WARSAW, N.C. (WITN) – Warsaw’s town attorney has submitted his resignation letter, citing political dysfunction and the withholding of information within town government.
Kennedy Thompson, a Warsaw native and longtime town attorney, submitted the letter last week to the mayor and commissioners.
In it, Thompson wrote that the withholding of information from employees, legal counsel, and other elected officials makes it difficult to give competent legal advice and protect the town’s interests. He also wrote that professionalism is too often replaced with conflict and distraction.
Warsaw Town Commissioner Ebony Wills-Wells said she believes the town manager is responsible for the lack of transparency.
“Our town manager is the one who runs this town. As elected officials, we depend on her to be transparent, open, and upfront with us in regard to information, and I can say as a public official that there has been information that has not been disclosed to the entire board,” Wills-Wells said.
Wills-Wells said she requested public information from Town Manager Lea Turner during a June 8 meeting while working to finalize the budget. She said that request has not been fulfilled.
“I’ve demanded for the last four and a half years public information that has not been given to me as an elected official,” Wills-Wells said.
Warsaw resident Marzella Morrisey, who said she has attended commissioner meetings since 2000, directed her criticism at the board itself.
“Everything he said was true. Our commissioners are not educated enough about the town government — they don’t know the town ordinances, they don’t know the general statutes, they don’t research and see what the general statute says,” Morrisey said.
She also had strong words regarding Turner.
“All of it falls on the town manager. The town manager is incompetent,” Morrisey said.
Thompson said he will remain in the role of town attorney through July 31.
The mayor, Thompson, and Town Manager Lee Turner were contacted for comment but had not responded as of the time of this report. Wills-Wells said a conversation about next steps has not yet taken place.
“Our town manager is out of town at the moment, so we have not had the chance to have that meeting to discuss what’s next for Warsaw,” Wills-Wells said.
Turner told WITN earlier this week that she is at a conference.
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