Wednesday, April 25, 2001
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Wednesday, April 25, 2001 |
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PTC city clerk position finally resolved: duties to be shared by three employees By JOHN MUNFORD
Instead of hiring a city clerk to replace Nancy Faulkner, the Peachtree City Council has decided to split the responsibilities among two staff members and hire a clerical worker instead. Administrative Services Director Jane Miller has been named City Clerk, while Public Information Officer Betsy Tyler has been named Deputy City Clerk. Both women will undergo 100 hours of courses over the next two years so they may become certified city clerks through the Georgia Municipal Association. The clerical worker will work under Miller and Tyler to handle the less tedious tasks of the city clerk's position, including making copies. The City Council voted 4-1 Thursday night to accept this restructuring of the city clerk's position, which was recommended by City Manager Jim Basinger. Carol Fritz voted against the motion after reminding council that its discussions on the clerk's role began with discussions toward keeping the clerk from becoming a manager. Councilman Dan Tennant said he wanted to make sure the city clerk continues to work closely with council. Basinger told council that money to hire the clerical worker might have to come from the council contingency fund. He said he would notify council who he hired and at what cost to the city when he was able to find a suitable candidate. Faulkner resigned in March, weeks after council voted to install Basinger as clerk. That appointment was made so council could discuss changing the management structure involving the city clerk. It was later determined that Faulkner should report directly to Basinger, a measure that worked, according to Basinger and Faulkner, but put an increased workload on Basinger. At a City Council workshop two weeks ago, Basinger told council that the city clerk situation has gone smoothly since Faulkner left and Miller took over the role with other employees. In city documents discovered by The Citizen earlier this year, Basinger, Mayor Bob Lenox and Annie McMenamin had agreed in December to plan to replace Faulkner as clerk with Basinger so Faulkner could be reprimanded or fired. Such a move was never discussed publicly during a council meeting. As part of her resignation, Faulkner entered an agreement with the city that provided her with six months severance pay and funding for paralegal school if she chooses to further her education in such a manner. Handwritten notes kept by City Manager Jim Basinger revealed that the discussion to reprimand and possibly fire Faulkner was due to allegations that she lied in a deposition about supposed sexual comments made to her by Councilman Dan Tennant and allegations that she asked McMenamin to lie for her about viewing McMenamin's copy of the city's pay plan. Faulkner has said the comments Tennant made to her did not consist of sexual harassment. The deposition came during a divorce between Tennant and his wife.
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