Snellville Mayor, Council Disagree on Who's the City Clerk

Editor's note: This article was originally posted Jan. 10, 2014.

Update: Snellville Councilman Bobby Howard spoke to Snellville Patch about the mayor appointing a new city clerk.

"The opinion of the majority of the Snellville City Council is that Melisa Arnold continues to be our city clerk, much like we felt Butch Sanders was our city manager," said Howard.

He continued: "The press release [the mayor sent] is not from the city of Snellville," he continued. "That is what she and she alone believes. That is not represented by the city of Snellville nor its leadership. The safest thing to say is Melisa Arnold is the city clerk of Snellville."

Mayor Kelly Kautz gave the following response to the controversy on the Snellville Patch Facebook page:

"This is not a controversy. The City Clerk appointment is an appointment that is made by the Mayor at the beginning of each year. Mrs. Richardson will be an asset to our City."

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Original story, posted at 5:50 p.m.:

Just a week after Mayor Kelly Kautz told the city manager to "cease" working, more drama is brewing in Snellville.

Kautz sent out a press release Friday afternoon (Jan. 10) saying that she has appointed a new city clerk. According to the release, Phyllis Richardson will be replacing current City Clerk Melisa Arnold, who will continue her employment with Snellville as the city's purchasing agent. Arnold previously held the purchasing agent position before taking the city clerk's job.

Kautz said she made the appointment and administered the oath of office for Richardson on Friday.

Councilman Bobby Howard told Snellville Patch that she appointed Richardson without the knowledge of the city council or city manager, however.

According to the release, Richardson is a Gwinnett County resident who has many years of government and political experience. She has served as the executive assistant for the chairman of the Miami Dade County Commission in Florida, the deputy clerk for the Miami Dade County Board of Commissioners, the executive assistant to a city of Miami commissioner and the office manager for the Broward County Bar Association.

She also has worked as a community organizer and held leadership roles in several political campaigns. She has done volunteer work with Veterans Empowerment Organization of Georgia Inc. and LifeLink of Georgia.

The release does not state if Richardson previously worked for the city.