Someone in the field of law or politics should do something to stop the corruption that has gotten out of hand within the City of Sedan, Kansas.
Consider these facts:
1. Currently City Treasurer, Gordon Wilhite was previously a City Councilman, then the Mayor of Sedan. During his tenure as Mayor, an employee suggested purchasing hand-held radios to maintain contact between City crews working at different locations in Sedan. Mayor Wilhite presented his own alternative, that the City purchase cellular telephones for the same purposes. Certain key employees would have a cell phone assigned to them, including, of course, the Mayor. The City Council agreed, and several cell phones were obtained from Kimarjos Wireless in Sedan. Immediately upon receipt of the Mayors cell phone (620-249-4042), Mr. Wilhite presented the cell phone to his wife, Lisa, so that she could use it as her personal cell phone and take it with her as she commuted to her place of employment as a veterinary assistant IN PAWHUSKA, OKLAHOMA!
2. During Gordons tenure on the Sedan City Council, he was able to foresee that there would soon be some high-level positions opening soon. The Citys General Superintendent, Louis Henson, the Citys Water and Sewer Supervisor, Lyle Blankinship, and the City Clerk, Maxine Todd, had all announced their intentions to retire. Gordon thus conspired with other members of the Hill family to fill these positions.in this conspiracy, Gordons cousin, John Miller, employed at the time by the City of Sedan as the Citys Lake caretaker at a modest wage, would be moved into the position of the Citys General Superintendent, though he had no outstanding qualifications, supervisory experience, or education beyond a high school diploma. Further, they conspired that Johns wife, Sherry Miller, employed at the time by the City of Sedan as a Street Laborer at a modest wage, though she had no other professional experience or education beyond a high school diploma, would assume the duties of Water and Sewer Supervisor and City Clerk. Of course, both John and Sherry would receive very large pay increases over the previous holders of these positions, and the City would pay for the necessary training from the State of Kansas to get Water and Sewer licensing so that they would have legal qualifications for these positions overseeing Water and Sewer Operations. The three made their proposal before the City Council, and the Council decided to make a show of announcing their intentions to fill the positions. Another employee, Jon Faler, who had the same qualifications as John Miller and more experience, applied by resume for the General Superintendent position but, at Gordons insistence, John Miller was offered the position instead. Then the Council appointed Sherry Miller to the positions of Water and Sewer Supervisor and City Clerk.
3. However, the Wilhite-Miller conspirators had a condition to fulfill before they accepted these positions. Since the Water and Sewer Supervisor duties would no longer be conducted at the Citys Water Treatment Facility and Sewer Treatment Facility, but moved to City Hall to join with the City Clerks duties, they would need a Water and Sewer Head Operator to perform these duties. And just any Operator that applied and was hired by the council would not do. No, they insisted that they be allowed to handpick their Operator. Amazingly, the Council acquiesced, and the conspirators approached long-time friend and former co-worker Rodney Coward, who had no relevant experience or completed education beyond a high school diploma, with the offer of the position of Head Water Plant Operator, which he accepted. The City Council made a transparent showing of announcing the opening of the position and accepting applications for the position, but no other applicants were interviewed or even considered before the Council voted to hire Rodney to the position, sending him to Fort Scott Community College where he earned, with City of Sedan funding, an Associate Degree in Surface Water Technology. Then he was sent for State of Kansas training and received a Class IV license in Both Water and Sewer, giving him the maximum allowable hourly rate of pay in the City of Sedan departments now under John and Sherry Miller.
4. Also during Gordon Wilhites tenure as Mayor, John Millers younger brother, Jim Miller, was laid off from his factory job at Emerson Electric Co., Inc.in Independence, Ks. Gordon, John, Sherry, and Jim approached the City Council asking for a position for Jim, who had no relevant experience or completed education beyond a high school diploma, that would pay well. There was an opening in the Street Department, the lowest-paying department of all the departments now under John and Sherry Miller. However, they wanted Jim to be hired into a higher-paying department. Other people had applied for the Street Department position. After much discussion, the Miller-Wilhite conspirators and the City council agreed to hire Jim in at $6 per hour, commensurate with other Street Department Laborers at the time. No other applicants were even nominated before the Council voted to hire Jim. However, Jim was not hired into the Street Department. He was hired into the Water and Sewer Departments and trained in the Water Treatment Facility every working day for one year, as this is a requirement by the State of Kansas for untrained workers to qualify for the first class of Water and Sewer Licensing, Class I. Jim was allowed to progress to the maximum, Class IV, thus taking him as well to the maximum allowed rate of pay in the City of Sedan departments under John and Sherry Miller, just a few cents per hour below Rodney Coward, due to a few more cost-of-living increases for Rodney. Jim even reached this maximum rate of pay sooner than he was supposed to. After three years, Jim held a Class II Water license and was eligible to test for his Class III. He had also met the State-mandated requirements for Class IV, but he was instructed to take the test for Class III, then test for Class IV the following year. Jim arrived at the designated testing site ten minutes late for the Class III exam, and the test-giver would not allow him to take the test. Jim found out that they were also testing for the Class IV license in another room nearby. He proceeded to take and pass that exam and was rewarded with the Class IV Water license by the State of Kansas. When he returned to work, he was applauded for cleverness and given the raise for the Class III license as well as the raise for the Class IV license!
5.in addition, this is how Gordon Wilhites tenure as Mayor of the City of Sedan, Kansas came to an end. For over twenty years, a woman named Linda McMillan held the position of Sedan City Treasurer. She performed her duties adequately and was compensated with a reasonable salary. She was even given a substantial increase in salary by the Sedan City Council as a reward for twenty years of service. Some time after this, illness forced her to retire. The City Council announced that applications would be accepted to fill the position. Several applications were received, including prospects with actual experience as Treasurers of nearby small cities, with salary requirements similar to the previous Sedan City Treasurer. Gordon Wilhite, after conspiring with City Council members including Judy Tolbert, announced that he would be stepping down as Mayor. Then he submitted his own application for the City Treasurer position, despite having questionable relevant experience at best so that he would have to be trained on-the-job, requesting a very large increase in starting salary over the previous Sedan City Treasurer. When the City Council convened to discuss hiring a new City Treasurer, no other applications were even considered before Judy Tolbert moved to appoint Gordon Wilhite as Sedan City Treasurer and the rest of the Council voted unanimously in agreement.
6. Finally, another member of the Sedan City Council observed this nepotism and cronyism and saw an opportunity to line the pockets of a family member with taxpayer money. Out of the blue, during a late-Spring City Council meeting, an announcement was made that City Hall needed some computer work done. Computer work in City Hall is usually conducted by Lazy Bear Computers, Niotaze, Ks. But Carolyn Williams would instead be hired on a part-time, temporary basis to do the work over the coming summer, at the rate of $10 per hour, more than the most recently hired full-time permanent employee, as she had experience and training in the computer field. Her experience and training were as a result of being a Business teacher at the local high school, so she needed income for the summer. And she had to be paid more than the average starting pay because she is the daughter of Councilwoman Theresa Wilson. Theresa tried to escape culpability by abstaining from the vote to hire Carolyn, but the nepotism is still blatant. No other applications or bids were asked for or accepted, and no others, including Lazy Bear Computers, were even considered.
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