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Mayor Forgets That Deputy Clerk Quit, Takes Issue With Councilman’s Actions
July 20, 2010
Century’s mayor “forgot” to tell the town council that the deputy town clerk quit, and he’s upset that a council member called an employee meeting in his office apparently about the new town clerk.
Mayor Freddie McCall said Monday night that Deputy Clerk Karen Hughes had resigned her position prior to the July 5 town council meeting. He told the town council that he meant to tell them because he “had it on his list”, but he failed to mention it.
“You didn’t feel that it was important enough to tell us as a council?” council member Henry Hawkins asked at Monday night’s council meeting, at least two weeks after McCall said he knew of Hughes’ resignation.
“I was going to inform y’all at the last meeting, but we got into an exciting meeting and I forgot about it,” McCall said Monday night.
Also during Monday night’s meeting, McCall expressed displeasure over finding that “a council member” had called a meeting of some town employees in the mayor’s office. He did not name the council member.
“That’s stepping on my toes,” the mayor said. “I want it open where they (council members) can talk to them, but I kneed to know about it.” McCall said he wanted council members to set an appointment to talk to talk employees so that he could work employee schedules around the meetings to ensure various jobs were covered. He accused the council member of ordering some employees to cover for the ones called into the meeting.
“I was the one that was talking to the employees because they asked me to come in,” Hawkins said, denying that he ordered any employee to take any action for another.
Hawkins proceeded to question what hours town employees are scheduled to to work.
McCall interrupted, saying he knew Hawkins was referring to newly hired Town Clerk Darlene Peters. He said that while most town employees work 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an hour for lunch, Peters works 8-4 and does not take a lunch because she lives in Pensacola.
“I heard before it’s been 9:30 and 10,” Hawkins said of Peters’ arrival time.
McCall did not disagree. Instead, he pointed out that Peters is allowed comp time for hours worked outside the regular business day. He also said she was late one day because she represented the town in a meeting with Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David Stafford.
“It all comes under my direction,” McCall said of Peters’ work hours.
Comments
31 Responses to “Mayor Forgets That Deputy Clerk Quit, Takes Issue With Councilman’s Actions”
You really should conduct an investigation and get the facts. You probably lost a very good employee and hired someone to “work harder” and be more “organized”.
Really?? Who is evaluating that process!!
My only assumption is that what is written is correct. I admit that might not be right and that I don’t know much of anything on this matter, just what is written.
It’s a shame it couldn’t have been avoided.
David wishing all well
In response to Mr Green Im not going to argue over the internet. I respect your opinions but you are making assumptions with out all the facts. If you would like you can call me and I will fill you in.
REGARDING:
“Ann Brooks took care of that when she added that the new town clerk should have at least an associates degree. ”
She proposed the change. The entire council voted and approved it because it seemed reasonable to most of them.
Remember this came up after the original call for applicants and NOBODY tried for the job. The original call excluded nobody.
I suggest not getting upset when somebody else got a job you didn’t try for.
It’s easy to say, ” If she were the most qualified she would know her job.” Every job is a bit different and learning the job is part of the job. And jobs change over time as demands change.
You can ask, “Who documents all of her overtime?” I assume she does, if she is paid on an hourly basis or it doesn’t matter if she is on salary. It’s an important job and requires trustworthy people doing it.
It is true that “If she worked when everyone could see it no one would question her.” However, it’s quite clear she works when the others are not working and that’s part of the job. There’s no reason to be jealous. It’s good to bring the questions out in the open as you did even if it is a bit late. It would be a shame to quit over a misunderstanding.
David not knowing,
not suspecting,
hoping for the best
REGARDING:
” this is just common sense stuff, and anyone that has ANY managerial skills at all should know this stuff. ”
I know it SHOULD be but have come to wonder why they call it common sense when so many seem to lack it.
The way to avoid suspicion is to be open and honest. Lately they call it transparency for some reason which escapes me. After all, if something is transparent, light goes straight through it without showing anything. What we want is to light up what we are doing to avoid darkness.
Still, things which seem obvious to some are unheard of to others. It’s worth a try to suggest the obvious solutions.
David for the basics
To Darlene: I don’t see anyone bashing you here. What I see are citizens, to whom you are responsible, voicing their concerns. If the shoe fits, wear it. If not, then address these valid concerns and go on. I think it’s time for all of the folks at Town Hall to put on their big girl pants (or boy whichever the case may be) and get on with the business of running this town! Part of that business is answering our concerns, but how can we even voice them if meetings are being held without even proper notification?
