LANDIS — Landis Alderman Katie Sells is running to unseat incumbent Mayor Meredith Smith. On Thursday, Sells alleged that Smith used her position as mayor to cover up an unpaid utilities bill. Smith denied any wrongdoing and said that the actions she took are available to any Landis utilities customer.

The exchange occurred in two separate Facebook posts on a group page called ‘Landis, NC News & Current Events,’ where members can share information about “local politics, events and other happenings.” 

The page administrators have since removed both posts.

“The corruption in this town is still ongoing,” Sells said in her post.

According to Sells, a citizen came to her a few weeks ago regarding a past-due power bill of Smith’s.

Sells alleges that the mayor had a town employee cover the past-due bill up for her.

“I reported the information to the town manager (Michael Ambrose), who has investigated the situation,” Sells’ post read.

Sells did not disclose the employee’s name, who is at the center of the matter, but did say that the employee was no longer working for the town of Landis. That employee reportedly resigned.

Ambrose declined to comment on the employee’s reasoning for resigning, citing personnel confidentiality, but did confirm that the employee Sells was referring to had resigned from their position at town hall.

Sells claimed that Smith’s power was never cut off despite the missed payment, adding, “If you or I were behind on our bill and had not paid by the 20th of the month, our power would have been cut off. This is not fair to any of us.”

In response to Sells’ allegations, Smith outlined her side of the story, explaining that the extension resulted from a processing holdup with a check she filed to pay the bill. 

“I sent the check in for our utilities bill,” Smith said in her post. “Between the time the check was sent and the check being processed, fraud was reported on my bank account.”

According to Smith’s post, the bill was paid in full after her bank cleared up the issue with the fraud.

Landis town policy permits extension agreements of utility billing on a quarterly basis. According to the town’s billing and utility policy, customers in good standing with Utility Services can request extensions. 

The policy said that payment extension agreements should normally not exceed two weeks.

“Any Payment Extension that exceeds two weeks, but does not exceed six months, must be approved by the utility services director,” the policy states. “Payment Extension Contracts that exceed six months must be approved by the finance officer or the utility services director. If the Payment Extension Contract has been successfully completed, according to its terms, another Payment Extension Contract may be granted if all previous Payment Extension Contracts were honored.”

Customers can secure multiple payment extension contracts within a quarter if approved by the town manager. 

The policy states that payment extension contracts are intended to aid the customer in paying their bill toward a current status, not to allow the customer only to pay a small amount while the bill continues to increase to an amount the customer will never be able to pay.

According to the policy, if payment of any payment extension contract is “not made by the specified time, service will be disconnected without further notice, and all amounts due to the town will be due and payable before reconnection.” 

The policy states that each customer’s history will be reviewed to determine if a payment extension contract is warranted. 

Based on the policy, Smith defended her actions because agreements are available for every Landis utilities customer. 

In her post, Smith said that she and her family were “saddened that a crime committed against them” had been used for political gain. She said she would not resort to mudslinging during the campaign and felt her record spoke for itself. 

In that original post, the mayor also provided her contact information, saying that if anyone had any questions, they would like to ask her to feel free. 

The Salisbury Post contacted that number with questions.

On Friday afternoon, Smith notified the Post that she would not be providing any comment.

Sells was also contacted by the Salisbury Post to expand on her allegations from the now-deleted Facebook post. She had yet to return requests for comment by the Post’s deadline.

In a Friday afternoon message, the Facebook page administrators defended their position to take down the two posts.

“We find it necessary to address a concerning issue that has recently been observed within our community: the use of derogatory language, name-calling and mudslinging during election campaigns,” the post read.

According to the post, effective immediately, the group is implementing a “zero-tolerance policy regarding name-calling and mudslinging during elections.”

The post described mudslinging in this case as “spreading false information, baseless accusations, or engaging in character assassination,” insisting candidates focus on the issues, their qualifications and their plans for our community’s future.