Council seeks ordinance that will protect city employees from retaliation

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017, 4 p.m. — The Bardstown City Council has called a special council meeting Thursday in order to consider an ordinance to provide whistleblower protection for city employees. The meeting is set for 5 p.m. in the council chambers next to the rec center on Xavier Drive.

The Bardstown City Council’s call for a special meeting. Click to enlarge.

The move follows the council’s unanimous Jan. 3, 2017, vote to hire Lexington attorney Scott Crosbie as an investigator to determine if city resources or employees were involved with the election-eve anonymous document dump that appeared at the council chambers prior to the Nov. 1, 2016 council working session.

The documents largely consisted of copies of public records of court cases involving Councilwoman Kecia Copeland. One page in the packet was an old tax issue connected to a business operated by former Councilman Francis Lydian.

The anonymous packet was widely believed to be an attempt to influence the Nov. 8 city council election.

The packet also included two Bardstown Fire reports involving fires at Copeland’s former residences. Firefighter Todd Spalding’s name is shown on those reports as the person who printed the documents. No open records request was filed to get the reports, and Spalding has said he did not remember who requested the documents.

Thursday’s meeting is an uncommon instance of the members of the city council calling a meeting without consulting the mayor. Mayor John Royalty told the Nelson County Gazette late Monday he was unaware of a special meeting request by the council. Included with the agenda was the call for the special meeting signed by all six council members.

City employees are “at will” employees who have no guarantees of employment; generally, at-will employees serve at the pleasure of the mayor, who — with limited exceptions — does not need “just cause” to terminate an employee.

A whistleblower is any individual who exposes information or activities that are illegal, unethical or in violation of established and accepted policies or regulations. A whistleblower protection measure would presumably protect a city-employed whistleblower from retribution or punishment.

If approved Thursday, a whistleblower ordinance would require a second reading and final approval by the council and publication prior to becoming law — which also requires the mayor’s support.

State law gives the mayor the right to veto an ordinance approved by the council. The council can override a mayor’s veto with a vote of one more than the majority of the council.

Prior to the new council’s Jan. 3, 2017 vote to hire Crosbie to investigate the anonymous document dump, former councilman Bill Buckman was critical of the councils request for an investigation, calling it a witch hunt at taxpayer expense.

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