DEMOPOLIS – There are no allegations of wrongdoing from city officials

against ousted City Clerk Vickie Taylor.

“It’s no reflection on her that she’s done anything wrong,” said City Attorney Rick Manley. “There are no charges of any kind.”

Taylor was not reelected city clerk Thursday night by the city council, having been earlier that day escorted from city hall by Public Safety Director Jeff Manley who said she had been placed on administrative leave by the mayor.

State law 11-43-3 requires the city council

in cities with a population of 6,000 or more to elect a city clerk and a city treasurer at the its first regular meeting. Taylor served in both capacities for the city.

Once elected by the council, the law provides that the individual serves until the next general election, meaning the city clerk is elected to a four-year term.

“There’s no tenure for a city clerk, and it’s an election and not an appointment,” Manley said.

Because of that, the city clerk falls outside the city’s merit-based personnel policy, Manley said.

Paula Rich, Manley said, had agreed to fill in as acting city clerk for 90 days in order to provide the mayor and council with time to conduct interviews and select a new city clerk.

Regardless of the administrative leave status, Manley said that once the council elected Rich, Taylor was no longer on the city’s payroll.