As attorney Jim Herring was interviewing the top trio of Clarksdale Public Utilities employees as part of an investigation last week, other personnel issues were taking place.
CPU general manager Mark Johnson was interviewed for much of Thursday in the conference room at the Hampton Inn and was with his attorney Chris Latimer. Chief financial officer Steve Reed and director of communications and public relations Chris Campos were interviewed Friday.
All three have been suspended with pay since July 25 pending the investigation that is expected to run through this Tuesday, Aug. 28.
The investigation centers around whether employee phone lines were being recorded without their knowledge.
The trio say the claims against them are “bogus allegations” and they expect to be exonerated and return to work at CPU when the investigation is complete.
CPU information technology supervisor Brandon Soldevila began a three-day suspension of his own on Wednesday, Aug. 15, one day prior to the interviews.
Interim general manager Jim Hemphill, from The Victor Group Inc. in Starkville, handed down the suspension, but could not comment further.
A source familiar with the investigation said Soldevila’s suspension wasn’t related in any way to the investigation being conducted by Herring.
Soldevila was scheduled to be back at work this week, but is now absent due to personal matters, Hemphill said.
“Brandon will be out for a period of time, but we do have backup here with Shannon Bailey,” he said. “We’ve also got the software providers that we use that we can call on.”
The investigation of Johnson, Reed and Campos will continue.
In an email sent to several local media members, Johnson revealed documents from a June 26 executive session of the CPU board meeting. He said the documents showed Hemphill was the person who Soldevila, Reed and Liz Haynes, who is currently filling in for Campos, identified as being responsible for directing that all CPU phone lines be recorded.
“I’m just not going to respond to any of the hearsay or the facts because I don’t know anything that’s going on in the investigation,” Hemphill said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s hearsay. I have no idea about those things.”
Herring has not interviewed Hemphill during the current investigation. Hemphill said his responsibility is strictly to run CPU and make sure customers are being taken care of.
In another email, Johnson discussed a 15-point presentation that he made about the CPU board to the Clarksdale Mayor and Board of Commissioners during an executive session meeting held Aug. 6 at city hall. That same day, CPU sued the Clarksdale mayor and board of commissioners in federal court, seeking an injunction against the city prohibiting the mayor and commissioners from removing the five individual CPU board members.
On Tuesday, Aug. 7, the Clarksdale Board of Mayor and Commissioners voted 3-1 (with commissioner Ken Murphey the lone nay vote) to offer to settle the lawsuit.
It’s unclear if the CPU board has accepted the terms of the settlement.
Attorney Curtis Boschert, who has been filling in for CPU board attorney David Hunt while he is on vacation, said attorney David O’Donnell from Oxford was handling the matter. O’Donnell, who is also filling in for Hunt, had not returned a message as of Wednesday morning seeking clarification.
Johnson claims that, as part of the settlement, city leaders will not be able to use any of his 15-point presentation in an effort to oust a CPU board member.
“Again, it is a fact that the CPU commissioners were so concerned about these statements that part of the $500,000 lawsuit settlement was that the Mayor and Board of Commissioners could not use any of the facts in Mark Johnson’s summary and 15-point presentation of inefficiency and incompetency to fire the commissioners,” Johnson wrote in an email.
Former CPU general manager Ray Luhring, who held the position from 2014-17, recently spoke out in support of Johnson, Reed and Campos, saying the board has consistently been too involved with day-to-day operations.
Joel Mahnken, who was general manager from 2010-13, agreed with Luhring’s assessment.
“It’s just a manager not being allowed to manager,” said Mahnken, who is currently employed by Leavenworth Waterworks in Leavenworth, Kansas.
CPU board president Freddie Davis disagreed with Mahnken’s assessment of how the commissioners operate.
“First of all, I don’t know the guy,” said Davis, who was appointed to the CPU board after Mahnken was put on administrative leave and later resigned in 2013.
“He has a right to say what he wishes, but I don’t think that’s the case. We allow the general managers to manage. It’s when they want to do something that’s not within the guidelines of the boards... that’s the biggest problem. The board doesn’t work for them. The board works for the people.”
Despite the uncertainty and finger-pointing taking place while the investigation continues, Hemphill said CPU employees have stepped up to take on added duties in the wake of the suspensions.
“I won’t try to say that when you lose a high number of managers, there aren’t some day-to-day issues. There are, but people are stepping up and we are being able to manage those,” Hemphill said. “When we need external help, we’ve been able to bring that in also.”
Hemphill said it’s been business as usual for the most part.
“I’ve never sensed any kind of unrest or morale problem at the plant at all,” he said. “They’ve all pulled together. They’re professionals. They’re experienced. They do the job and they do it well. This (administration) building is probably a little more affected because this is where the managers were, but people are working together.
“They’re getting the job done. It’s just really hard to be here and not have some personal feelings about this going on, but the folks have really pulled together. They’re coming together and doing a good job. I appreciate that and I’m sure the customers do, too.”
The next CPU board meeting is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28.
Hemphill said he did not know if matters pertaining to the investigation would be on the agenda, but he is prepared for a large crowd.
“We had a crowd of folks that were concerned about their bills last week,” he said. “We’ve been working this week to find ways, if we still have those folks come back, to have a strategy to help them understand and work with them.”
In response to the customers who expressed issues with their bills during the Aug. 14 meeting, he said CPU is looking at everything to have explanations for the customers and help them in every way possible.
