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Hello Kimberly,
As an elected official and serving in a position of trust, it is important to be transparent with the public. There are two issues that the Jefferson County Judge has challenged me on that has been in the media the past several weeks. It’s time that I address the public and provide a correct and accurate response.
Here are the facts concerning the employment of Morgan Tillman and Yvonne Humphrey.
Jefferson County Ordinance 2003-52 states in Article II "That this Ordinance shall not employ and shall not directly supervise any member of their immediate family including, but not limited to their spouse, child, parents, or other persons standing in the first degree of relationship". In Article IV of the same Ordinance, it states "That this Ordinance shall not apply to persons currently employed by Jefferson County, Arkansas".
I did not hire Morgan. She was hired by the previous administration in 2016. Also, I do not directly supervise her. There are two supervisors and a Chief Deputy Assessor over her. Before taking office as an elected official, I spoke with Judge Gerald Robinson in person concerning any problems with him and her working in the office. He assured me that he had no problem with her working in the office and how I need to keep my experienced workers. Judge Robinson then stated he would speak with the Quorum Court members (Justice of Peace) to see if they had a problem with her working in the office, but he was sure they would not. While I was in his presence, he spoke with JP Reginald Adams and JP Cedric Jackson on speaker phone. He explained the situation and they both agreed that they saw no issue with her working in the office. In speaking with JP Melanie Dumas, she also stated he had asked her, and her reply was no problem. Suddenly, after over a year later, he has a problem.
Yvonne Humphrey retired in 2007 and after leaving her position for the number of days required, she returned as a regular employee. It was at that time Ms. Humphrey resumed to accumulate sick leave. Upon becoming an elected official in 2011, her leave time ceased December 2010 but a record was kept with the number of hours accumulated as a regular employee. After leaving the capacity of elected official, Ms. Humphrey began to work as a regular employee with no break in time or service. When she became ill in December 2023, she began using sick time accumulated. She has worked for Jefferson County for 48 years. Her time is accurately documented. While on sick leave from January to April 15, 2024, she was paid from sick leave she had rightly accumulated over the eligible years.
These are the accurate facts. There is a lot of noise in Pine Bluff on radio and social media and even in print media. Oftentimes, only one side of the story is shared in these mediums. I even provided an interview with the Pine Bluff Commercial and very little of my story was included but the County Judges’ story was printed with little fact checking.
It continues to be my pleasure to serve you. I will continue to take a stand for what is right by my employees, all of them. Thank you for your trust in me and again, it is my honor to serve you.
Gloria Tillman
County Assessor
Jefferson County, AR
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