PB parks panel suspends worker at dubious meeting

PINE BLUFF — Pine Bluff parks commissioners suspended the director of the city’s community centers for five days with pay “for ineffective management,” according to the city’s Human Resources Department.

City officials would not provide further details Tuesday on why Laura Hildreth, the community centers director, was suspended.

Jeff Pulliam, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said he would not comment because “there are still several commissioners who are not aware of what transpired Monday. I want them to be notified before any details are released.”

Efforts to reach Hildreth for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful.

The action, first reported by the Pine Bluff Commercial, took place at a specially called meeting of the commission’s personnel committee Monday.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was not notified of the meeting. Arkansas Code Annotated 25-19-106 (b) (1) specifies that notification for special meetings “shall be made at least two hours before the meeting takes place in order that the public shall have representatives at the meeting.” The Democrat-Gazette has requested notification of all regular and special meetings of the City Council and all Pine Bluff boards and commissions.

If the meeting is deemed illegal because of failure to provide proper notification to all those who requested to be notified, the action against Hildreth could be invalid. The commissioners might have to meet again and redo the process that led to the decision to suspend her.

Pulliam said the full commission is to consider possible additional disciplinary action at its regular session Monday.

Hildreth and Parks and Recreation Department Director Angela Parker were both suspended in December 2012 after officials learned that the department was at least $100,000 over its 2012 budget.

Both were later fired but reinstated by Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth when she took office Jan. 1.

Some commissioners had faulted Parker for “mismanagement” of Hildreth.

A Pine Bluff Police Department investigation concluded that although fees by some participants in the after-school program weren’t collected or delivered on schedule, there were no signs of theft or criminal misappropriation of funds in the 2012 case.