McComb Mayor Zach Patterson said today that he is not accepting the resignation of City Administrator Jim Storer, and that the announcement of a closed session vote to fire Storer on Tuesday was improperly made and therefore invalid.
Speaking at a news conference this morning, Patterson said Storer remains on the job and will be docked four hours pay for not showing up this morning.
Patterson said that after the closed session, he and Storer were speaking to one another when City Attorney John H. “Bubber” White directed Selectman Melvin Joe Johnson to act as mayor pro-tem, announce the vote and close the meeting.
Patterson said he was not absent, and therefore Johnson’s actions as mayor pro-tem were improper.
Patterson said he has exercised his charter authority to suspend White for 30 days for dereliction of duty.
That move runs up to White’s previously announced retirement date and effectively makes Rachel Michel the city attorney.
Patterson also said no clear reason was given for going into executive session, and that a listed reason of “to discuss personnel matters related to appointed officials” was not sufficient to discuss a termination.
The comments followed Patterson’s response in his post-meeting chat Tuesday, when he said the city had been improperly steered by a select few through an outdated charter.
He renewed his call for citizens in McComb to re-examine the city’s charter, describing a hostile executive session that resulted in Storer’s firing as another example of gridlock spurred by faulty design.
Accounts of the closed session afterward confirmed a near altercation between Selectman E.C. Nobles and the mayor — which both Nobles and Patterson accused each other of instigating — as well as an attempt to nominate Quordiniah Lockley as interim city administrator.
