GIBSON — The Gibson Town Commission was scheduled to meet last Friday, but when three commissioners didn’t show up, the meeting had to be scrapped … for the second time.

The implications are far-reaching in the town because no one has access to the checking account to pay bills or employees.

Gibson Mayor Gwen Arrigon, who was sworn-in Dec. 9, said the town can’t perform basic functions right now.

On Dec. 22, the town clerk resigned without notice, Arrigon said. Since the town provides water and sewer services, someone needs to be around to take payments from citizens. Right now, no one can, she said.

Gibson is currently without a town clerk or attorney. Friday’s meeting was the second called meeting that had to be canceled because there was no quorum.

The first time this happened on Dec. 16, and the missing commissioners were Eric Stubbs, Margie Whitlock, and Josh Byrd. The same three were also absent on Friday. Arrigon said Whitlock told her that she wouldn’t attend a meeting if Byrd and Stubbs weren’t going to attend.

“That’s choosing an allegiance to two other people and not the town,” she said.

Byrd, who was absent from Friday’s meeting, said he and Stubbs had reasons for not being at the special meeting and Arrigon knew about it.

“I had a COVID exposure and there was a court order where I could not be around a member of the council, but all of that was taken care of [Monday] morning,” Byrd said, adding that, had there been a remote option to attend the meeting, he would have done so.

Byrd said he knows the town needs to move forward with the hiring of a new town clerk, so if the state has to come in to help, he does‘t have an objection to it.

“It’s hard to find somebody to do a job,” he said.

Arrigon told WLNC that she plans to reach out to the state to take over Gibson’s finances so that bills can be paid.

“I feel as though we can’t get anything done because the commissioners won’t meet,” she told the station. “We have to have somebody that will help make decisions for Gibson.”

Commissioner Adam Liles said everything in the town has come to a standstill.

“We can’t make a decision without having a meeting,” he said. “I’m hoping for the best for Gibson because it’s our job to keep the town going.”

The next East Laurinburg?

In December, the Local Government Commission exercised new statutory power to revoke charters of local governments that are in fiscal distress and unable to sustain operations and removed East Laurinburg’s charter.

The LGC “determined … that the city’s financial affairs are not sufficiently stable to continue operations” and that “it is in the best interest of the city and state to transfer the assets, liabilities and other obligations of the town to local government partner(s) and hereby dissolves the town of East Laurinburg” pursuant to Senate Bill 314. That legislation was signed into law by the governor on Aug. 30 and expanded the LGC’s power to repeal local government charters.

Arrigon said she doesn’t think Gibson is heading down that road. But if meetings continue to be canceled because commissioners don’t show up, problems are just going to be pushed down the road.

“We can’t go that long without things in place,” she said.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the town board is Jan. 13.

Cheris Hodges can be reached at chodges@laiurinburgexchange.com.