Layoff of 10 is latest round in Parkin spat

Mayor, City Council at odds over hiring, firing personnel

In the months before Parkin Mayor Willie Patterson announced the layoff of the city's 10 Police Department employees, Patterson had been at odds with the interim police chief and the City Council over personnel matters, court records show.

Patterson had fired the chief, Charles Wilson, but the City Council voted Jan. 26 to reinstate him, according to records. After Patterson vetoed the reinstatement, the council overrode the veto Feb. 1. Wilson was then reinstated as interim police chief, earning $10.46 per hour with back pay to Dec. 22.

On Feb. 25, Patterson sued Wilson, saying he had not made a request to Patterson's office for an appeal of his termination within 10 days of the termination. Wilson instead notified the city clerk that he wanted to be placed on the "Agenda to talk to the city council members," the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit includes an appeal of the City Council's decision, although it notes that personnel policy allows the council to conduct appeal hearings and override decisions made by a department head or the mayor.

Vince Guest, attorney for Patterson, said when reached Saturday that Judge Christopher Morledge had issued a gag order in the case so he was unable to talk about it.

Last week, Cross County Sheriff J.R. Smith told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he received a letter from Patterson on Thursday night informing him of the layoff of the city's 10 Police Department employees for financial reasons. Smith said sheriff's deputies will now patrol the 1,100-person Delta city. Troopers from the Arkansas State Police's Forrest City troop will assist if needed, he said.

The lawsuit filed by Patterson against the interim police chief earlier this year has since been combined with a lawsuit the mayor filed against the Parkin City Council in 2015 over whether it had the authority to initiate the firing of city employees, court records show. That case was set for trial Friday in Wynne. Court records accessed Saturday did not include any from Friday.

In that case, Morledge previously ordered the city and the mayor to mediate a settlement in April 2015, court records show.

A settlement approved by Morledge in June says the three employees in question could continue working for the city and that the council must adhere to the city's personnel policy, which states that the council acts in an advisory role in the hiring and firing of employees.

A July order states that the city "shall enact a procedure to guarantee that all expenditures of city funds are approved by the Mayor prior to the payment of all expenditures."

That was followed by a counter-filing by attorney Andre Valley on behalf of the City Council, asking for a hearing on the issue of an injunction against the Mayor related to claims that city documents sought by councilmen have disappeared. The filing also states that Patterson was being paid both the mayor's salary and a councilman's salary.

In a response, attorneys for Patterson denied the allegations and said he had given back any extra pay that he'd received.

In a September complaint alleging contempt of court by the councilmen, attorneys for Patterson said the City Council had ignored the judge's orders, including by creating a human resources board to interview and hire prospective city employees.

In an October response to the complaint, attorneys for the councilmen argued that they objected to Patterson's hiring of "several individuals" and said Patterson was not complying with hiring policy. An amended response filed last week alleged that Patterson has "begun harassing the city dispatchers and the city police officers."

Metro on 04/10/2016

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