A city alderwoman questioned why a city department head attended training conferences after the majority of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen denied the agenda item on multiple occasions.
But Mayor David Starling said the city employee did not receive reimbursement from the city and attended the two conferences out of their own pocket.
The matter was brought to the table during a recent city council meeting when Alderwoman Elizabeth Thomas questioned how City Clerk Kaneilia Williams was authorized to attend both the Winter Municipal Clerk Conference and the Fall Municipal Clerk Conference when the majority of the board did not approve the matters when they appeared on the agenda.
The 2024 Fall Municipal Clerk Conference consideration appeared on two board agendas to approve Williams’ registration, travel and food per diem. Both times, Thomas and Aldermen Jammie McCoy and Charlie Jenkins opposed the considerations.
The Winter Municipal Clerk Conference later appeared on the board agenda to approve Williams’ registration, lodging, travel and food per diem. Again, Thomas, McCoy and Jenkins opposed the matter.
However, Williams attended both of the conferences.
Looking over the recent payroll docket, Thomas questioned why Williams was provided with a full paycheck.
“I would like to know if that person worked last week,” Thomas said, referring to Williams’ payroll.
Williams said she was absent from the city clerk’s office “part of Wednesday, all of Thursday and all of Friday.”
“I did write permission for her to take off and go,” Starling said. “I told her, ‘we are not paying you for it, but you can go to the conference.’”
Thomas asked if the city “wasn’t paying for it,” why did Williams receive a full paycheck.
“Because I can use my time like anybody else,” Williams replied. “So many people take off…”
“I think that is where the misconception comes in,” Starling said. “You accumulate days. Your check is not going to change. You will lose some days. Until you are out of days, then your money will not be affected.”
Thomas referred to the denial of the board majority for Williams to attend both of the conferences.
“This is in subordination because if the board says you can’t go, you can’t go,” Thomas said.
Starling said he did not agree with Thomas, adding that he “applauded” Williams attending the conferences on her own dime.
“If a person has the gumption to go learn something to help this city, after some of these board members have voted that they couldn’t go and that we not provide any kind of form of monetary compensation, then I applaud that person,” Starling said. “I won’t stand in the way of that.”
Starling reminded the board that he oversees day-to-day operations within the city.
“I can let a person be off without getting permission from the board,” he said. “You all voted not to pay a per diem for food. You voted not to pay for travel. You voted not to pay for lodging. I applaud the young lady for going into her own pocket, wanting to be able to help the city enough that she went and did it on her own. She is still using days that she had accumulated.”
Starling said he would hope that the board does not get into the habit of “picking and choosing” what training each department head can attend.
“I would hope that as we move forward you, as a board, would say she (Williams) has given us everything that she has got and not just her but with all of our department,” Starling said.
Thomas said the board should consider the amount of money the city is paying for outside contractual work within the city clerk’s office.
“This is becoming a personal issue that shouldn’t be happening,” said Board Attorney Lilli Evans-Bass.
“So, when we vote on something, all we are voting on is not spending the money,” McCoy asked. “We are not voting on whether a person can go and represent the city of Yazoo City?”
Evans-Bass said the board is voting on whether the employee can travel on city time and whether the city is paying for the travel.
A similar matter occurred in the Town of Ecru that called for the state attorney general’s opinion in 2011. However, the difference was that it did cover reimbursement without board authorization, marking the difference in the city of Yazoo City’s matter.
The question posed by the Town of Ecru was “the town of Ecru has a policy that provides that the town board is the approving authority for any employee to travel to conferences, seminars and training. Does the mayor have the authority to override that policy and allow employees to travel?”
The opinion of then-state attorney Jim Hood was that “the mayor does not have the authority to override the travel policy adopted by the board of aldermen and does not have the authority to permit municipal employees to travel without approval of the board. The board of aldermen does not have the authority to authorize payment of travel expenses incurred during travel that did not receive prior approval.”
And Starling stressed that Williams paid for all travel, registration, lodging and meals out of her own pocket. He granted authorization that she could use her accumulated time to take off, adding that she was not reimbursed by city funds.
Thomas cast the sole opposing vote in approving the recent payroll docket.
