JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville City Council secretary is on paid administrative leave following complaints about the work environment and issues surrounding the opening of council members' mail.
The Personnel Committee met on Thursday after several council members expressed concerns over several gifts that were opened by someone else over the holidays.
The controversy began when city staffer Yvonne Mitchell, chief of administrative services, opened mail intended for council members. The mail included holiday gifts such as cards and chocolates.
“Did I open it? Absolutely I did,” Mitchell said at the meeting. “I was instructed to open it.”
Mitchell said her supervisor, Council Secretary Margaret Sidman, directed her to open the mail to send information on the contents to the ethics commission.
However, Ethics Director Kirby Oberdorfer disputed this approach.
“We never gave anyone nor did we have the authority to intercept any gifts,” she said.
Council members expressed frustration with the situation during the nearly 90-minute meeting.
Council members explained that there are protocols for handling gifts and that they are clearly outlined by the ethics office.
“It, then, means that you have no faith in the fact that I’m intelligent enough to do the thing,” Councilmember Rahman Johnson said. “In essence, that was offensive to me.”
Mitchell said she did what she thought she was told to do. She said she was scared of what would happen to her job if she didn’t.
“I panicked,” she said. “Because gifts had been distributed and [Sidman] didn’t know. So I collected them. I put them in my office and I sent her an email to say that this is what has arrived.”
Sidman said she wasn’t aware that Mitchell was opening the mail, but said after a meeting with the ethics commission that Mitchell’s understanding of the instructions was correct.
“This is a fair reading of that,” she said “So yes, she did open the mail with that directive.”
During the meeting, several council members discussed additional complaints they had received about Sidman’s leadership. Mitchell added that she was in fear of losing her job when Sidman took over.
As a result, the committee decided to place Sidman on paid administrative leave.
“I regret that I fell short of your expectations,” she said during the meeting.
Council member Nick Howland, who is tasked with finalizing the terms of the leave, told News4JAX he intends to “conclude this matter quickly and amicably.”