SOUTHAVEN, MS (abc24.com) - Southaven aldermen stripped Mayor Greg Davis of $35,000 this week. He was being paid the money the past two years, on top of his salary, to oversee the city's water and sewer operations.
It turns out that was illegal, and Davis never should have been paid. But what about reducing the mayor's salary? The board has talked about that, but it may not happen.
Alderman have asked Davis to resign, something he hasn't done. The city can't force him out of office and the board may not be able to cut his pay.
"At the board meetings we've had a lot of people asking us are you going to cut the mayor's salary?," says Alderman at Large Greg Guy.
"They shouldn't keep paying him," says Lequanna Ramsey. "If he's under investigation, obviously he did something."
But Davis is still collecting a paycheck. He makes $145,000 a year, and has been ordered to repay the city almost $159,000.
"I think he should step down. I really think to save the whole thing, just step down and walk away from it," says Jannette Willis.
The state claims Davis spent city money on himself.
The only way Davis can be removed from office is if he's convicted of a felony, and it looks like that's what it would take to cut his pay check too.
"To cut his salary we would have to have a good reason. We couldn't just do it because we're upset with what's going on," says Alderman Ronnie Hale.
The board would have to change more than the mayor's salary.
"We would have to change the duties of the office of mayor, not necessarily just Mayor Davis," Hale says.
And even though Davis has been away from his office since Christmas, and is the focus of a criminal investigation, those aren't enough.
"The fact that he's gone is not a justifIed reason to cut his pay," says Hale. "It's still an investigation. He is innocent until proven guilty and we can't cut his pay based on the fact that they're looking into something right now."
State audtiors just broadened their investigation into Davis. Now they're looking into that additional $35,000 he's been getting the last two years.
