By GAGE WILSON
for Glasgow News 1
In one of its most heavily attended meetings this year, the Park City Commission announced that former city clerk Sue Whobrey has threatened legal action against the city, claiming she is owed $6,440 in back pay for serving as the city’s code enforcement officer for four months.
“I was not sworn in, but for four months I did the duties of it,” Whobrey told commissioners at the Dec. 1 meeting. “I was only supposed to do this temporarily.” She pointed to multiple examples of her involvement with citations of several properties, as well as her work with animal control.
Mayor Donna Scavo said the city was unable to immediately provide a formal description of the clerk’s responsibilities, but referenced a recent conversation with former clerk Bobby Bunnell.
“The city clerk’s job duties include code enforcement,” Scavo said. “For the salary that they already make.”
Whobrey countered that her appointment paperwork listed only city clerk and Alcohol Beverage Control. Scavo questioned why Whobrey had been receiving an additional $1,000 per month for ABC duties if those responsibilities were already included in the clerk’s position. Whobrey argued that the ABC pay was contract labor and separate from her clerk salary, noting that she was part-time when those duties were added.
Scavo told the commission she had consulted with the Kentucky League of Cities, which advised her that Whobrey should not have received additional pay for ABC responsibilities.
The discussion then shifted to former mayor Larry Poteet, who Scavo said assigned duties without proper approval.
“He didn’t ask us if we wanted to give you the responsibilities,” Scavo said. “We are a mayor and commission form of government. He did not have the authority to do that without our voting on it.”
In a letter dated Nov. 24, Whobrey’s attorney, Matthew Baker, outlined the amount she is seeking: $1,000 per month for four months, plus $2,440 in mileage. “If payment is not forthcoming by December 31, 2025, my instructions are to file suit and pursue all claims available to her under Kentucky law,” the letter states.
Scavo responded to the letter prior to the December meeting, writing that Whobrey was never sworn in or officially appointed by the commission to serve as code enforcement officer and that, historically, the duty fell under the clerk’s position without additional pay. She went on to say that she would begin talks with the city’s attorney on how to proceed.
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