Should the Flomaton Town Council have agreed to pay former Police Chief Bryan Davis $6,634.62 in overtime and back pay? I'm not sure, but I do think the council made the right decision Monday night by agreeing to pay him instead of fighting his claim in court.
Davis was making $56,000 per year when he resigned his position as Flomaton's police chief. Monday night it was stated that Davis had filed a $90,000 claim against the town, but was willing to settle for the $6,634.62.
Mayor Dewey Bondurant Jr., and Town Attorney Chuck Johns said they didn't think Davis would prevail in court because his $56,000 salary was above the threshold required to pay overtime if a person was on a salary, which Davis was.
Johns told the council several times that it was a business decision the council had to make. He said if the council fought the issue, it would have to hire another attorney to fight the issue in federal court and that figure could top $30,000. He also said if Davis won any kind of settlement in court the town may be on the hook for his attorney fees as well.
My bet is the $6,600 settlement offer made by Davis would be off the table if the issue went to court.
Johns also made a very good point by telling the council that any money Davis would be rewarded would not be paid by the town's insurance, but would have to come out of the town's budget.
Sometimes you lose when you win.
“If we can stay out of court, lets stay out of court,” said Councilman Charlie Reardon. He also pointed out that if the town tried to fight this thing in court it may end up spending a half million dollars to settle a $6,000 claim.
I remember years ago before the current Escambia County Detention Center was built in Brewton there were a couple of brothers housed in the old jail on multiple occasions. They sued the county several times claiming the old jail wasn't safe and had rats and roaches running around. They'd always sue for $10,000 and most of the time they'd get the $10,000 which happened to be the county's insurance deductible.
I heard some of the same logic back then that I heard Monday night – why spend $30,000 to keep from spending $10,000.
I heard some of the same things Monday night from the town council that I heard from the sheriff and county commission back in the day – it's not right and it's the principle of the thing.
Flomaton took two votes Monday night. The first one to to turn down Davis' $6,634.62 offer and take it to court failed on a 4-2 vote. The final vote to accept that offer passed on a 5-1 vote.
From what I heard Monday night nobody at that table thought the town was legally obligated the pay Davis anything, but the overwhelming majority of the council agreed the financial risks were too high to fight the issue.
There was a lot of talk at the table about salaried vs. hourly employees. Most of them felt hourly employees are paid by the hour and if they work more than 40 hours a week they get overtime pay. Salaried employees, on the other hand, get the same pay check whether they work 40 or 60 hours.
Was Davis eligible to receive overtime paid as a salaried police chief making $56,000 per year? Johns and Bondurant said he wasn't, but they both knew it was still a gamble to go to court.
There was also a lot of talk around the table about making sure something like this didn't happen again.
Crapps said the dominoes could start falling and other employees or ex-employees would be seeking money from the town.
Down the road, the council may decide that Davis actually did them a favor by filing this claim. Council members wanted to make sure it wouldn't happen again.
Johns said other towns have stricter employment contracts than Flomaton does. So, it appears to me that Davis may have opened some eyes and the council will begin passing resolutions or whatever to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Reardon questioned whether or not the town told people when they were hired as salaried employees they wouldn't receive any overtime. He also said the town needs to approach its current salaried employees and get it in writing that they won't get overtime.
It could be a $6,634.62 lesson well learned.
