Feature Story

By Rob Holbert Managing Editor

Just as he was gearing up for his first run at a full term on the Mobile County School Board, it appears board president Fleet Belle’s church daycare was paying off a slew of tax liens accrued over the past few years.

Belle, who is the founder and leader of Rock of Faith Missionary Baptist Church, which also runs Rock of Faith Day Care & Learning Center, now serves as president of the school board. He was appointed in 2006 to fill the unexpired term of former member David Thomas, who was impeached.

A search of the Mobile County Probate Court under both Belle’s name and that of Rock of Faith, reveals at least eight liens have been filed personally against Belle since 1985, and 16 against his church and daycare in that same time period. On Feb. 12 of this year, the Probate site records show four tax liens against Rock of Faith Daycare by the Alabama Department of Revenue were paid. The total paid appears to have been $6,492.11, and represent taxes owed from 2002 – 2004.

A perusal of the Probate Court site reveals a plethora of liens against Rock of Faith and Belle personally over the years, as well as court judgments against both. For instance, Belle was listed as a defendant in a 2003 judgment for $756.63 against him by Regions Bank of Alabama. In 2005, Rock of Faith Church was on the losing end of a judgment for $1,350 apparently owed to Griffith’s Shell station on Government Street. Rock of Faith Daycare was also the defendant in a 2003 case it lost to GE Capital Consumer Credit Cards to the tune of $2,336.36.

Revelations about Belle’s personal finances come at a time when the school system he plays a key role in running is facing harsh fiscal times. Currently Superintendent Roy Nichols is trying to find ways to cut around $30 million from the budget as the system is supposed to carry a surplus of $40 million, but currently only has about $7 million. School officials say overspending has been the reason for this situation, and some believe Belle’s personal financial situation does not speak well of his ability to lead the board in making smart decisions.

“I would call upon the other school board members to remove him from financial decisions,” Wade Perry, local director of the Alabama Education Association teacher’s union said. “Every expenditure the school board makes comes up for a vote and the president sets the agenda…. He is the president of a school board with a three-quarters of a billion dollar budget. I think the other members ought to consider taking him out of the process.”

Perry said the board spends “north of” $600 million annually, meaning there are many, many spending decisions to be made. He noted that as the board currently contemplates cuts in most areas of school spending, the board has not yet touched its own services, travel or legal budgets. The services budget deals with things like secretaries and offices, and the board’s legal budget is one of the highest in the state.

“I think there are an awful lot of reasons not to re-elect any of the school board members, but Rev. Belle just happens to be one who is up. It would appear Rev. Belle runs the school system like he runs his finances,” Perry said.

Numerous messages left for Belle with his school board secretary were not returned prior to publication of this story, and calls to Rock of Faith went unanswered.

Rev. Levon Manzie, who is running against Belle for the District 4 seat said he had heard Belle’s name recently appeared in the Press-Register’s listing of people who had not yet paid their property taxes, but the other financial woes were news to him. He said Belle’s handling of finances appears to be illustrative of the way the board has run the system for the past few years.

“It kind of reflects on basically where we are now with the financial standing of the system. Being financially responsible is a big part of being on the school board,” Manzie said. “While I wasn’t aware of it (the liens), it doesn’t surprise me.”

According to the Probate Court site, the last lien filed by the Alabama Department of Revenue against Fleet and Carolyn Belle was for $3,235.02 in July 2007 for income taxes for 2003 – 2005. The Belles names appeared in the March 17 issue of the Press-Register in a listing of people who had not paid taxes. The listing said they owed $268. The amount was apparently paid a few days later.

Rob Holbert is Lagniappe managing editor. Contact him at rholbert@lagniappemobile.com.

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