Mayor: Mowing mandate was not misunderstood

CAIRO, Ill. -- City clerk Debran Sudduth was fired because he ordered city workers to mow his lawn and sought to conceal his actions, Cairo Mayor Paul Farris said Wednesday.

In a telephone interview, Farris said his investigation of Sudduth's actions revealed a sharply different version of events from the one told by the dismissed clerk Tuesday night. Sudduth has claimed a city work crew mowed his lawn when an office joke was misunderstood, not because he issued orders for the work.

A conversation with the work crew leader convinced him that Sudduth wasn't joking when he asked for his lawn to be mowed, Farris said. "He said he was told to go by Debran," Farris said. "He said, 'He's my superior. I took it as a direct order.'"

Farris said he asked the crew leader, Jeff Childs, if there were any way that Sudduth's statements could have been misunderstood, and Childs replied: "I took it as he was very serious."

Sudduth's dismissal ended more than three years of loyal service to Farris. He endured derision from the city council and took few actions without approval from the mayor.

Sudduth warned after his dismissal that Farris would regret the decision and predicted information he could provide on the mayor's actions would lead to Farris' downfall.

For example, Sudduth said, the members of the work crew sent to his yard are excess city employees that Cairo can ill-afford. The town has a tangle of old bills and other debts that keep its treasury in precarious condition.

"The city cannot afford these people, but" Farris "continues to hire them," Sudduth said.

The criticism of the number of city employees echoes what council members opposed to Farris have been saying for months.

Farris said he would not heed any warnings by Sudduth. The focus in the case should be on the misuse of city resources, both workers and equipment, Farris said.

"I was really disheartened by this incident," Farris said. "We've got to hold everyone to a high standard."

According to Farris, a six-person city work crew went to Sudduth's home on May 2 to mow, trim and weed his yard. The work was noticed immediately by citizens, many of whom reportedly either drove or walked by to watch, Farris said.

Calls started coming to city hall soon afterward with complaints, Farris said, but he was not told of the calls, and he was out of town most of the week. He learned about the mowing from councilman Elbert "Bo" Purchase early Tuesday, Farris said.

If Sudduth had truly been joking, Farris said he should have been informed of the mistake by Sudduth immediately. Instead, Farris said, no mention of the incident was made during repeated telephone conversations he had with Sudduth during the week.

Sudduth was a loyal employee, Farris said, adding that he considered almost every alternative to firing the clerk. In the end, Farris said, Sudduth was asked to resign so he could avoid being fired but refused.

"There isn't anybody in any place in a position of authority who wouldn't have to do the same," Farris said.

The firing forced the cancellation of Tuesday evening's regular Cairo council meeting. Council members were reserved Wednesday in their comments on Farris' action.

Purchase declined to comment on the incident. Councilman Bobby Whitaker, a leading opponent of Farris on the council, said talk of the use of the mowing crew was all over town last week.

"Half the town knew about it before I did," Whitaker said.

Whitaker declined to say whether he supported Farris' decision to remove Sudduth. "I hate to see anybody's livelihood wrecked," he said. "I don't wish harm on anyone, even if they despise me."

Sudduth said he offered to reimburse the city for the cost of the mowing and to make a public apology. That would have worked, Farris said, if the incident was truly a misunderstanding.

But the evidence shows Sudduth acted improperly, he said.

"It is very, very disturbing," Farris said. "I had a lot of trust in Debran."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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