Algood Council Approves Ordinance To Approve Leaders

Algood City Administrator Keith Morrison will still oversee the hiring process, but the candidate he selects will have to be ratified by the City Council.

That after a new ordinance passed on second and final reading Tuesday. Several members of the public voiced their concerns with the ordinance proposed by City Council Member Ron Graves, noting that the council appointed Morrison and should not interfere with his responsibilities.

“All I’m asking to do in this ordinance is give us an opportunity, as a council, to do what we were elected to do,” Graves said. “Now, if you don’t want anybody to do what you were elected to do, why don’t you just vote to abolish the council and the mayor? Just become self-governing and do what you want to do.”

Mayor Lisa Chapman-Fowler said she does not want the responsibility of second-guessing Morrison’s decisions. She said Algood pays City Attorney Danny Rader good money to advise them, so going against his strong recommendation is not sensible.

“He says, ‘Don’t do it. You’re going to get in trouble,'” Chapman-Fowler said. “But yet, we’ve got some who just insist on poking the bear.”

Public Works Director Walt Bradshaw said he believes the creation of this ordinance is connected to the process through which he was named a department head. He said Council Members Ron Graves, Ruby Hawkins, and Bill Bilbrey operate on political agendas and personal bias in an attempt to ensure that their friends and family are hired.

Bradshaw claims that after serving as the former director’s understudy and then interim director, a disgruntled employee, Tony Hogan, told him he would “work with, but not under” Bradshaw when the time came for Morrison to name a permanent director.

“I believe shortly after that, Council Member Graves, Bilbrey, and Hawkins began the process in ensuring that they could control who was hired as department heads, allowing for their family members and friends to be hired, regardless of whether or not they are the best candidate for the position,” Bradshaw said.

Bradshaw said Hogan is the son-in-law of Ruby Hawkins and the ordinance being created shortly after his being hired as director is far too coincidental.

Graves said when Bradshaw was hired, the council believed they had a vote in the matter, but learned that was not the case.

He said he has the utmost appreciation for Morrison and thinks very highly of him professionally. However, he said he believes these decisions should be voted on by people elected by the citizens of Algood.

Hawkins, Bilbrey, and Graves voted yes on the ordinance. Chapman-Fowler voted no.