Barnum Municipal Liquor Store employees resign

Two employees of the Barnum Municipal Liquor Store who were under investigation by the city resigned last week.

According to Barnum Mayor Jason Goodwin, the two employees – both of whom had been suspended without pay pending possible misconduct – appeared before the council in an emergency session last Wednesday night. Goodwin said the council gave the employees the option to answer questions in an open or closed forum, and both chose to speak in an open meeting format. Only five or six members of the public showed up for the hearing.

The possible misconduct involving the employees was unearthed earlier this month when city officials viewed security tapes from the municipal liquor store’s inside and outside cameras to discover who might have been responsible for trash strewn throughout the store’s parking lot. At that time, Goodwin said there was certain behavior witnessed on the tapes that caused city officials to question if certain drinks served that night were actually paid for.

During Wednesday night’s hearing, Goodwin said neither employee could answer the question as to why those drinks weren’t rung into the till.

“As we were going through the evidence, both of them turned in their keys and resigned,” said Goodwin.

He added that the tapes also showed the outside cameras at the store had been repositioned, but there is no evidence that was related to the other incidents in question.

Goodwin said the city has already posted for two new part-time bartenders for the municipal store and the city plans to move on with its operation.

“This sort of thing is tough,” he admitted. “This is a small town, and it’s not just a name or a number we’re looking at – it’s people we know.”

Tags: barnum, crime