WEST POINT — West Point City Clerk Robin Perry continues to await an opportunity to appear before the city”s Board of Selectmen to discuss the withdrawal of his letter of resignation in September.
The city clerk position is one of two key West Point jobs in limbo as the board decides how to handle the pending opening at clerk and the continuing search for a new police chief to replace Steve Bingham, whom the board fired Aug. 11.
Perry vocally submitted his intention to resign during the Sept. 17 meeting of the West Point board. His official letter of resignation was received Sept. 23, but Perry later withdrew his letter.
Perry says he resigned due to the possibility he would be terminated by the board over pending allegations of improper behavior.
The board had not voted to release Perry prior to his resignation.
“We never did just get all the way down to it. We did let (Perry) know some of the allegations brought against him,” said Ward 3 Selectman Charles Collins. “He looked at it and decided to go a different direction with it.”
No city officials, including Collins, have discussed the specific charges brought against Perry. Anonymous sources reported Perry is accused of bouncing a personal check at the West Point Water and Light Department; purchasing a personal computer and invoicing the cost to the city; and being ticketed, while in a city vehicle, for driving with a suspended driver”s license.
West Point City Attorney Orlando Richmond would not comment on whether or not he was investigating Perry for improper conduct or potential criminal behavior.
Perry declined comment on the personal check, but contends the computer purchase was legal through a payroll deduction plan and denies ever driving city vehicles. He also said his driver”s license is not suspended.
But Perry”s license is suspended, following three prior speeding citations, according to local authorities.
West Point Chief Administrative Officer Randy Jones wouldn”t comment on specific charges but said he has never known Perry to drive city vehicles.
Perry”s appeal to the board to maintain his job may come via a special meeting or may wait until the board”s next regularly scheduled meeting Oct. 13.
West Point already has begun advertising the city clerk opening.
The city may soon begin advertising the police chief opening if the board has drafted a satisfactory job description prior to its Oct. 13 meeting, Jones said. The board elected to draft a new job description following Bingham”s termination.
“When they meet again, hopefully they”ll have a mutually agreed upon job advertisement,” said Jones. “We gave them the old one, but they wanted to look and see if it”s what they wanted to use.”
The existing job description was drafted in collaboration with the Mississippi Police Chief”s Association.
The West Point board has been similarly silent on the reasons for Bingham”s firing, except to say they were dissatisfied with the ratio of detectives to patrol officers.
Sources speaking on the condition of anonymity reported Bingham was suspected of reporting false crimes to increase incident numbers, reducing felony crimes to misdemeanors and was reprimanded by unnamed authorities for improper reporting methods.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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