Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman issued his promised veto Tuesday against the board of aldermen’s decision to fire Chief Administrative Officer Lynn Spruill.
Four aldermen – Lisa Wynn, David Little, Roy A. Perkins and Henry Vaughn – supported Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver’s July 2 motion to fire Spruill without any closed-door or public discussions on her job performance. The board’s action contradicts a 2009 vote which reappointed her and 12 other key city positions back to their jobs with three-month review periods. Carver, Perkins and Vaughn supported that previous motion, and all 13 officials were formally reappointed after the provisional term ended.
Aldermen could hold a special-call meeting to address the veto or delay action until the board’s end-of-the-month meeting. If the July 2 vote holds, aldermen will have the required five votes to overturn Wiseman’s challenge.
Spruill is expected to retain her job until the matter is settled.
“While the reasons to retain Lynn are abundant, I have yet to hear a single reason to terminate her from a single member of the board of aldermen. Nevertheless, a five-member majority of the board has voted to terminate her without a word of explanation,” Wiseman wrote in his veto. “Conducting the business of the public in such a manner is a disservice to the citizens we serve. I believe strongly that Lynn has earned an opportunity to continue to serve the city. At a minimum, she deserves to be informed of whey she is being fired.”
The Dispatch will have full coverage of Wiseman’s veto in Wednesday’s edition.
Follow @StarkDispatch for updates to this and other local stories.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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