NATCHEZ &045; While aldermen did vote to at least temporarily withhold the pay of an officer they rehired, City Attorney Walter Brown later told the board it couldn’t do so, according to the city clerk.

Aldermen voted 4-3 in October, with Mayor Phillip West breaking the tie, to rehire former officer Willie B. Jones at his former rank of patrolman.

Before the vote was taken, Brown told the board that under state law, the authority to rehire a police officer or firefighter rests with the Civil Service Commission, not aldermen.

In November, Courtney Aldridge and Kevin Colbert filed suit against Mayor Phillip West and all six aldermen in Adams County Circuit Court to reverse to decision to hire Jones.

On Nov. 9 the Board of Aldermen voted to withhold Jones’ pay until the city received an attorney general’s opinion on whether Jones’ hiring was legal.

&uot;But the city attorney said that since he was hired, we’ve got to pay him or face an EEOC (complaint),&uot; City Clerk Donnie Holloway said Monday. Brown could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

In an amended lawsuit filed Friday, Aldridge and Colbert said West is liable for punitive damages because it was on his orders that Jones was paid. The amended lawsuit also asks the court to require West to explain to the public why he ordered Jones be paid.

However, West said Monday that the allegations are untrue. &uot;I’ve not ordered anything,&uot; West said. &uot;What’s being alleged is not true.&uot;

West said Aldridge and Colbert should be asked for any documentation they have to prove their claims.

Aldridge referred questions to Colbert, who said he has memos in which West directed that Jones be paid. When asked where copies of the memos could be obtained, Colbert replied &uot;it’s too early for that at this point.&uot;

The mayor and aldermen have until March 17 to file answers to the amended lawsuit.

Jones was rehired two weeks after the aldermen amended the city’s personnel policy so that former employees terminated or resigning pending disciplinary action can be eligible for reemployment after fvre years.

In 1997, Jones allegedly offered a fellow officer $260 not to pursue a drug charge against a relative of Jones’ then-fiance.

Jones resigned before an investigation into the matter was finished and was later arrested in the case. Jones was charged with felony obstruction of justice but pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge.

The charge was expunged, or wiped from his record, late last year.

But a person who been out of law enforcement for two years or more must be approved by the State Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training Board to attend a refresher course prior to being re-certified.

If a certified officer leaves the police department, his certificate becomes inactive once he has been out of law enforcement for two years. Officers can be rehired prior to certification, but they must work under the direct supervision of a certified officer &045; something Jones has not been doing.

Jones currently has a hearing pending before the State Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training Board. The hearing on whether to allow Willie B. Jones to attend &uot;refresher school&uot; to renew his certification as a law enforcement officer is scheduled for March 10.

City officials still await an opinion from the Attorney General’s Office on the appropriateness of aldermen reemploying and compensating a police officer. The request for an opinion was filed by City Attorney Walter Brown Nov. 10.

However, the Attorney General’s Office typically does not issue opinions in matters in which litigation is pending.