Gulfport councilwoman claims discrimination after city demands she pay up before election
The city of Gulfport says Councilwoman Ella Holmes-Hines must reimburse $6,168.59 in accidental salary overpayments, but Holmes-Hines has refused to pay the debt.
Holmes-Hines has filed an appeal in Circuit Court, saying she believes the city is discriminating against her because she’s a Black female. She told the Sun Herald that the city is bringing up a three-year-old issue at election time to hurt her chances in the contested Ward 3 Democratic primary on Tuesday.
The city is demanding from Holmes-Hines almost twice the amount other council members owe because she is by far the longest-serving council member and overpayments to her date back to 1999.
She said that she tried unsuccessfully through her attorney to negotiate payment of the same amount the other council members have to pay.
“It is wrong to give me an amount that nobody else pays but me,” she said. “It’s crazy. It’s injustice and I’m not standing for it. I pray that the constituents understand.
“ . . . I fight for justice for my people. I’m certainly going to fight for justice for myself. This is my family. I’m going to fight for us.”
But Mayor Billy Hewes said that Holmes-Hines has only herself to blame for the pre-election controversy. Hewes said that he had to repay $13,100 in salary overpayments that dated back to 2013.
“She just thinks she’s above the law,” Hewes said. “This is not a new thing. This is not election shenanigans. We’ve waited and waited and waited.”
Other council members pay up
Holmes-Hines said if the city is going to charge her for overpayments prior to the current term in office, the city should also notify and demand payment from all the council members who previously served and are no longer in office.
The six other council members each repaid what they owed, Hewes said. City records show the amount council members were overpaid for 2021-22 was $3,365.65.
Councilman R.Lee Flowers had money deducted from his biweekly council check to repay what he owed. Flowers said it wasn’t the first time council members have had to return overpayments. The city also collected $644.29 from each of them for overpayments in 2020.
The overpayments happened because the number of bi-weekly pay periods in a year, coupled with the annual council salary set by city ordinance, do not always match up. Hewes said the problem has been corrected.
Council salaries are currently $36,075.75 a year, while the mayor earns $120,252.50, city records show.
Flowers said Holmes-Hines is definitely entitled to her appeal.
“But state statute and the ordinance are very clear that council members can not be paid more than their set salary, period,” he said. With the exception of Holmes-Hines, he said, council members who have served for the past four years should have the city’s money repaid by June 30, when their terms end.
Hewes said the city is trying to collect from Holmes-Hines before the new term begins July 1.
“There’s only a few months left in her term for the city to be able to collect that debt,” said Hewes, who is not running for re-election.
The city has not tried to collect from council members who are no longer in office, but Hewes was unable to explain the legal reasoning.
Full pay requested in appeal
Holmes-Hines says in her court appeal, which she filed without an attorney, that the decision to charge her for overpayments dating to 1999 is “arbitrary and capricious,” given that former council members during that time were not asked to pay.
She also says it is unlawful for the city to withhold her bi-weekly paycheck because she is disputing the debt and has previously been denied her right to do so.
Holmes-Hines voted against resolutions in two March council meetings that were aimed at collecting the debt from her. State ethics law prohibits public officials from voting on matters in which they have a financial interest.
But Holmes-Hines said she was entitled to vote.
“I am disputing a debt,” she said. “When you dispute a debt, you’re supposed to have due process.”
She asked that a judge order the city to pay her full salary, rather than withholding her check, until the case is reviewed. She wants the judge to reverse the city’s decision and make a final determination on what she owes, which she believes will be the same amount the other council members paid.
“Allowing the city to ‘take’ my entire monthly salary, being my main source of income, will cause me great financial harm and the city will not suffer if the court does so,” her appeal says.
This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 2:03 PM.
