Mansura Council rejects mayor's call to fire town clerk

It only took a few minutes into the first meeting of a new four-year term for the council and mayor to have their first disagreement. The score is Council 1, Mayor 0.

The subject of the spat was Mayor Kenneth Pickett’s unilateral firing of Town Clerk Benita Augustine shortly before New Year’s.

Augustine addressed the Jan. 14 Town Council meeting, asking that she be allowed to continue serving as town clerk because “the mayor did not have the right to dismiss me as clerk.”

Pickett contended he has the right to appoint members of his staff at the beginning of a new term.

Pickett asked the aldermen to accept his decision to remove Augustine as clerk and to confirm his appointment of a new clerk.

He never got a chance to present his choice for the position.

Councilwoman Judy Bazert -- one of two members from the previous term -- made the motion to accept Pickett’s recommendation. There was no second to that motion, so the issue died for lack of a second.

The discussion continued, with a particularly heated exchange between Pickett and long-time Councilman Gaon Escude.

That was sparked when Escude wanted to discuss how much the town had invested in training Augustine over the past four years and how the town should not have to incur the additional cost to train a new town clerk.

Augustine has attended the Municipal Clerk Institute for the past four years and is now a fully-certified municipal clerk.

About mid-way through Escude’s comments, Pickett told the alderman he had said enough.

It was the same tactic Pickett used to short-circuit discussion of an attempt to reduce the mayor’s monthly salary from $3,000 to $1,500.

It didn’t work as well this time.

“No I haven’t,” Escude angrily retorted, and continued making his point.

WILSON TAKES LEAD

Following Escude’s comments, Councilman Shawn Wilson took the lead in questioning the mayor’s action.

Wilson said the town “is handicapped without Miss Benita,” and called for disciplinary procedures to be adopted that could be used to address any disputes between the mayor and clerk in the future.

Wilson also said there needs to be “a paper trail” to support any action to discipline or fire a municipal employee.

Pickett asked if he understood correctly that the council wanted to keep Augustine as town clerk.

He then added, “You will accept someone the mayor does not want in his administration?”

After council members’ commented that Augustine should remain, Pickett fired back, “If you keep her, I will sit her here (in the
council room) and the town will pay her for nothing because the mayor determines her responsibilities.”

Pickett said the “people elected us to make decisions.”

“Well, I’m making a decision and I vote to keep her,” Wilson said.

New member Roderick Perry also voiced his support for that action, saying, “I didn’t come here to fire anybody.”

New member Bruce Jackson, appointed mayor pro-tem at the meeting, also joined to make the decision 4-1 to retain Augustine as town clerk.

FIRED DEC. 28

The issue began on Dec. 28, when Pickett called Augustine into his office and told her to pack her stuff and get out, that he was not going to appoint her as his clerk.

She packed some things and left. She came back a few days later to collect the rest of her personal belongings.

Augustine said she was given the option of resigning, but told Pickett she would not resign.

At some point, she removed her personal password from the Town Hall computer before leaving the last time.

Pickett used that action as an example of why she should be fired, saying it deprived access to public information and forced him to spend $90 to have a computer technician unlock the town’s computers.

After being told to leave and not come back, Augustine contacted the Louisiana Municipal Association for guidance. LMA attorney Karen White sent an email to Augustine stating that the “clerk cannot be hired or fired without board approval.”

White said the mayor recommends the action but the council must confirm it.

“Until a new clerk is appointed, the prior clerk continues to hold that office and must be allowed to perform the required duties,” White wrote.

After the council decision to retain Augustine, Pickett asked when the council wanted her to report back to work.

“As soon as possible,” Wilson said.

NO PAST PROBLEMS

Augustine said she never had any problems with Pickett until the Town Council meeting where the issue of reducing the mayoral salary was discussed.

Augustine attempted to explain to council members that the salary cut could not take effect until the start of a new term in January 2019.

Pickett interrupted her and told her she did not have the right to speak at the council meeting because she lives in Marksville and does not vote in Mansura.

A few months later, Councilwoman Judy James announced she would be running for mayor against Pickett.

“I wished him good luck in the campaign and I wished her good luck,” Augustine said. “I guess he thought I was supporting her over him because of that. However, as he said at that council meeting, I don’t vote in Mansura.”

UPDATED INFORMATION ON ISSUE

Since the Jan. 14 meeting, Pickett said the council "did not have the authority to do what they did. They cannot appoint the town clerk. The mayor has that authority."

Augustine resigned the position and did not return to work, saying she knew Pickett was "waiting for me so he could lock me out of the office. I didn't want to put myself through that, so I resigned."

She has accepted a position with the Town of Simmesport.