Mansura town clerk resigns; cites ‘hostile environment’

Mansura is seeking applicants for a new town clerk, following the resignation of Benita Augustine.

The position became the subject of conflict between the Town Council and mayor at the municipal government’s first meeting of their new four-year terms.

The council has three new members and two from the previous council. Mayor Kenneth Pickett was re-elected to a new four-year term.

Pickett had told Augustine earlier in the month that he was not going to reappoint her as town clerk. Augustine was given the option of resigning, but refused.

At the Jan. 14 meeting, Augustine asked the council to override the mayor’s action, saying he did not have the authority to fire her without council approval.

Pickett countered that he has the authority to recommend the town clerk for council approval, and he was not going to recommend Augustine.

The council ended up rejecting Pickett’s attempt to remove Augustine as town clerk by a 4-1 vote, with the three new aldermen joining long-time alderman Gaon Escudé in voting against the mayor’s recommendation. Returning alderwoman Judy Bazert supported the mayor’s action.

‘HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT’

A few days after that meeting, Augustine resigned rather than work in “a hostile environment” with Pickett.

“I knew he (Pickett) would be waiting for me at Town Hall so he could lock me out of the office,” Augustine said. “That’s what he told the council he would do. I just didn’t want to put myself through that kind of hostile work environment, so I resigned.”

In his comments to the council, Pickett said if they ignored his request they would be paying Augustine to do nothing because he would lock her out of the office and make her sit in the council room all day with no assigned duties.

He said the mayor assigns the tasks for the clerk.

A 2010 court case indicates the mayor cannot interfere with the clerk’s statutorily mandated duties to the town.

Despite that, Augustine decided it was best that she resign.

Augustine, who is a fully certified town clerk, has accepted a position with the Town of Simmesport, reportedly working as a payroll clerk.

After the Jan. 14 meeting, Pickett said the Town Council members “did not have the authority to do what they did” at the meeting.

Council members voted to retain Augustine as clerk.

Technically, the council cannot nominate and appoint a clerk. A 1994 attorney general’s opinion states the mayor alone has the authority to hire and fire the municipal clerk, subject to the approval of the board.

However, voting to reject the mayor’s recommendation to replace the current town clerk has the same effect as voting to retain the clerk.

The town clerk’s term is for four years and expires at the first meeting of the mayor and aldermen new four-year term “or until their successor is appointed and qualified,” according to a 1993 attorney general’s opinion on the matter.

A 1996 AG’s opinion also holds that a town clerk remains in that position until a new clerk is appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council.

AVOIDS STALEMATE

Augustine’s decision to resign prevented a possible “Washington-esque” situation where checks and balances could have created a stalemate between the town’s executive and legislative branches.

If the mayor continued with his stated intention to replace Augustine, he would have presented another candidate for the position.

If the majority of council members stuck to their guns to retain Augustine, they would have rejected each new monthly nomination.

In effect, it would have been a ping-pong match every month that the council members and Augustine would “win,” in that Augustine would still be clerk at the end of the meeting.

However, as Augustine noted in explaining her decision, it would have been a potentially unpleasant work environment for her and not the best situation for the town.

In effect, there would be no winners -- not the mayor, not the council, not her and not the people of the town.

According to the advertisement for the position, the new town clerk must have experience in QuickBooks. The responsibilities include bookkeeping, accounting and preparing budgets.

Applications can be picked up at Mansura Town Hall from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call 318-964-2152.