After a lengthy discussion Monday night, Monterey Aldermen appointed Jeff Leonard to fill a vacant spot on the town’s Civil Service Board.
Aldermen originally tabled a decision last month, because some wanted Mayor Alex Garcia appointed. Alderman Bill Wiggins said the town created the Civil Service Board in the early 2000s, after a constant change of Aldermen and mayors led to many city employees being fired. Wiggins said the intent of the civil service board was not to have an alderman or a mayor controlling the hiring and firing of city employees.
“Some people can get elected, and they get an emperor of complex,” Wiggins said. “It can happen, it’s contagious. But that’s kind of the intent of this civil service. It has existed through six mayors and twelve boards of aldermen. What has gone wrong that we want to take a turn?”
Alderman Larry Bennett said he would not have a problem picking the mayor to be on the board. However, Bennett also said that he believes anyone who works for the city should not be on the board due to a conflict of interest.
“Somebody is gonna use it against you to badmouth you or hurt your name or whatever,” Bennett said. “I just suggest we don’t do it. Let’s just keep it civil. We don’t got a dog in the hunt, and it’s whatever happens, happens, and that way nobody can blame us.”
Alderman Jamie Phillips said the wording of the town’s charter regarding the Civil Service Board needs to be changed to state exactly what the town wants.
“I don’t think the Civil Service Board is a bad thing,” Phillips said. “I think the way it was written up, because society is changing, every day society is changing. We are a legalistic world, and it all depends on what’s on the four corners of the contract. That thing is so vague that it leaves it open to just do anything, basically, anything you want to do. So it needs to be revamped, whether we do this or not, that needs some revamping, so that we can nail down to, if you want an employee to be allowed on that, put it in there. If you want to allow a mayor to be on there, it needs to be in there. It can’t just be whatever you want to do.”
Garcia agreed with Phillips that the town’s charter needs to be cleaned up to clarify what is allowed and what is not allowed. The board proceeded to reopen appointments for the Civil Service Board. Leonard was the only person appointed during the period. The board voted in favor of Leonard, with Alderman Kevin Peters abstaining from voting.
In other business, Officer Corey Pryor was sworn in as a new police officer by Police Chief John Mackie.
Bennett said the street committee is considering installing speed bumps on Crane Street. Bennett said residents have signed a petition to urge the town to address a speeding issue.
Bennett said the town could install speed bumps or have police monitor the street and write tickets to try to reduce speeding.
