Fontanelle attorney clarifies city personnel matters

Editor’s Note: The Adair County Free Press apologizes to Fontanelle Police Officer Matt Heinz for the one-sided nature in which last month’s Fontanelle City Council report was written.

The Fontanelle City Council received further counsel Monday, Aug. 8 from City Attorney Justin Hockenberry regarding a set of 13 recommendations made toward the police department prior to the council’s July meeting. They were shared publicly during the regular July meeting and printed in this newspaper. Recommendations ranged from expected hours worked to best use of the police cruiser.

Hockenberry said that while he had advised during that meeting that Mayor Mary Sturdy-Martin was within her jurisdiction to make the recommendations, further thought and study led to him clarify this month that these recommendations may be made, but only if they go along with original terms of employment. Any recommendations that are outside of these original terms would be subject to council approval.

“When I had advised in the last meeting that that the mayor and [human resources] committee has the power to put together that bullet point list there is probably a line that’s crossed on whether you’re overseeing the employee fulfilling those terms or are adding new terms, because that power clearly lies with the council,” Hockenberry said. “After the last meeting we stayed behind and decided that, and it deserves clarification.”

The attorney went on to say that due to confusion he perceives in knowing terms of employment for all city employees, not just the police, more work should be done to the city’s employee handbook.

“If we don’t [know the terms], we ought to, as a city, get a handbook that everybody knows — not just [Police Officer] Matt [Heinz], but others as well,” Hockenberry said. “It strikes me that we have this handbook over here and this handbook over here, when it comes to different departments.”

The council tabled working on clarifying the handbook until a full council and human resources committee is in place. Council member Michael Walker made the motion to do so.

“I tabled it until we have a human resource committee established, have a chance for them to meet and look over the 13 bullet points and bring the recommendation back to a full council for a approval,” Walker told the newspaper. “I just feel that’s the right thing to do at this time.”

Dawn Brown was sworn in as a new council member, filling one of two vacancies on the council. Four individuals showed interest in the two seats, left by Jamie Campbell and Dixie Dukes, however public notice in the newspaper has not been given yet for the other open seat.

The council expressed excitement that there were so many people interested in the open spots. Those appointed to fill these roles now will be required to be on the ballot in the Nov. 8 general election no matter what.