By Debby Woodin

dwoodin@joplinglobe.com

Joplin City Council member Jon Tupper has asked city administrators to provide him with a large number of documents ranging from a city employee manual outlining procedures for disciplinary action to time and expense sheets for a number of city department heads and parks and tourism employees.

The document was submitted to the city on Wednesday after a probe began into allegations some city employees have made against Tupper.

The Joplin City Charter and the council’s code of ethics prohibits council members from direct involvement in the jobs of most city employees. Those documents state that council members may direct questions or information to the city manager.

City Attorney Brian Head and Mayor Gary Shaw would not give details of the complaint against Tupper. Head said Friday more information about the matter will be provided to the City Council at its regular meeting Monday night. All that Shaw would say was that information about the matter will be forthcoming.

The city attorney had confirmed Tuesday that he was looking into an issue involving the council member and some employees who first went to the city’s human resources department with a complaint about Tupper.

The Globe later learned that Tupper had filed a request for a number of documents, including contracts and employee time sheets and expense sheets. The Globe then filed an open-records request under the Missouri Sunshine Law seeking the request Tupper filed and any documents that are provided to him in regard to his request.

City Clerk Barbara Hogelin said Friday afternoon that she was working on a response to both Tupper’s request and to the Globe’s request, but that there were hundreds of pages to be compiled from various city departments. She confirmed that a copy of Tupper’s request sent anonymously to the Globe by mail is a legitimate copy. The request is addressed to Mayor Gary Shaw, the city attorney and the city manager. It is not signed by Tupper, though Hogelin verified that it is a copy of the document submitted to her by those named in it.

Time stamped at 8:58 a.m. Wednesday, the document targets several parks and recreation employees and a number of parks and recreation department documents including the department’s total expenses from November 2006 through October 2007, a list of expenditures for Joe Becker Stadium from November 2006 through October 2007, a “complete schedule of events” for Joe Becker Stadium from 2007 through 2008, and a “complete list” of contracts, invoice sheets and final payout for any and all events held at Memorial Hall from November 2006 through this month.

The document also seeks time and expense sheets for several parks employees and department heads. Employees who are not department heads and who are not on salary for whom Tupper sought the documents: Kyle Knight, a seasonal laborer for the parks department; Martha Getz, a convention bureau assistant; and Brian Ross, a planning and community development specialist.

Salaried city employees and administrators from whom Tupper sought time sheets and expense sheets are: Mark Rohr, city manager; Lynn Onstot, public information officer, Reba Snavely, human resources director; David Hertzberg, public works director; Jerry Calvin, parks and recreation director who has resigned; Steve Curry, parks maintenance supervisor; Beth Peacock, facilities and events manager; Jay White, golf course maintenance supervisor; Vince Lindstrom, convention bureau director; and Cameo Harrington Gerdes, convention bureau sales representative.

In addition, Tupper asked for “a complete vendor list of whom the city conducts business,” and “any statements, reports or investigations that have been filed with the City Attorney, City Manager or the HR Department that related to me or state my name or involvement.”

In addition to that probe, another council member, Bill Scearce, said Tuesday he will ask the council Monday night to censure Tupper, alleging an ethics violation.

Scearce asked Tupper at a council work session Monday night if it was a conflict of interest for him to have voted on a request for a lease of a city ball field to a group that had bought uniforms from him. Tupper operates Gametech Gear and Graphics, a sports supply store.

Tupper replied that he had. “So what?” he further responded.

He said that the group bought the uniforms before he the council was called on to vote on the lease.

Scearce told Tupper that voting after the sale looked like a “tit-for-tat” deal.

Ethics rules prohibit council members from voting on anything in which they have an interest or stand to make financial gain, and to disclose any situations where it could appear they have a personal or financial stake. The rules also allow council members to abstain from voting if it would create a conflict of interest.

Tupper did not return messages Wednesday or Friday seeking comment in regard to the allegations.







Council meeting

The council will meet at 6 p.m. Monday on the fifth floor of City Hall, 602 Main St.