Kelvin McGruder, the director of the City of Meridian’s Parks and Recreation department who was suspended in late May, was terminated on Wednesday for being in contact with a city council member during his suspension.

In McGruder’s termination letter, provided by Ward 5 Councilman Weston Lindemann and confirmed by Mayor Percy Bland, the city cites McGruder’s contact with Lindemann as the reason for ending his employment.

“You were expressly warned that any contact with City officials or employees during your administrative leave would result in your immediate termination. You have violated this directive and are here-by terminated effective immediately,” the letter, signed by Bland, states.

Bland said when McGruder was placed on administrative leave, he was told not to contact other city employees in light of a state audit into city’s Parks and Recreation department.

Lindemann, a first-term council member who has been at odds with the administration, said that shortly after McGruder was suspended, McGruder invoked his whistle-blowing right about some spending concerns.

“He shared with me quite a lot of documents… (such as documents) showing the city paying State Games referees without council approval,” Lindemann said.

Lindemann was also concerned about a $999.50 bill for buckets of baseballs for the Phil Hardin League. The bill is an issue on the city’s claims docket that Lindemann has brought up in previous city council meetings.

“My concern is that the mayor, who has a team… is retrieving the buckets of baseballs that he had the city pay for,” Lindemann said.

Lindemann also had concerns about the delay in payroll records he’d requested from previous years, saying he’d waited nearly four weeks for the records.

“I’m just waiting to see at this point,” Lindemann said.

As for the whistle-blowing issue, Bland said McGruder’s termination had nothing to do with that.

“It has nothing to do with that. He’s not a civil service employee,” Bland said, clarifying that department heads serve more of a political position and don’t have the same rights as other city employees. “There’s a serious audit into his department and that’s all I can say until the investigation is complete.”

Bland also clarified that he had coached for many local leagues and the city had never entered a formalized agreement with the leagues about purchasing baseballs or other small items.

“We do all that we can in a lot of the leagues,” Bland said. “Baseball in the City of Meridian is a sport that has lost some of its youth… we’ve done little things to help with participation. It’s not been an issue and I don’t think it’s an issue.”

McGruder was placed on administrative leave on May 31.

In a May email to The Meridian Star, Chief Administrative Office Richie McAlister wrote that the administration could not comment on an investigation conducted by an “outside agency.”

McGruder’s termination marks the fifth department head change since late last year. The city has seven departments: Finance & Records, Parks & Recreation, Police, Fire, Public Works, Meridian Public Safety Training Facility and Community Development.

Late last year, Community Development Director Bunky Partridge and Public Safety Department Director Buck Roberts both retired. Chief Financial Officer David Whitaker resigned his post in November 2017 and Fire Chief Anthony Clayton announced his retirement in early May.

“Some of them retired and some of them (were) performance,” Bland said. “They serve at the will and pleasure of the mayor. They’ve done some great jobs but at the end of the day, it’s my decision about what direction I want some of these departments to take.”