Wheeler received 22 applicants for police chief who were certified by the civil service commission. In December, Wheeler said the list was stale and that she wanted a new list from certified applicants within the Gautier Police Department. She also wanted to lower the job qualifications by not requiring applicants have a four-year college degree.
This action upset not only the civil service commission, but citizens and Mayor Pete Pope as well. Pope and commission insisted the civil service, not Wheeler, had the power to change the job qualifications. Another AG's opinion was sought and it was determined Wheeler could rewrite any hired position's qualifications.
The civil service simply certified candidates for the job. Eddie Williams was made police chief. He had served as acting chief since Johnson's departure.
Change of government In September 2006, a citizens group led by Barbara Mello set out to get rid of Wheeler by changing the form of government from city manager-city council to strong mayor-city council. Mello and the group circulated petitions and claimed that 20 percent, or about 2,300, of the city's registered voters were needed to place the issue on a ballot during the November general election. Pope said he would always support the citizens and if they wanted him to lead the city, he would gladly accept the position of strong mayor.
When Mello realized that much of her information was not accurate, and that it could take years to change the city's form of government, the issue quickly died. In September of 2006, Wheeler tried to push the city to acquire Shepard State Park and create a new city park. She had the support of the full Council, but not the support of former legislator Ray Vecchio.
Vecchio claimed publicly many times that Horace Shepard, who donated the land for the state park, never wanted the property in the hands of city government. Vecchio eventually convinced enough officials with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks that the city could not handle the financial responsibility and the issue died. In November 2006, Wheeler and Shell Landing Golf Resort had to pay more than $3,000 to the State Auditor's office.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Wheeler lent an unused generator to the golf course to clear salt water from the greens. The city-leased equipment was used for 45 days to power the golf course's irrigation system. The auditor's office said it was an inappropriate use of city equipment.
The city, as well as the Council, was split on the issue. On one side, Pope, Paul and Guillotte gave constant negative criticism of Wheeler, saying it was against the law and no one is above the law -- even in the aftermath of a hurricane. On the other side, Councilman at-Large Jeff Wilkinson and Council members Matt Feathers, Ginger Lay and Don Hansford supported what they said was an effort to save an important part of the city's tax base.
On occasion the city relives the experience when someone reminds the City Council about the incident during the council's citizens comments. In December 2006, Wheeler suspended Fire Chief Mike Gray for three days when seven on-duty fire fighters volunteered at College Park Elementary School. The firefighters helped build a gazebo at the school.
Wheeler called the action an inappropriate use of city personnel. Wheeler also had to publicly apologize to Gray for discussing his personnel file with the media as part of a grievance settlement. In April, Pope didn't want anyone touching his mail.
He claimed a letter from the state ethic's commission was sent to him in February. Pope said he received the letter already opened in April. In a City Council meeting, Pope threatened a lawsuit if his mail was opened again.
This prompted Wheeler to put a policy in place that would allow all mail entering City Hall to be opened by the city clerk. This policy excluded items identified as personal correspondence. This policy resulted in a heated discussion, in an open City Council meeting, be-tween Pope and Wheeler.
The mayor and city manager yelled at each other as they tried to voice their positions on the issue. The City Council did pass a mail policy, although Pope was against it. In April, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 733 claimed the public works employees wanted to form a union.
Kenny Lett, lead organizer for the union, said Wheeler and Public Works Director Dallas Flint were intimating the employees and that the employees were scared to voice their opinions. Wheeler accused the union members of attempting to gain firsthand knowledge of the city's position on the union. The City Council has since voted against the IBEW becoming the department's bargaining agent on two occasions.
On May 15, the Council vote 4-3 to not recognize the union. At the June 5 meeting, Lett asked the Council to reconsider the previous vote before the meeting minutes were recorded. At least four votes to pass an issue, therefore the IBEW was not recognized as a union for the public works department.
Wheeler received 22 applicants for police chief who were certified by the civil service commission.
News RSS