The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Joplin Metro

Discussion

May 18, 2008

Former mayor’s cases to be heard by council

From staff reports

news@joplinglobe.com

The Joplin City Council will be asked at its regular meeting tonight to once again consider disciplinary action against fellow council member and former Mayor Jon Tupper.

Tupper faces two cases of alleged wrongdoing.

One case involves some city employees. City administrators have not made public any details surrounding that case except to say that some employees made allegations against Tupper to the city’s Human Resources Department. The department director referred the case to the city manager. He and Mayor Gary Shaw forwarded the case to the city attorney, Brian Head, who on Friday said he should not discuss the case except to say that it likely would come before the council tonight and that details of the investigation would become public then.

The day after the Globe reported the probe, Tupper filed an unsigned request with city administrators seeking hundreds of pages of city documents, most of them related to the Parks and Recreation Department and city sports venues. Tupper also asked for some time sheets and expense sheets of several city department heads and supervisors, and a few rank-and-file employees in the parks and tourism departments. The Globe has filed an open-records request for Tupper’s request and for any documents turned over to Tupper. A copy of Tupper’s request was received by the Globe on Friday by mail. It was sent anonymously.

Tupper also faces an effort by fellow council member Bill Scearce to seek disciplinary action against Tupper after Tupper admitted last week at a council work session that he voted on leasing a city ball field to a youth baseball group that had bought uniforms from Tupper’s sports supply business. Scearce contends that Tupper violated council ethics rules by not disclosing the sale before he voted on the lease or by not abstaining from the vote.

Tupper was censured by the council in 2006 for two violations of council ethics rules related to voting on a city purchase of property without disclosing that his son had bought a piece of property nearby. The council hired an outside investigator to conduct a probe into allegations in that incident. The investigator reported that the violations were inadvertent. The council followed the censure vote with a vote of confidence in Tupper at the time.

The council can take actions ranging from censure, which is similar to a written reprimand, to removal from office.

Tupper has not returned calls by the Globe seeking comment.

In other business, the council will honor two local historians for their work to preserve records and provide information to the public about Joplin’s history and historic buildings. The council will declare a “Leslie Simpson Day” in the city in honor of Simpson, who is an archivist with the Post Memorial Art Reference Library at the Joplin Public Library. The council also will recognize Brad Belk, director of the Joplin Museum Complex.

Ordinances addressing construction of the new Joplin Regional Airport terminal building and street resurfacing also are on the agenda.





On tap



The Joplin City Council will meet at 6 p.m. today in the fifth-floor chambers at City Hall, 602 S. Main St. An informal meeting begins at 5:15 p.m. in the adjoining conference room.

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