Alexander council meeting becomes open Q&A with a little campaigning

When four members of the Alexander City Council were unable to attend the July monthly meeting it was opened up to the public for a question and answer session. One resident instantly vilified the absent aldermen while others showered Mayor Michelle Hobbs with praise for her performance. The meeting was canceled after waiting the required 15 minutes because only three aldermen were in attendance and five is needed for a quorum.

Before the meeting was canceled Hobbs stated she received phone calls from aldermen Farren Wadley and Faye McKeon telling her they wouldn't be able to attend the meeting. Also absent were aldermen Andrea Bearden and Juanita Wilson. Hobbs said she hadn't heard from Bearden or Wilson.

Alderman Brad Scott submitted his resignation three days before the June meeting. His position has not been declared vacant since aldermen were only notified of his resignation this week.

Present at the meeting besides Hobbs were aldermen Ceola Bailey, Sam Gregory and Lonny Chapman. Also present was Recorder Sharon Bankhead.

When a quorum was not present at 6:15 the mayor canceled the meeting. Gregory asked about rescheduling but Hobbs said everything will have to wait until the August meeting.

Gregory then suggested opening up the meeting for public comment. City resident and Hobbs's uncle Royal Doss accused the absent aldermen of a "conspiracy" to not have a quorum. Hobbs did not remind Doss that two of the aldermen did call in.

One request the council and mayor agreed to implement is a suggestion box for residents at city hall. Aldermen will then be able to respond to any complaints.

Hobbs did report repairs to city streets had begun. At its June meeting the council approved the low bid of $41,696.82, submitted by Gleason Tucker Construction of Ward, for drainage and street repairs at nine locations along Alexander city streets. Members of the audience thanked her for getting the streets and ditches repaired and cleaned.

Hobbs then shifted the topic away from city business to her personal efforts handing out back packs filled with school supplies to needy children. She said she makes sure the back packs go to children who need them.

Hobbs also mentioned Alderman Gregory helping her with the back pack program. And she said Alderman Ceola Bailey would have helped "had she not have to work."

The next regular meeting of the Alexander City Council will be held on Monday, August 18 at 6 PM in city hall. The public is invited to attend.

Will former Alexander mayor lose her pension?

What is expected to be a hotly contested move by the Alexander City Council is the suspension of the $800 monthly pension being received by former City of Alexander Mayor Shirley Johnson. That action will come in the form of a resolution to be introduced at the next regular monthly meeting to be held Monday, July 21 at 6 PM in city hall.

Before that can happen the council must pass an ordinance removing language in the employee manual that provides benefits to both employees and elected officials. According to the ordinance the changes are required because, "[T]here is evidence of noncompliance with Attorney General Opinions, state law regarding city policies involving the eligibility for retirement, and various labor laws pertaining to "ELECTED OFFICIALS"."

The ordinance makes three changes to the employee manual.

The first is, "Rescinding and removing any reference to an "elected official" being a city employee."

Next, it calls for the "Rescinding and removing from page 29, the entire sub-heading "Eligibility"." That section states, "To qualify for benefits an employee must be considered part-time, permanent or an elected official and have completed a minimum of one (1) years' employment with the City of Alexander."

Finally, "Rescinding and removing from page 29, the entire sub-heading "Retirement"." This section includes a qualifier that says state law has made city-run retirement plans illegal since July 3, 1989.

The ordinance says these changes are temporary until, "[T]he Alexander City Council repeals, or amends the Alexander Employee handbook dated January 1, 2006."

Johnson was granted the pension under a motion passed by the city council in 2012. Current aldermen Farren Wadley and Samuel Gregory were members of the 2012 council.

In the resolution that will "suspend" Johnson's pension it states, "[T]he City of Alexander passed a motion with no governing policy on retirements for city employees and/or city officials."

It also points out, "[T]he paragraph the gratuity is based on was written by the recipient and that paragraph is now repealed."

Other business expected to be discussed by council members at Monday night's meeting includes the resignation of Alderman Brad Scott. In an E-mail to Mayor Michelle Hobbs Scott said, "I Brad Scott do here by [sic] resign my position as alderman ward 2 position 1 effective 5pm 6/16/14."

June 16 was three days before the council's regular June meeting. There was no mention of the resignation at the June meeting by Hobbs and aldermen did not receive a copy of the E-mail until this week. His position needs to be declared vacant by the council before it is filled.

