The Jackson City Council voted Tuesday to freeze the pay for two high-ranking city employees, Assistant Chief Administration Officer Charles Melvin and Assistant Fire Chief Todd Chandler. The council voted 4-3 to amend the city's payroll and hold the pay to two employees that they say are employed illegally.
"We don't think these positions are legal, so we're taking steps to cut the council's legal liability," said Councilman Marshand Crisler.
Council President Ben Allen said he was confident in the council's decision, explaining that it was within the rights of the council "to write the checks."
City Council voted down Melvin as director of parks and recreation last month, citing the former Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agent's lack of experience in directing a city department. The council also recently voted down Assistant Chief Todd Chandler as chief of the fire department.
Mayor Frank Melton thumbed his nose at the council's vote on both men--both close associates and political allies of the mayor--and installed them into high-paying positions where they continue to direct the departments council refused them for.
City ordinance demands that city departments be supervised by a director or deputy director. Some council members raised concerns about the same issue last year when Melton began installing retirees, all looking to preserve their pension payments by working as contracted employees, as department heads. For instance, Jayne Sergent is a contractual consultant, rather than a regular employee, for the city's Human and Cultural Services Department.
Melvin makes almost $80,000 and now runs parks and recreation from the Administration Department, while Chandler runs the fire department as assistant chief, making almost $83,000--about $20,000 more than Assistant Chief Vernon Hues, who is African American. The council knew of Chandler's re-installment for the last month, but members only learned about Melvin's re-assignment last week.
Melton said he was in no hurry to find a replacement for fire chief and openly declared that he had no intention of picking a more experienced nominee for parks and recreation.
Tuesday night, Melton, remarked: "We're going to fix this. These people are getting paid."
The council voted 4-to-3 to amend the payroll, with council members Leslie McLemore, Margaret Barrett Simon, Crisler and Allen voting in favor, and members Kenneth Stokes, Frank Bluntson and Charles Tillman voting against. The amended payroll then got a 5-to-2 vote in favor, with Bluntson siding with Allen and the others, though Bluntson's vote for the payroll may have been accidental. Bluntson appeared unsure after the vote, telling reporters that he had not voted in favor of the amended budget.
Stokes called the payroll amendment a personal attack against the mayor and said the city is setting itself up for a legal battle.
"If you say you're not going to pay an employee, then you're going to end up in court. I think the auditor's office told us years ago that the council can't just line-item remove people from the payroll. You can vote against the whole claims docket, or you can support it, but you can't pick on certain people on it," Strokes said.
City Attorney Sarah O'Reilly-Evans refused comment on the council's payroll decision. McLemore said he and the other council members are expecting and counting on a court date.
"We're trying to get some clarity on the issue of (headless departments and illegal city positions), and if it entails going to court, then it may very well involve that. Maybe we can set the predicate for future councils so the issue won't be so confusing anymore. If we go to court, then that's what we have to do," McLemore said, adding that this was not a personal attack on the mayor.
"This is nothing personal," he said. "This is about conducting the people's business."
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