday night, Walthourville City Council members issued a censure against Mayor Sarah Hayes — and one council member openly called for her resignation.

Council member Mitchell Boston read the resolution of censure, which all five members of council — Boston, Mayor pro tem Luciria Lovette, Bridgette Kelly, Patrick Underwood and Robert Dodd — voted to pass.

Boston said Hayes’ actions “represent a consistent action of mismanagement, failure to adhere to financial best practices and disregard for council direction and financial oversight.”

In his censure resolution, Boston said the city, under Hayes’ leadership, “has failed to pay Atlantic Waste Services for sanitation services rendered since February, despite citizens being billed and paying for these services.”

Failing to do so, Boston said, has harmed the city’s reputation and risks disruption of a critical public service.

The resolution also charges Mayor Hayes has “continued to allowed flawed and unapproved payment plan arrangements that enable residents and businesses to avoid timely payment of utility services, further eroding the financial integrity of the sanitation and water departments.”

Boston also said he has been contacted by Atlantic Waste representatives, the city’s sanitation provider, and told the city has not paid its bill with the company since February.

Underwood called upon Mayor Hayes to resign her office.

“Walthourville needs leadership that shows up,” he said. “If you’re not willing to serve the people, step aside and let someone else do it.”

Underwood charged that Hayes has made payment arrangements with city vendors, without council approval, and then failed to follow through on the payments.

“Mayor Hayes, you have not demonstrated transparency with city council,” he said. “As a mayor, you are expected to lead and manage day to day operations. But your actions continue to show a lack of accountability.”

The censure resolution also says Hayes “continued approving overtime, discretionary spending such as parade entries, and full administrative payroll — prioritizing City Hall salaries over critical vendor payments and frontline departments.”

“I feel these are personal attacks,” Hayes said. “I feel there is a reason behind it. What’s been said here, what’s been written here, I don’t agree with.”

Hayes said she has asked for workshops and work sessions only to have council members not show up.

“We don’t even have a quorum,” she said of those meetings. “I’m not a mind reader. I don’t know what you want or how you want it. When it comes to getting these bills paid. We try to make sure the day-to-day bills are paid.” Council members also questioned the amount of overtime and Boston questioned the debt of the sanitation service, as the city charges more than what Atlantic Waste charges the city.

“We should have a cushion,” Boston said. “So the money we’re collecting should surpass our bill. If that’s not happening, that’s problematic in itself. For it to go four months without being paid adds insult to injury.”

Hayes said she and city hall staff are trying to make sure the day-to-day bills are paid and she has stated there should be no more overtime. City hall workers, though, have to answer calls and handle customers and fulfill requests from council members on information, she added.

Lovette requested a desk audit to see if workers are using their time efficiently.

“It’s a lot of money going out and not a lot of money coming in,” she added. “We’re not going to stop having bills. We are in financial straits and we have been in financial straits since before I took over. You can’t pay what you don’t have. We don’t have enough money to cover everything.”

Hayes said the city hall staff is short two employees and there is only one employee available to open and close the city’s parks. Public works administrator Dave Martin said he has a quarter of the people he needs to keep the city’s streets cut and maintained.

The city’s policies don’t include an employee taking compensation time rather than getting overtime.

The city will be imposing a millage rate on its property owners, and three hearings have been set for the new rate.

Hayes also noted the city’s financial position she and the council members inherited when they took office.

“A lot of them stemmed from the past when we didn’t have a budget passed correctly. We’re still trying to recover from all of this,” she said. “We aren’t able to pay all our bills. You can’t pay what you don’t have.

“We have less revenue than we have bills,” Hayes continued. “If you need to blame someone for this, I’ll take the blame. And that’s that.”