Fond farewells from Johnson’s fellow leaders

Fond farewells from Johnson’s fellow leaders

Mayor Bill Johnson

TIMES, CRITTENDEN COUNTY ARK., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28,2018 PAGE 5C

Former partners in city business wish mayor a happy retirement

By John Rech

news @ theeveningtimes .com Retiring West Memphis Mayor Bill Johnson has forged many personal and professional relationships during his career in public service. State Senator Keith Ingram, former City Attorney David Peeples and Assistant Utilities Manager Ward Wimbish took some time to wish Johnson well and express how they each enjoyed being a part of the long run with the mayor.

“Billy has led a great life of public and community service,” said Ingram. “When I ran for mayor, I did not know him, but knew who he was but it didn’t take long for me to respect his integrity and character and his business acumen. I was fortunate Billy Johnson was there during my tenure. When he became mayor, the previous administration had run up a million- dollar debt. Billy quietly worked through all that and got the city out of debt. Finances are his forte. It’s one of the top run cities in the state. He has been a great leader known for his management ability. We have been fortunate to have his leadership.”

The longtime city attorney Peeples said he and the mayor were tested on environmental issues and learned the intricacies of that law field together by trial of fire, especially with the South 8th Street landfill where the city settled a six-million- dollar lawsuit for $15,000. He noted Johnson’s work turned the utilities profitable. Peeples remembered the retiring mayor’s total grasp of details and the soft personal touch enjoyed by many.

“There were (legal) challenges we faced that any normal city would face, but he was willing to take them on, personnel matters and things of that sort very straightforwardly,” said Peeples. “He had a way of working with employees that tended to garner their support and loyalty. There Wimbish saw Johnson as an asset to the city and wanted to keep in touch.

“He will definitely be missed and we will all stay in touch with him because he knows too much,” said Wimbish. “He is a valuable resource to the city and I hope he stays in the community. He has been a great custodian.”

are hundreds of untold stories about the way he helped and the nice things he did to help out many city employees. They’d come to him with hard times in need of something and he would find some way to help them. He probably never got the public thanks and recognition for helping out as many people as he actually did. He did it out of the goodness of his heart.”