Additional items expected to be discussed include:

• The annual ordinance establishing a five-mil property tax;
• An ordinance giving the council the authority to, "[H]ire, fire and discipline other city employees (full-time or part-time) who are not department heads" and a requirement the mayor appoint department heads when a vacancy occurs;
• A resolution reducing the mayor's salary from $840 every two weeks to $250 every two weeks and aldermen salaries from $100 per month to $25 per month beginning January 1, 2015; and
• An ordinance increasing the number of chickens allowed per lot from six to ten.

Alexander Mayor accused of illegal payments to former employees

City of Alexander Mayor Michelle Hobbs tried to use state law as her reason for paying unused personal and sick leave to two employees who resigned before completing one year with the city. She was questioned by Alderman Andrea Bearden who wanted to know if the mayor was following the city's employee handbook when employees leave before achieving one year of employment.

At the regular June 16 council meeting Hobbs explained that police and firefighters fall under state law when it comes to personal and sick leave. Bearden shot back that she was referring to two city hall employees who left before working one year and were paid for unused personal and sick leave. The mayor claimed they fall under state law as well.

According to Alexander's "Policies for Leave of Absence" section in its personnel handbook it states, "To qualify for these leave of absence benefits the employee must be a part-time, permanent or an elected official and have completed a minimum of one (1) year employment with the City of Alexander." A "permanent" employee is describe as someone who has "been assigned a regular 40 hours per week work shift."

In the personal leave section it says, "Upon termination, resignation or retirement, employees will be paid for all unused annual leave up to a maximum of thirty days including holidays."

The sick leave section doesn't provide a payback for unused leave when leaving city employment. Unlike the annual leave section, under sick leave there's no accrual rate. It states, "Accrual of sick leave will incur simultaneously with annual leave."

Bearden suggested the council rescind the current personnel handbook and replace it with the generic one written by the Arkansas Municipal League (AML).

"That's what we need a lawyer for (to rewrite the personnel handbook)," Hobbs said.

Bearden replied, "I thought that is what they were," referring to the AML staff of attorneys who are consulted by municipalities on Arkansas law.

At the time of the June 16 meeting the council had not selected a replacement for city attorney Carla Miller who submitted her resignation in April effective July 1. She was replaced by Kevin M. Lemley at a special meeting held June 24.

Among many of its free publications the AML provides a sample employee handbook that is based on state law where required and suggestions in areas where there isn't a legal requirement. According to the sample employee handbook there are state laws requiring personal and sick leave for both police and fire department employees. Not so for non-uniformed employees.

Before the section suggesting how to provide vacation time for non-uniformed city employees it states, "NOTE: The following provides a sample vacation policy only. The vacation days discussed are not required by law, and with the exception of uniformed personnel discussed above, Cities are not obligated to provide the number of vacation days discussed below." The sample handbook suggests starting the accrual of vacation time after employment of six months and paying employees for unused vacation time when they leave city employment but none of it is required under state law.

Under the sick leave section in AML's sample personnel handbook it provides a similar warning as stated in the vacation section. It also suggests not paying for unused sick leave by stating, "Non-uniformed employees will not be paid for accrued sick days upon termination of employment with the City."

When the discussion began Bearden also asked why city vehicles are being used for personal use when it's forbidden in the employee handbook. The mayor never responded.

Budget limits explained to Hobbs

During another portion of the meeting Alderman Andrea Bearden questioned Mayor Hobbs about a sign posted at the front door of city hall. The sign requested applications to hire four police officers and one police chief.

Bearden reminded Hobbs the budget only allows for four officers and one police chief. Currently there are four officers and one of them has been serving as interim chief. Former Police Chief Horace Walters resigned in late November, 2013.

Bearden told Hobbs she needs to decide if Officer Jackson is going to be the permanent police chief and advertise for another officer, or advertise for a new police chief. Bearden pointed out that spending more for police personnel than the budget allows would put the mayor in jeopardy of being sued for "malfeasance" and she would file the lawsuit herself if necessary.

Hobbs said she, "Would remove it." The sign now asks for applicants to apply for one officer position and one police chief position.

The next regular meeting of the Alexander City Council will be held on Monday, July 21 at 6 PM in city hall. The public is invited to attend.