MY wife quit for many reasons, one reason was an .11 raise last year. to more recent news. When Dorthy quit the most obviuos choice for the job was Karen. Anyone who has dealt with the town of Century would agree. Ann Brooks took care of that when she added that the new town clerk should have at least an associates degree. the next choice should have been Kristina she has been working at city hall for about 8 years and has been working closely with Dorthy for about the last 3 years. After Kristina is Angel Who has been with city hall for about 5 years. Both Kristin and Angel have associate degrees applied for the job and was not considered or interviewed. When the new clerk arrived she was more concerned with who she could get to do her job than learning what her job is. If she were the most qualified she would know her job. Who documents all of her overtime? If she worked when everyone could see it noone would question her. It is very innovative to start delegating your resonsabilities even before you know them. I could go on about why I think she was hired over About 30 applicants but Im not. Karens out she does not care but if I here anything negative about her I know alot more I can tell.
Congrats, David! But what you have listed is just everyday walking around sense for anyone that conducts meetings – period. This isn’t brain surgery or rocket science. You start with a written agenda, “old business” should be one of the items on the agenda, and it would take a majority vote of the governing body to add something to the agenda. Heck, you can even have a policy that states nothing gets added to the agenda once it is set, any new agenda items would have to be taken up at the next scheduled meeting. But again, this is just common sense stuff, and anyone that has ANY managerial skills at all should know this stuff. Good folks of Century probably need to read up on the latest “Roberts Rules of Order” as well.
Darlene – You are ABD on your PhD! You had to know that people are going to judge you harder because (1) you are over qualified for the job and (2) you are not from the area. The citizens of Century are NOT going to cut you slack because you have to drive an hour to get to work. The Town of Century has not moved any further from Pensacola since the time that you accepted the job offer. So, you are over qualified, not from the area AND you are asking for special considerations. Finally, you haven’t been on board long enough to gain the respect of the citizens. So, either you EARN their respect or you hit your head against the wall. The choice is yours…but I suspect the wall is harder.
Thanks so much for your support David. I really appreciate it. Darlene
To Cassandra the Town Clerk does not give out bussiness license the girls up front can help you, but if your doing a business out of your home it over there heads and at that time you were coming in for the business license you had to speak with the deputy clerk NOT the Town Clerk and the deputy clerk was not in on those days. So next time make sure you have the correct info before you post it on Northescambia.com. And to Shoefits NO ONE WAS EVERY TOLD THAT THE TOWN CLERK GIVES OUT BUSINESS LICENSE.
Told you she wouldn’t last long.
It’s easy to forget to bring up something.
It’s easy to fix the problem.
Here’s some suggestions, ignore them if you wish:
Have an agenda and order of business in writing at the beginning of each meeting with some details included. Vote to amend or approve at the beginning of the meeting. That way, everybody’s on the same page.
Follow that order of business. Don’t get sidetracked with, “Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention . . . ”
Check off each item when you have finished with it.
If you want to report something, like say an employee quitting, have a written report for the members to read. If a lot is covered, it’s easy to forget you went over that item. I remember reading before where one member denied being told of things which were in the minutes, discussed and voted on. It’s easy to forget if you don’t have things in writing or if you weren‘t paying attention.
Give one person the floor at a time. If there are three separate conversations at the same time, you don’t really have a meeting.
If things get out of hand, ADJOURN. Let folks cool off and try again later.
Suggestion to Darlene:
Hang in there. Things will either get better or they will remain entertaining. Either way, life will be interesting. Do your best and remember somebody will always doubt you and think they could do better–even when they haven‘t a clue or maybe especially then.
Jealousy happens. Don’t let them grind you down.
David for peace
Prosperity
Patience
Persistence
Understanding
Darlene, hang in there. Can’t say it won’t get better – but it’ll probably get more interesting. Don’t let those with little minds drive you away. Thank goodness there are some people in this area that think they should actually work for their paycheck! Sounds like the ‘girls’ are trying to make you look like you aren’t doing your job – I’m sure they know they can sign your name for a business license. And the girl that quit because of you – wow! – she sure gave you a lot of power. In awhile you and Freddie Wayne can collaborate on a book or a TV series…….lol
Mr McCall has that race track on his mind not his job how could he forget to tell the Deputy Clerk resigned, she is the main hand down there …. here we go again he forgot,,,,,,, i heard him say last year at a metting he forgot to tell them at a town meeting that he aproved Mathis trailer park to hook up and donaited them $1,000.00 he said he forgot to mention this also so whats next?????
And another thing – Freddy McCall is one of the most honorable men I have ever known. It’s a good thing he has been able to pick his battles and he’s been able to hold his temper.
Miss Darlene – I bet one of the qualifications for your job that was not in the job description is a tough skin. The Lord himself would not satisfy most of the belly- achers on here. I am sorry that they are on your case – you deserve better, but petty jealousies and envy make for bitter people who have nothing better to do than sit back and criticize what they don’t have a clue about..
Watch what is said about this post.
“As far as the business license is concerned. The girls at the front have permission to sign my name, so I am not even called on for those and wouldn’t even know when someone had come in to get one, even if I was there.”
Obviously the girls in the office were not aware of this, and it is frustrating to waste time running back and forth to city hall for something as simple as a business license.
