Wednesday, February 14, 2001
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Wednesday, February 14, 2001 |
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PTC officials originally planned to fire city clerk By JOHN MUNFORD Records obtained by The Citizen show there was a move to fire Peachtree City Clerk Nancy Faulkner several months before the City Council declined to reappoint her to that position. Yet Faulkner and City Manager Jim Basinger both said this week that the arrangement to have her report directly to Basinger has worked quite well since council made that change in January. The council last month named Basinger as interim city clerk until a charter revision study is concluded. Faulkner was demoted to assistant city clerk in that same council meeting. Although things are officially well now, city records indicate the issue of Faulkner's status with the city have been tumultuous for several months now. On February 1, Faulkner signed an agreement with the city to remove a written reprimand from her file relating to her job performance. In that agreement, which was also signed by Mayor Bob Lenox, the city council has agreed to pay for Faulkner's attorneys fees regarding the reprimand, the agreement states. The records, which were provided by the city under the Georgia open records laws, include handwritten notes from Basinger. Those notes referred to an Oct. 31 conversation Basinger had with Mayor Lenox, Councilwoman Annie McMenamin and City Attorney Rick Lindsey about possibly firing Faulkner. The notes said they had agreed the city should appoint Basinger as clerk and "take action up to and including termination [of Faulkner]." The reasons justifying Faulkner's firing were, according to Basinger's notes: An allegation that Faulkner asked McMenamin to lie for her regarding Faulkner's viewing of a copy of the pay plan. Another allegation that Faulkner lied in a deposition about comments city Councilman Dan Tennant made to her that were of a sexual nature. Waiting until January to fire Faulkner was necessary, Basinger wrote, since he couldn't fire her due to her being appointed by council. Also, waiting until then would be less embarrassing than putting the matter on a separate council agenda to fire her, he wrote. Faulkner was issued the written reprimand in October for approaching council members about job-related problems and "violating the chain of command." That reprimand was later removed from Faulkner's file under the agreement between her and the city. Despite the appearance of animosity behind the scenes, Faulkner insists she has no problems reporting to City Manager Jim Basinger in her current role at the city. Basinger is still serving as city clerk, the role he was appointed to in January while council considered changing the portion of the charter referring to the city clerk. "I can see where he was coming from," Faulkner said. "He was getting bad information. We're able to see where each of us was coming from." Basinger said he has worked with Faulkner for a long time and they have been getting along well. "Since she has been reporting to me, I have not had any problems," Basinger said, adding that Faulkner is a solid employee. Basinger said Tuesday that the reprimand involved a conversation Faulkner had with a council member about a matter that should have been brought to him and Faulkner's supervisor at the time, finance director Paul Salvatore. The subject of the discussion was a bill Faulkner had received from City Attorney Rick Lindsey for $91.50, (including a $65 attorney fee and $26.50 for copying fees) for a copy of the city's pay plan study that she had received after a personal open records request she filed. According to Basinger's notes, he was told by councilwoman Carol Fritz that she had initiated the conversation with Faulkner, contrary to the original information Basinger received. That helped justify removing the reprimand from Faulkner's file, Basinger said. It was later discovered that the council member initiated the conversation, so removing the reprimand from Faulkner's personnel file was appropriate, Basinger said. Faulkner had specifically asked to see a copy of the pay plan study although she was denied information that was considered "proprietary," including the notes of interviews with city employees and the questionnaires those employees filled out as part of the pay plan process. "I just wanted to see the financial data backing up the half-million-dollar recommendation to council," Faulkner said. Records provided by the city indicate that the role of the city clerk was called into question several months before council discussed it in January at an open meeting. In October, Faulkner was issued the written reprimand that included a memo from Mayor Bob Lenox that stated, in part, "She was under no circumstances to approach me or any council member about any job-related problems her appointment by council and personal relationships with any council members not withstanding." The reprimand also included a memo from Basinger in October which criticized Faulkner for "violation of the chain of command by contacting council members on matters that should be handled by your supervisor" and "relaying other employee matters directly to council members."
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