In a 3-2 vote, Sulphur City Council approved re-hiring Sulphur City Attorney Les Wesberry. The action came at a special meeting Monday evening.
Even though three of the councilmen alleged in a recent court case on a recall petition that the attorney did not do his job, they voted yes for his reemployment.
Filed in the Murray County District Court on September 22, 2023, Case No. CV-2023-64 states Wards 3, 4 and 5 Councilmen Darrell Cole, Ryan Peters sand Daniel Gordon as Plaintiffs versus the City of Sulphur and Tara Mullins, Respondents, item number 16 reads as follows: “In the case at bar, the municipal attorney for the City of Sulphur failed to perform his duties (as required by the Attorney General) to review the Recall Petition submitted by Respondent Tara Mullins, and to make a determination as to whether it is sufficient or insufficient under the City of Sulphur’s charter and Oklahoma law. It is apparent that the Petition submitted by Respondent, Tara Mullins, is insufficient in many respects as stated above. The “Notices of Filing Petition of Recall” published in the Sulphur Times-Democrat on September 14, 2023, by the City of Sulphur, did not include any opinion by the Sulphur Municipal Attorney as to the sufficiency or insufficiency of the Petition.”
Ward 1 Councilman Alan McKay and Ward 2 Councilman Derek Stone voted no on Wesberry’s reemployment.
The contract for Wesberry states he will receive $2,500 per month for up to 10 hours of service, which includes travel time to and from Sulphur. After 10 hours, the city will be billed $250.00 per hour for any additional hours. Wesberry also receives mileage compensation at the federal rate of 65.5 cents per mile.
Wesberry began his tenure as city attorney in February, 2023.
