NATCHEZ, Miss. – City aldermen have confirmed the appointment of Louis Davis as Natchez Transit director, a post he’s provisionally held since July following the retirement of long-time director Sabrena Bartley.
Since he’s Alderman Ben Davis’ brother, questions arose on whether Louis Davis’ appointment could be violating state nepotism or conflicts-of-interest laws.
The Mississippi Ethics Commission has recently determined Louis Davis can legally be city transit director, but Ben Davis can’t be in on discussions or cast votes aldermen conduct regarding the transit system, said city attorney Jack Lazarus.
Davis has been acting as the Natchez shuttle service’s executive director pending the legal review on whether he could continue to serve. He was city transportation supervisor under Bartley, who retired in June after 24 years overseeing the city’s transit and senior citizens services.
Mayor Dan Gibson – who swore in Davis after the board approved his appointment Tuesday – said Bartley “groomed” him to eventually take over the agency. It has 28 employees and a fleet of 30 buses and vans that make more than 1,200 trips a week providing shuttle services for the general public in the Natchez area, according to Natchez Transit’s count.
The mayor and Board of Aldermen closed the public out of discussions Tuesday on what Davis’ salary will be. They also were to discuss pay raises being planned for other city officials that Gibson has said includes the mayor and aldermen.
Pay raises for city officials is not one of the 12 reasons only to go into executive session and discussing salaries or budgets is not one of them unless it pertains to the termination of an employee or employees. I informed them all of last week when the mayor said he was going to do this.
§ 25-41-7. Executive sessions.
(3) An executive session shall be limited to matters allowed to be exempted from open meetings by subsection (4) of this section. The reason for holding an executive session shall be stated in an open meeting, and the reason so stated shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require that any meeting be closed to the public, nor shall any executive session be used to circumvent or to defeat the purposes of this chapter.
(4) (k) The exemption provided by this paragraph includes the right to enter into executive session concerning a line item in a budget which might affect the termination of an employee or employees. All other budget items shall be considered in open meetings and final budgetary adoption shall not be taken in executive session.