Before Ray Boles fired four members of the Prattville library staff for refusing to work Thursday, he reportedly told them he had the backing of the county commission, the mayor, and the city council.
Lacie Sutherland, who served as the cataloging and acquisitions librarian before being fired Thursday, confirmed to The Post that Boles claimed the backing of the political leaders before walking away to make a phone call, then returning and telling them to “get out of here.”
The Post reached out to Mayor Bill Gillespie and members of the Prattville City Council and Autauga County Commission over the weekend to find out whether that statement would be true.
“Uh no,” responded Robert Strichik, council president pro tem.
Council president Lora Lee Boone said she had not spoken with Boles in weeks.
“I have had not contact with him whatsoever (email, text, etc.),” Boone said. “No. He had no input from me or any other councilors that I am aware of.”
Newly elected District 5 Councilman Michael Whaley said he had never even had “any conversations with Mr. Boles about library staff or plans for the library.”
District 2 Councilman Marcus Jackson said that’s not true, and specifically criticized Boles firing the staff.
“I would first like to send prayers to the library staff members that were fired last week,” Jackson said. “My heart goes out to them. I do not support the decisions and actions of this current library board, especially the firing of people in the current state of our economy.”
Jackson said he has not had any communication with Boles for weeks, and took a stand for “the constitutional right to the freedom of speech and the library’s ability to operate with autonomy.”
“This is a pivotal moment in our city’s history and it’s time for the mayor, city council, county commission and the library board to have joint and open public discussions as to how we need to handle this matter moving forward,” Jackson said. “We need to take a long look at how we want our community to be viewed by the world and what will happen to the children and others who use the library.
“The question we should ask ourselves is, Are we welcoming to others who don’t think like us? If history tells us anything, when, not if, will this current library board start banning and removing library books about other cultures and races? It is my prayer for all individuals, regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic class, to feel welcomed in Prattville.”
Councilman Tommy Merrick did not respond to a request for comment sent Saturday. The Post inadvertently failed to message councilman John Chambers until Sunday night. This story will be updated if and when Merrick and Chambers respond.
The post sent emails and text messages to all members of the Autauga County Commission on Sunday morning requesting comment and received no response. This story will be updated with their response if and when they respond.
Prattville Mayor Bill Gillespie said he has been supporting the board by “offering additional rooms and staff support to this board and the previous board during these challenging times” and that he is “supportive of a solution.”
Gillespie spoke specifically on the three latest actions of the board: the firing of director Andrew Foster, the termination of staff, and the hiring of interim director Tammy Bear.
Gillespie said he lacked the information on the termination of Foster to say whether he supported it. “Since it’s personnel, information is limited.”
On the firing of the staff though, based on what he “viewed on TV and heard from Ray Boles … I might’ve handled it different with proper communication. Again, I don’t know all of the facts.”
Gillespie said he didn’t know anything about the interim director yet.
The board’s termination of Foster sparked protests from both the staff and members of the community who have supported the embattled director. The termination also raised questions about whether the board may have violated the Open Meetings Act by holding an improper executive session. There’s no question that the board violated the Open Meetings Act Saturday when it held a special called meeting with less than 24 hours public notice in direct violation of the law.
The nominating subcommittee of the board will meet Monday at 5 p.m. to recommend a nominee for the lone open seat on the board, a city appointee.
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