'Youngest black mayor ' in hot water as city freezes budget due to improper spending allegations

EARLE, AR - The “youngest mayor in America,” whose win was touted by Kamala Harris, is in hot water after being accused of misappropriating city funds. 

Jaylen Smith, who was eighteen when elected mayor of Earle, has seen his ability to make purchases on behalf of the city frozen. The city council voted earlier this month to freeze city accounts, claiming Smith was using city money for personal gain, WREG reported. No details of Smith’s alleged misdeeds were available. 

“The city of Earle is on a purchasing freeze. My garbage truck and my boom truck have broken down,” Smith said. “So, I cannot purchase anything to pick up garbage for my residents," he added, blaming the city council for restricting his access to city funds. 

“I tapped into that money to purchase something, which was some new equipment for our public works department. So that way, we can see grass-cutting, tearing down houses, and different things. We bought police vehicles.” 

Smith told WREG that in 2021, the city received over $400,000 of American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds, with over $80,000 of that remaining. 

“The goal is to put money towards salary, but I’m not in agreeance with that,” Smith said. 

Smith said the money should be used to make the city a better place, and the city’s citizens will suffer and pay the ultimate price. 

Despite that, Smith said all city services had been restored despite the budget freeze. He said the city could no longer allow it to affect city services, including trash pickup. He urged city residents to attend city council meetings to express their displeasure. 

One citizen, William Davis, told WREG that before city services were restored, people had burned their trash to get rid of it. 

“His trash was all backed up; he had to take it to his trailer to burn it, and they have burning laws saying you are not supposed to burn stuff, but what are you going to do,” he said. 

After being elected, Smith met with Kamala Harris, who called his election at the age of 18 historic. 

“I am inspired every day by young leaders like Mayor Smith. They are our future–and they will shape our nation with their hope and determination,” Harris said in a Facebook post.