City manager’s resignation accepted, council member steps down

City manager’s resignation accepted, council member steps down News Staff Wed, 05/15/2024 - 07:11 Image

• City manager’s resignation accepted, council member steps down

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During the May 13 Mount Pleasant City Council session, council members unanimously approved the resignation of city manager Ed Thatcher. During the meeting, it was also announced that Councilman Jerry Walker, who was absent, had resigned from his position.

Thatcher’s resignation was announced after last week’s council meeting ended with no quorum.

Newly-appointed council member Kelly Redfearn wished to make a statement in regards to Thatcher’s resignation. However, Thatcher expressed his desire for the contract to be discussed in executive session.

Attorney Lea Ream advised through Zoom, “The council has the right to receive legal advice about the city manager’s employment contract and executive session in terms of and what that calls for, the contract itself is– you know, there’s no secret about what’s in the contract, but if you want to discuss what it means or things of that nature– if you’re seeking legal advice about it, that should be an executive session.”

Councilwoman Redfearn requested permission to read a clause from Thatcher’s contract and was permitted to do so, “It says that the manager terminates this agreement for voluntary resignation of the position of city manager. The manager shall give 180 days notice in advance unless the council agrees otherwise. The parties agree that the notice period will be waived if the city employs the new manager before the completion of the notice period. The event that the manager terminates the agreement by voluntary action, manager shall be entitled to receive an amount equal to four months full salary and other compensation benefits, including any allowances paid out of biweekly in the same manner and on the same schedule as the normal payroll of the city. The manager will additionally be paid at the time of resignation the value of all sick, vacation and personal leave, holidays and other benefits accrued by or credited to the manager up to the point of resignation.”

Redfearn went on to say that she wished to read the clause because the city is facing an obvious deficit, “I wanted to make sure we are doing what we can.”

In regards to Thatcher’s resignation, Mayor Tracy Craig said he thinks Thatcher did a good service to Mount Pleasant and taught a lot of experience.

“When he came in, we were in a lot of trouble prior to him coming in, so we didn’t know where we stood. Our budget was off. He helped us in a lot of ways to get back on track, and you know, I know truly you really can’t please everybody and everyone doesn’t understand the circumstances until you’re actually here. So once you get in, once you get in office and you’re able to look at those contracts and see what you’re faced with, a lot of times you’ll understand the position and why certain decisions were made,” Craig said.

Before the session was closed, City Secretary Candias Webster announced the resignation of Councilman Jerry Walker. She read his resignation letter to the council and audience, “I, Jerry Dell Walker, am grateful for serving on the Mount Pleasant City Council. Effective immediately May 13, 2024, I resign from my Mount Pleasant City Council seat. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve all the citizens, especially the neglected and less fortunate. May God bless you, Jerry Dell Walker.”

Mayor Craig told the Tribune that Walker’s resignation came as a surprise to him, adding that he was not told of Walker’s resignation till thirty minutes before the council meeting. He said there will be a special election held to fill the empty council seat, and those details are to be announced in the near future.