All the years that I worked I had to commute to another town and I knew that I had to get up in time to be at work or be suspended or fired. If the new clerk was aware of the working hours and she felt she couldn’t conform to those hours why did she take the job and why should she be given any special treatment. Is there some connection between the mayor and the new clerk we are not aware of as of yet????
Ok, since everyone is bashing me, I would like to have my say. Yes, I did come in late some mornings. Why? Because I had worked over the weekend and stayed past 4:00 to catch up on the work and to create job aids for myself to make the office more efficient. I do not get paid for coming to meetings and accumulate four hours comp time, instead of being paid. I guess I should ask for the town to compensate me instead. I have not had a lunch hour since the second day I started at City Hall. It was not mentioned that the other mornings I come in at 7 and stay till 4:30 or so.
I know some people who are there from 7 to 4 and are just putting in their time. I guess that is what you want – just someone to put in their time, not someone who is innovative and willing to make a change and make things better. I have made some improvements in the office that would not have been done otherwise. When I am there, I work; once in a while I take a smoke break, because God knows I need one with this job.
As far as the pay, I have enough education and qualifications to get another job at this salary or better. My salary is $35,000 or 16.83 per hour. I make more per hour as an adjunct. I came in with an idealistic attitude. I wanted to implement job descriptions, job procedures, and make things better. This motivation ended with last night’s meeting. I understand that you want to drive me off, I get it. I’m sure Karen’s quitting had something to do with me, although I am not sure what it is, but it is obvious since I had only been there two weeks and she quit.
As far as the business license is concerned. The girls at the front have permission to sign my name, so I am not even called on for those and wouldn’t even know when someone had come in to get one, even if I was there.
And, I agree with Big Al, I don’t know why Mr. McCall wants to be your Mayor. He would like to see major improvements in the office and the town and he gets bashed for it.
Looks like senility might be creeping around the Mayors office. I would guess if that was happening to me I would carry a little notebook to remind me when my key people were vacating a position. Oops, Century needs to start recruiting for a mayor, tally has it 1 mayor,2 councilmen need to be replaced. More to come after tomorrows post.
My husband went into town hall two days in a row attempting to get a business license, which can only be done by the clerk. Both days, she was “gone for the day”. This is not acceptable. We should at least be made aware of what her hours are, and i don’t think it is unreasonable to expect her to keep the same hours as the other employees.
>>I guess his toes was getting stepped on so much that he forgot to mention the >> two promotions he has planned at City Hall
We are running that story in the morning. He did mention it.
If you all believe that Mr. McCall forgot to mention that the Deputy Clerk resigned, then you are more naive than I thought. I for one do not believe anything that the Mayor has to say. Everything will come to light eventually. I guess his toes was getting stepped on so much that he forgot to mention the two promotions he has planned at City Hall, one of which will replace Ms. Hughes. And I agree with concerned, just ask Ms. Hughes why did she resign.
I’m with you Big AL.
I have a question for the residents of Century. Why in the world would anyone want to be the Mayor of Century? I have watched the last 3 people who held that office, and they have have been in constant turmoil. I see simular things going on in Flomaton. What is it with this area? I rarely read about such arguments in Brewton or Atmore. Is there something in the water around these 2 little towns?
Shoefits says people are “covetous of the mayor’s job”. I wouldn’t take it on a dare…
I think there should be hours set for the new Town Clerk. I had children working from two in the morning until two in the afternoon. They had to get up real early because they had to drive about eighty miles to get there. I am sure if they were late, oh well, be looking for another job. They didn’t make nothing like the wages the clerk makes either. I think she needs to have set hours and be there on time. If she can’t comply to this, then hire a new clerk that will be there.Just because she lives in Pensacola doesn’t give her any special rights in my book.
She was given the job and accepted the job knowing she lives in Pensacola. Generally speaking, many people have to travel longer distances to work (I know a few). I’m sure there are no exceptions for them to come in later than other employees because of where they live.
The Town Clerk should work regular hours just like all other employees. When a citizen has business with the clerk they should not have to make several trips to City Hall because the Clerk comes in when she wants to. We all know that Ms Peters lives in Pensacola but she knew the hours when she took the job. Also the Town Council should talk to Ms Karen Hughes and let her tell them why she quit her job. They might just be surprised at what they find out.
Let me give you the perspective of the people from Ensley, Cantonment and Molino. Thank goodness that we don’t have that council in our area, because its nothing but a bunch of bickering and he said she said. Why in the world you can’t work together for the good of the town is beyond me. I would never consider moving to your town mostly because of all the turmoil.
Someone might want to check with federal regulations. I don’t think you can work more than 5 hours without taking a lunch, depending on if their salary, salary non-exempt, or just hourly.
The write-up says he forgot to mention it at the meeting – not that he forgot about it as the headline states. I’m sure all of us forgets things every now and then. Some of those council members try to make mountains out of molehills! They’re nit-picking because they’re covetous of the mayor’s job!