The Durbin Town Council erupted at its monthly meeting January 8 as it attempted to approval minutes from a special session.

The special session was held to discuss a sewage bill received by council member Mike Vance. Vance explained that he was billed for a trailer that was not hooked up to the sewage system at the time of the billing period.

A representative of the Public Service Commission attended the session to explain the code and stated that Vance had 30 days to apply for a tap for the trailer.

Vance said the PSC representative said the town was wrong in billing him for service for the trailer.

Mayor Donald Peck requested that information he shared during the session be included in the meeting minutes. He disagreed with the PSC representative and wanted that to be recorded in the official minutes.

Peck and council member Earl “Punk” Vance had a heated argument over the issue until recorder John Osborne quelled the commotion and asked council to vote on the minutes.

Osborne said he did not have a problem with adding information to the minutes if that is what the council requests.

Peck added that he got information from the Ethics Commission which states family members on the council cannot vote on items which relate to anyone in their direct family. He asked Mike Vance, as well as Crystal Vance and Earl “Punk” Vance to recuse themselves from the vote.

Council could not agree on the issue and decided to table approval of the minutes.

Council also tabled approval of the financial statements because the final totals did not match. Treasurer Veronica Lane was not at the meeting so therefore was unavailable to answer questions in regard to the discrepancies.

At the end of the meeting, council went into executive session to discuss past due bills and other billing issues.

In other news:

* Council announced winners of the Christmas lighting contest: first place winners Helen and Roger White will receive $75; second place winners Phyllis and Kenny Mick will receive $50; and third place Clifford and Jennifer Peck will receive $25.

* Paperwork for residents interested in filing for the town election is available at the town officer. The filing period is January 14 to 26. All five council seats, mayor and recorder positions are up for election.

Durbin Town Council meets the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at town hall.

Suzanne Stewart may be contacted at sastewart@pocahontastimes.com