Poplar Bluff council votes in closed session to open search for new city clerk

Poplar Bluff City Council members voted in closed session Monday to open the search for a new city clerk to the public.

According to minutes released Tuesday afternoon, the search will be extended to all internal and external applicants. The motion was made by Ward 4 representative Shane Cornman and seconded by Ward 5 representative Robert Smith.

It was approved 6-0, with mayor pro tem Steve Davis absent.

City clerk Pam Kearbey, who has held the position since 2004, is retiring as of July 1.

The position was originally posted internally only, with applications due by March 11, according to information provided by city manager Mark Massingham. The new external posting allows for applications to be made until March 18.

The minutes released Tuesday afternoon are the first action by the council on the matter that have been made public.

The discussion and vote Monday about who to allow to apply for the position should have occurred during a public meeting under Missouri’s open records law, according to Missouri Press Association attorney Jean Maneke.

The Sunshine Law allows governing bodies to hold closed meetings for specific topics, including personnel.

Closed personnel items are limited to discussions of a specific person.

General discussions regarding a position are considered open matters, Maneke confirmed.

The closed discussion started concerning two specific applicants for the job, city attorney Mark Richardson said Wednesday morning.

“They (the council) wanted to move on with this. We’ve got a bit of a timeline. Rather than adjourn a closed meeting without action, they decided they would take action,” Richardson said, later explaining, “They did it basically as a matter of expediency. The bulk of the discussion was what they had posted it.”

The council was not trying to hide anything about the process, he said, adding this was the first action of any kind taken in a closed session in the last three years.

Kearbey turned her resignation in during the closed session held Feb. 19, and the original internal job posting was discussed that night, Massingham said. Cornman was absent from that meeting.

The position will now be advertised in the Daily American Republic, on the city’s website and the website for the Missouri Municipal League, as well as on social media, Massingham said.

The job requires a bachelor’s degree in business or records management, public administration or a related field, according to the current job posting, but this can be substituted with two years of related experience.

It can also be replaced with any equivalent combination of education and progressively responsible experience, with additional work experience.

The clerk acts as a custodian of official city records and oversees the accurate recording of minutes for city council meetings.

The city clerk also signs all checks for the city, and is responsible for reviewing documentation for purchases.

Other duties include conducting municipal elections, overseeing the tasks of the deputy clerk and administering the issuance of certain city licenses, including for the sale of alcoholic beverages and operation of taxis.