With accusations of corruption continuing to circulate, the City of Meridian will now enforce rules laid out in the employee handbook concerning unauthorized communications with city council members.

City of Meridian Chief Administrative Officer Richie McAlister said in a work session Tuesday that employees can be written up for speaking to city council members about personnel issues.

McAlister said all employees must take their grievances through the chain of command and that council members should contact the administration when concerns arise.

This was in response to Ward 5 City Councilman Weston Lindemann’s continued inquiries into the city’s day-to-day operations.

Corruption accusations began in June, when Lindemann released an audio recording of a conversation between himself and former Community Development Director Bunky Partridge.

In the conversation, Partridge alleges that McAlister has in the past intimidated others in the city administration, including Partridge and former City Clerk David Whitaker.

Partridge also said McAlister called the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality on Buck Roberts, the former director of Public Safety.

“I don’t make a habit of recording phone calls,” Lindemann said in a previous interview. “But we’ve got a lot of people who feel that they can’t speak up… maybe in some ways it’s good that it’s out.”

One of the discussion topics in the work session was the pay structure for city employees.

At the meeting, Lindemann quoted anonymous sources — mainly former employees — concerning pay increases and other issues. Lindemann reiterated the point that some employees don’t feel their voices will be heard without the ear of the council.

McAlister argued that Lindemann’s examples were too vague and suggested that he request an executive session if he wanted to discuss said matters in detail.

Mayor Percy Bland told Lindemann that personnel issues fall into the purview of the administration, not the council.

“If you want to be an executive, apply for that job, but until then let us do our job,” the mayor said, adding that constant accusations of corruption hurt the city’s reputation when economic development is badly needed.

Lindemann said he has requested time sheets and pay rates for certain employees dating back two years, which he said will reveal that the administration is showing favoritism.

“What I suspect I’ll find from reviewing this information is that certain individuals are getting special treatment, and they are being compensated more than they are supposed to,” Lindemann said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon.

Reporter Whitney Downard contributed to this report.