Chanteau Wilson joined a growing list of Starkville employees in visible, high-profile positions that have either been forced out of their jobs or placed on probation by aldermen since the current board took office two years ago.
The mayor’s former administrative assistant was given an ultimatum by aldermen Tuesday: either resign by 10 a.m. Wednesday or expect to be terminated from her position.
Mayor Parker Wiseman confirmed Wilson was fired after she did not accept the board’s terms.
Wilson said she attempted to ask questions about her pending resignation, but answers were not delivered in time. She did not comment further on the situation.
Wiseman also confirmed he will not veto the board’s 6-1 decision made behind closed doors. Officials gave no reasoning for the firing, but Wilson was days away from concluding a six-month probationary period implemented by aldermen.
The board could easily override a veto with that margin as only five votes are needed to do so.
Reiterating his comments after Tuesday’s decision, Wiseman said the board’s action was unwarranted. He also commended Wilson, who worked in her position for four years, for her service.
Starkville has seen wholesale employment changes since aldermen took office in July 2013.
Three employees — Wilson, former Chief Administrative Officer Lynn Spruill and Debra Wood, a former court clerk — have been effectively fired by the board.
During the board’s first meeting of the term, a motion by Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver to non-renew Spruill’s services, remove her from office immediately, ask her to clean out her office and vacate City Hall within 24 hours was approved 5-2.
Wiseman vetoed the decision, but the five-vote bloc held and overturned his order.
Three months later, the board issued an ultimatum — resign the next day or be fired — to Wood after a three-hour, closed-door meeting.
Wood went on to resign instead of being fired.
Again, a reason was not given for the move.
Aldermen have also singled out others’ job performances in executive session.
Excluding hires and promotions, Personnel Officer Randy Boyd said “to the best of (his) knowledge” five employees have been placed on probation by the board since July 2013: Sanitation and Environmental Services Director Emma Gandy, City Clerk Lesa Hardin, City Engineer Edward Kemp, Wilson and himself.
Some information is known about the individual sanctions, while clear pictures are not available for others.
In 2013, Boyd’s reappointment was approved with a 90-day review mandate. Besides his reappointment and Spruill’s ousting, aldermen rubberstamped all other city positions without further mandates.
Gandy was suspended 10 days without pay after a lengthy executive session in December of that year. Her probation began after the suspension, and aldermen tasked Wiseman with evaluating her job performance every two months during the six-month period.
In that same meeting, the board also approved a motion to remove a disciplinary action from a sanitation worker’s employment file.
Kemp’s six-month probation came last year when aldermen heard his specific personnel item and a developer’s potential litigation in executive session.
CAO Taylor Adams was tasked with monitoring Kemp’s performance and reporting back to aldermen.
His position was previously reinstated as a department head by the board, which gave aldermen tighter control of his job functions.
It is not known when Hardin was placed on probation. The action was not immediately found in city minutes.
Major personnel shakeups also occurred this term without direct force from the board.
In November 2013, aldermen unanimously accepted a letter of resignation from David Lindley after previously placing the long-serving police chief on administrative leave.
It is believed an internal Starkville Police Department investigation was authorized by the board after Lindley’s wife, former Mississippi State University Police Chief Georgia Lindley, struck a parked car while driving before a home football game.
Georgia Lindley would resign her post one month later after she was charged with driving under the influence in a separate incident.
William Snowden officially became the city’s fourth major departure that same month when health-related issues forced his resignation. Aldermen previously granted him six weeks of leave in October 2013.
Former Starkville Fire Chief Rodger Mann concluded his 33-year career with the city in February.
Mann previously hinted at his retirement during an executive session discussion with aldermen last year.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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