Smithville Alderman candidate Kristine Bunch had alleged fraud concerning Mayor Damien Boley's approval of former alderwoman Kelly Kobylski's business license as it pertains to an application for a Cares Act business loan grant for COVID relief back in June 2020. While the initial business license provided by Smithville City Hall in a sunshine request was questionable because it appeared to show a postdated business license, associates of Kobylski have provided the original business license which established that it was properly issued The issue revolved around discrepancies regarding the status of her business license for a Montessori School Kobylski operated, which has since been closed down, prompting questions about the accuracy of her application. Kobylski is running for reelection.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Kobylski stated on her Covid Relief application form that she possessed a business license issued by the City of Smithville for the year 2020. However, the business license in question as provided by City Hall had a signature date by Mayor Boley for 2024 more than four years after the time indicated on Kobylski's application. Kelly applied for a Cares Act business loan grant for covid relief in June of 2020 and stated to the best of her knowledge that she had a business license in 2020 issued from the City of Smithville on the application form. This gave the impression that Kobylski may have been operating without a business license, which we now know to not be the case.
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We were able to confirm with Smithville city official Linda Drummond that the business license was issued in 2020 to the applicant but through some sort of system error in the software used, the electronic mayoral signature of the 2024 date is wrong and reflects a requested date not an issued date which was in 2020. This system error needs to be corrected because it led to a misunderstanding.
It's unfortunate that City Hall provided a business license under the sunshine request with unclear dates which led some to think that it was certainly possible that Mayor Boley was postdating Kelly's business license for the purpose of facilitating fraud or deception.
However, the misstated date on the business license led many to believe that Mayor Boley postdated Kelly's business license and led opponents of Kobylski to seize upon the revelation, characterizing it as evidence of dishonesty and calling into question her integrity as a candidate for Alderwoman. Initially, in response to these allegations, mygladstone.com attempted to contact Kobylski, however, to date this publication never received a response from her. Lacking a response, we published the initial allegations from Bunch.
The controversy comes at a critical juncture in the Mayor's race, with voters poised to make their decision in the upcoming election. Bottom line we now know that Kobylski had a legitimate business license in 2020.
As the story continues to unfold, residents of Smithville remain divided, with others demanding greater transparency and competency from City hall staff, for which Mayor Boley is ultimately responsible. With the election drawing near, the outcome of this controversy could have far-reaching implications for the future of the city's leadership.
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