Council takes issue with mayor’s actions

By Kevin Dye

Staff Writer

West Jefferson Village Council decided to table issues Monday evening that would have created and filled positions in the village until committees could meet and discuss the situations.

The meeting opened with a request from council member Ron Garver that council stay with the original agenda for the meeting and not an updated one that greeted council at the start. The revised agenda included the recommended candidate of Mayor Darlene Steele for the position of Public Service Director.

Later in the meeting council member Randy Otis, who is a member of the public service committee, questioned Mayor Steele about the process and why he was not involved.

“Mayor, I have told you — more than once — that I wanted to be involved in this process,” Otis said. “Mayor, why have you lied to me?”

“I did not lie to you,” Steele said. “You were out of town and I wanted to get this done. I said at the last council meeting I narrowed it down to ten.”

Under the village charter section 3.04, the mayor appoints the public service position and Steele said she wanted to select the proper individual and get them on the job along-side outgoing director Harold Walker for the 30 days before he retires. She also said there were time lines to deal with an individual giving a notice for his current position in another municipality and then being able to join the village as an employee.

“I have told you many times I wanted to be involved,” Otis said. “To say I was out of town was a poor excuse. I wasn’t involved at all in this.”

“I understand it’s the mayor’s pick, but I think it would have been nice to have the person’s resume in our packets over the weekend to look over,” council member Ron Garver added.

After the meeting, Steele said she hoped that things will get worked out.

“Hopefully, we will get all of this settled quickly before Harold leaves for retirement,” Steele said.

Another controversy arose with a proposed ordinance to make the position of village administrative assistant a full time position through the end of 2012. The temporary position change was to help catch up with the job of retaining village records.

“I don’t really think a full time position is needed for this position,” council member Sheila Nelson said. “We have a tax department we’ve just made part time. Why do we need a full time person for this position.”

“That job is so big, I don’t think you realize how big this job is,” Steele said. “I hope that she can get this back on track so department heads can handle this in the new year.”

Other council members voiced their opinion that the position should not be temporally changed for the rest of the year.

“The department heads have been dragging their feet,” council member Cory Coburn said. “They haven’t taken the initiative yet, why do you think they will take the initiative now.”

“I just can’t justify this to the village residents,” Nelson said. “We just made the tax department part time and I can’t justify this for more than 15 hours a week.”

Earlier, a resolution was passed by a unanimous vote that adopted a public records policy for the village. The village did not have such a policy until the resolution was passed. Mayor Steele wanted the full time position to help set things in order before the beginning of 2013.

“As long as we’re showing we’re doing something, we adopted a records policy,” council member Ron Garver said. “As long as we’re working on that, legally we’re OK.”

“Until someone comes in and asks for something,” Steele said. “I’m only asking for this until the end of the year. This is strictly for records retention and it’s really, really in bad shape.”

“To me, records retention can be done in 15 per week,” Garver said.

A vote was taken and the ordinance failed by 4-3 vote with members Cory Coburn, Randy Otis, Sheila Nelson and Ron Garver voting against the ordinance and members Jim King, Doug Eakins and Steven Johnston voting in favor.

Council then tabled two ordinances that would have created the position of part time income tax clerk and to set the pay scale along with an ordinance to confirm the appointment of a village employee to that position. Council member Garver pointed out several issues he saw with the way the ordinances would be enacted.

“You’re creating a new position and you’re not advertising it,” Garver said. “If you’re making her (current village employee) full time and one day a week in the tax department, then you would not have to advertise it. We’re making her full time, but calling her part time. The way we are going about it is not the right way.”

Other council members agreed and both ordinances were tabled by a unanimous vote until the next council meeting in November.