Ethics complaint dogs fire chief

By By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
Feb. 27, 2003
The Mississippi Ethics Commission has found "probable cause" that Meridian Fire Chief H.C. "Bunky" Partridge violated state ethics laws in work he did for a regional training center.
The commission referred the case to the state attorney general's office for review which sent a letter to Partridge dated Feb. 10 asking the chief to respond to the charges.
Partridge said he was in the process of "setting up an appointment now" with the attorney general's office, but that he could "not make any comments whatsoever" about the case.
Ethics probe
After an investigation last year, the Ethics Commission determined in July 2002 "that probable cause exists" that Partridge violated two sections of state ethics laws for work he did and pay he received associated with Three I Public Safety Inc.
Three I Public Safety is a regional training center in Meridian that helps prepare firefighters, law enforcement officers and other emergency personnel in handling disaster or emergency situations.
The Ethics Commission said that Partridge may have violated state ethics laws by taking several trips to Washington, D.C., at the city of Meridian's expense to obtain grant funds for Three I.
The commission said the chief also may have violated the law by being paid $2,570 a month, or $30,840 a year, by Three I since January 2002 while also drawing his annual salary of $60,000 from the city.
The commission said both instances could have violated state ethics laws that say "no public servant shall use his official position to obtain pecuniary benefit for himself."
State law
Ethics laws also state that no public servant can "have a material financial interest in any business which is a contractor, subcontractor or vendor with the governmental entity of which he is a member, officer, employee or agent."
In Patterson's letter to Partridge, she told the chief that he is accused of violating the law by receiving money from Three I which could result in him "having a material financial interest' in Three I Public Safety."
The Ethics Commission charges come more than a year after a whirlwind of controversy began surrounding Partridge, his pay and his involvement with Three I.
Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith originally gave Partridge an $8,000 pay raise in October 2001. At the time, Smith said the raise was for additional duties Partridge assumed with the nonprofit Three I.
Smith rescinded the raise in February 2002 after Partridge began receiving a monthly paycheck of $2,570 from Three I. City councilmen raised Partridge's pay $5,650 in March 2002 bringing his salary to $60,000 a year.
Mayor's response
Smith said Wednesday he has not seen the letter Patterson sent to Partridge, asking for his response to the charges.
Scott Rankin, executive director of the Mississippi Ethics Commission and who was sent a copy of the attorney general's letter to Partridge, also declined comment.
Patterson said there is no set time for Partridge to respond to the allegations. But, she said, "he needs to respond in a responsible time frame."