VIENNA — The Maries County commissioners spoke with Sheriff Mark Morgan in closed session Aug. 3 about allegedly violating the employee handbook’s social media policy.

Morgan shared two Facebook posts July 31 and Aug. 1 on the official Maries County Sheriff’s Office page in response to comments made by Prosecuting Attorney Anthony (Tony) Skouby. This was the weekend before the Aug. 4 primary.

Rodney Southard, Eastern District commissioner, believed that the posts caused a negative view of the county and Skouby right before the election. Therefore, the posts should have been made on Morgan’s personal account.

But Morgan said that the election was irrelevant to the postings and that he was correcting misinformation against him and his deputies. He also agreed that the posts reflected negatively on Skouby but said his intention was to “expose unethical behavior.”

The handbook says employees can’t use social media in a way that tarnishes the county’s reputation, “detracts from the mission of county government or reflects negatively” on the employee’s position.

For the election, The Advocate published two articles, profiling Skouby and his challenger Katy Slone.

In Skouby’s article, he said that he was frustrated with Morgan for a few reasons. He cited unfollowed advice to Morgan regarding former deputy and Belle police officer Erican Sugg, the Sheriff’s bar complaints filed against him, and fewer cases sent to him from the county law office.

Morgan responded through the sheriff’s office account by commenting on The Advocate’s Facebook post of the article and submitting a letter to the editor. He shared his perspective and questioned whether Skouby’s use of the county law enforcement restitution fund was legal. Skouby also responded to those claims in The Advocate.

The next Friday and Saturday, Morgan responded again but with individual posts from the sheriff’s office account.

During open session at the Aug. 3 commission meeting, the commissioners discussed an elected official’s posts and agreed for the need to speak with him in closed session under Revised State Statute 610.021 (3). But they did not say his name.

This statute allows for meetings and records to be closed for the hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting of employees.

After the commissioners voted to close the meeting, the public was asked to leave. Commissioners closed the door to the meeting room inside the Maries County Courthouse. Later, County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers opened the door and told The Advocate in the public hallway that the official would not be invited into the meeting unless the newspaper left the courthouse.

Questions about the proceedings were sent to Dan Curry, lawyer for the Missouri Press Association, who later told The Advocate that elected officials are not employees and the statute does not apply.

During the Aug. 20 commission meeting, Southard said that he had later researched what could be discussed in closed session. He said that the discussion should have happened in open session and requested that Rodgers release a full transcript of the meeting.

Morgan briefly walked into the Aug. 3 meeting but then left and called with the commissioners. Vic Stratman, presiding commissioner, said that the call was because “when the media left, they camped out in the hallway to identify who it was that we were wanting to talk to.”

After Southard expressed his concerns, Morgan asked Southard if he had read the paper because Skouby started the issue by his statements to The Advocate. But Southard said that what Skouby said doesn’t matter because the conversation was about what Morgan did.

Morgan said that because Skouby was making false accusations, it was his responsibility to inform the people who elected him. He said Skouby’s accusations were about Morgan’s professional role, not personal. Morgan believed that it was appropriate to use the sheriff’s account instead of his personal account. As the sheriff, he said he determines what is appropriate for the account.

Because he is elected, Morgan said that it is his job to publicly expose “unethical and potentially criminal behavior.”

Morgan also said that Skouby wants to call him a “bad man” while also blocking a subpoena that Morgan was investigating.

Morgan said it was about the former sheriff, inferring retired Sheriff Chris Heitman.

“The former sheriff and one of his former boyfriends or current boyfriend set up a police officer in the city of Belle,” Morgan said. “And now that same person is trying to sue the city of Belle for over $800,000.”

Morgan also criticized Skouby for publicly commenting about a case that is about to have a jury trial.

Morgan also said that he didn’t understand why Skouby didn’t say that while the relationship is strained, he looked forward to repairing it if reelected. Instead, Morgan said Skouby spoke against the sheriff’s office.

“They put in too much (expletive deleted) work down here to get ran down like that,” Morgan said.

Southard asked Morgan about if one of his deputies made a similar post, and Morgan said that he would be fine with it if the deputy had proof of an illegal and unethical act.

As for election timing, Morgan said that if Skouby had publicly shared that information three months prior, he would have made the post then.

Morgan also said because the commissioners can’t hire or fire him, the discussion was in violation of Sunshine Law and should be in open session. He said that all they can do is disagree with him and say they don’t like what he said.

Southard said that if Morgan wants, they could invite The Advocate back into the meeting.

“Yeah, absolutely. You want to have Mr. Skouby come down, too? We can hash this out real quick,” he said.

Southard said while that they might speak with Skouby, this conversation was about Morgan and his posts.

Morgan also said that he was offended that the commissioners hadn’t spoken with Skouby about the situation and that they were trying to “discount” Skouby’s words. Instead, they were trying to come after Morgan.

Southard asked if, moving forward, Morgan would follow the county social media policy and use his personal account instead.

Morgan agreed that he would not “lash out” against anyone without being provoked, which was already his general policy. For example, he said that Judge Kerry Rowden said some “crazy stuff” about him. Morgan then resolved the situation by speaking with Rowden in his office.

But if someone publicly spreads “misinformation and flat out lies,” Morgan said that his response will also be public.

Southard then asked that even if someone publicly makes a comment and solving it privately doesn’t work, to go to the commission instead to help resolve the situation.

“But when you go public immediately, it doesn’t give anybody a chance to resolve it with cooler heads that are not directly involved,” Southard said.

Morgan also agreed to that request and said that he wished it would have been addressed before becoming public.

He also asked Southard to review the sheriff’s office Facebook page since the start of his term, noting that typical posts are positive. And Southard said he has seen several of those posts, that maybe those two posts were “out of character,” and that county doesn’t want similarly negative posts.

After the call ended, Stratman asked if they needed to speak with Skouby. After Southard asked if he wants to, Stratman said no and that he doesn’t look forward to Morgan and Skouby meeting together.

“We basically wasted 20 minutes there,” said Patrick Kleffner, Western District commissioner.

Rodgers said that despite Morgan saying the posts weren’t politically motivated, they were. Kleffner said that he thought Morgan supporting Slone was not professional, but Southard said that it was fine if it was on his personal Facebook page.

Morgan endorsed Slone on July 1 on his “Maries County Sheriff Mark Morgan” Facebook page, separate from the sheriff’s office page. The post originally said, “Maries County Sheriff’s Office” and that it was a personal political endorsement. But he removed that line in an Aug. 27 edit. He said in an Aug. 26 interview that he didn’t realize he added that and that he shouldn’t have done so.

Rodgers also said that Morgan couldn’t understand that the newspaper wasn’t the issue; it was the Facebook posts. And Skouby didn’t post on Facebook.

“Because he’s never wrong — I guess you just figured that out — it’s hard to have a discussion with him,” she said.