City board attorney Sarah O’Reilly-Evans gave the Board of Mayor and Aldermen her letter of resignation at the conclusion of its meeting Monday.
But the city council is hoping she will reconsider her desire to resign from the post she has served for the past few years.
“At the very end of our executive session, she said she had something for us,” said Alderman Aubry Brent Jr. “It was her letter of resignation, and it caught everybody by surprise.”
Brent said O’Reilly-Evans was very “emotional” during the discussion of ending her contract, which is scheduled to end in April of 2017.
Alderman Ron Johnson was not present at the end of the meeting.
Aldermen Brent and Gregory Robertson voted to accept O’Reilly-Evans’ letter of resignation.
“If a person turn in their letter of resignation, they are ready to go,” Brent explained to The Herald. “I just wanted to honor her wishes.”
Mayor Diane Delaware and Alderman Dr. Jack Varner voted to reject O’Reilly-Evans’ resignation letter.
“Nobody wants to see her leave,” Varner said. “I asked her to give it some more thought over the next couple of weeks. Don’t make a spur of the moment decision. If at that time, she still wants to resign, then I will vote to accept her resignation.”
Varner said he was upset to see the resignation letter because he has been very pleased with her legal work for the city of Yazoo City.
“She knows her stuff,” he added.
Both Varner and Brent said they did not wish to comment on the reasons behind O’Reilly-Evans’ desire to resign.
Brent said O’Reilly-Evans has provided an excellent service to the city council, and he hopes she will reconsider leaving her contract.
“I hope she will go home, think about it and stick it out with us until her term ends,” Brent said. “She is the top municipal attorney in the state.”
Brent added that O’Reilly-Evans worked for former Jackson mayors Kane Ditto and Dale Danks.
“If she can work with those mayors who all had legal backgrounds, she should be able to work with us,” Brent said. “She is a fine attorney, and I have the upmost respect for her. Hopefully, she will change her mind.”
