Sunflower County leaders refused to budge on a prior 3-2 decision to terminate former county administrator Fred Washington.
On Monday District 1 Supervisor Glenn Donald made an appeal to the members of the Board of Supervisors to rescind the motion that ended Washington's employment with the county, give him another chance and reinstate him to the position. His motion failed 3-2 after District 4 Supervisor Anthony Clark seconded it.
Donald said that to his knowledge Washington had not filed any kind of grievance or lawsuit against the board.
“So, I'm asking that this board will reconsider and let's give him a chance to do what we want him to do. Ultimately, our goal should be we want the best for the county," Donald said.
He suggested that they execute a board order stipulating what they wanted Washington to do and give him a set period of time to get it accomplished.
Prior to his request to rescind Washington’s termination, Donald had stated that several citizens had spoken with him about the matter so he invited some of them to come speak to the board members to express their opinions.
He reminded them of their obligation to the citizens.
"We're voted in and we're here representing the citizens of Sunflower County. I think when we make decisions it should affect not just the people at this board, but it affects everybody in the county," he said.
In reference to the citizens who showed up and apparently for the ones who did not, Donald said, "They asking questions and I'm not the one to answer the questions.”
Board President Riley Rice asked those present to come forward, state their names and district of residence.
He then added, "We're gonna let our attorney handle it because of possible litigation or anything like that, but we appreciate you coming and we're going to answer your questions, whatever questions you have."
Moorhead citizen Bishop Willie B. Knighten and NAACP President Charles Modley addressed the county leaders about their earlier decision.
Knighten said, "My concern is an administrator, whether it's Fred Washington or who." He stated that he had nothing against Chancery Clerk Dr. Gloria McIntosh, but felt like adding the additional burden of the county administrator's duties might overload her.
Mentioning that he was leading several local churches, Knighten also reminded the county leaders that five years ago his organization had affirmed they would support whoever was willing to hire a county administrator.
He mentioned his 30-year tenure with the county's economic development board and how they had determined that it would be more beneficial if the county administrator's position was separate and the person was not bound by any other duties or responsibilities so that they could attend relevant meetings and such.
He said a lot of people are not satisfied with the decision that was made, but he didn't want to bring a lot of people to the meeting because it may have resulted in arguing and such. Knighten extolled on Washington's credentials and accomplishments and said that Washington was only trying to help the county.
Modley also voiced a similar opinion and stipulated that he had nothing against McIntosh.
Additionally, he stated that he felt like Washington had been railroaded and that the firing was premature. "He wasn't given the opportunity to really learn every aspect of the job he should know to improve the county," Modley said. He also asserted that the county "has taken a step back."
Modley asserted that a lot of people are upset by the board's decision including Congressman Bennie Thompson, whom he acknowledged does not have a voice in county government decisions.
Modley asserted that the continued progress of the county hinges on the chancery clerk’s and the county administrator’s positions being separated. He maintained that Washington was not given the proper opportunity.
He stated that to be effective the county administrator’s position should be a long-term position and not short-term. He said, "Even if you don't get him back, the job needs to be split."
He then spoke on what he felt should be proper procedure for termination based on his past experiences and expressed that he did not know the exact reasons why Washington's services were discontinued, but that to the best of his knowledge there were no write ups, or a track record of poor work performance.
He too reminded the board that they were elected to voice the will of the people and that they were not doing that. "This is not what the people want," Modley said.
Rice assured them that the decision to go back to McIntosh as county administrator was not permanent and that they could revert to a full-time county administrator at any time that the board chooses.
Donald then asserted that prior to the initial decision by the three members of the board at their last meeting, that neither he nor Clark had been given any prior knowledge that Washington was being considered for termination although some members knew about it ahead of time.
Donald said, "I know couldn't three of us get together and meet and talk about it because it would have been an illegal meeting, but at least we've had phone calls, talked about stuff, but to be hit all of a sudden at one time, we are going to terminate." He asserted that they've always given a write-up if they were going to terminate someone and given them an opportunity to "face their accusers."
He mentioned what he said could possibly be two reasons for Washington's termination. "The thing dealing with the deadline of the garbage, when Waste Pro stopped picking up... that had nothing to do with Mr. Washington," he said.
Donald talked about Washington's extra efforts to address the county's garbage collection problems including a wide-spread search for garbage trucks and getting his own hands dirty trying to service county residents.
"On the weekends, he went out picking up garbage himself, personally picking up garbage late in the evening towards night," Donald asserted.
In addition, Donald said, "The statement was being said, 'Our garbage gotta be picked up,' it's not the county administrator's fault. We hired a solid waste manager." He explained that the county administrator does need to work with the department heads, but he does not run the departments.
Donald said his second thought about the possible reason for the majority of the members’ action was regarding the assistant road managers.
"That was brought up as one of his problems, well again, the assistant road managers is under T. J. Fairley, the maintenance service supervisor, under T.J. Fairley, the training supervisor is under T.J. Fairley, but he did—and we've got it on file—Mr. Washington and Mr. Fairley got together and put together a written plan, presented it to this board and the board adopted what they said we gone do."
Donald added, "I love this board. I've had a whole lot of sleepless nights behind this thing because I want us to be on one accord. The county grows when there is unity, when there is cohesiveness, when you look good, when you're getting along. Don't no company want to come to no county where you got the Board of Supervisors fighting and you firing a county administrator and no apparent reason documented."
He mentioned all of the projects that Washington has brought to the county, including the three solar projects, and reiterated many of the thoughts and comments he had previously stated about how the county is run and the duties and responsibilities of the county administrator and the members of the board.
After the comments from Donald and the other citizens, Rice yielded to Attorney Johnny McWilliams for comments.
McWilliams said that he had very few words with regard to the matter, but did state, "This is not over. There's gonna be repercussions."
He said the speakers did make some legitimate points and that the board members could address them if they decided, but he also acknowledged that there had been three valid legal votes also.
