Pevely Ward 4 Alderman William Brooks abruptly resigned from his board seat on Monday, shortly before the start of the city’s Board of Aldermen meeting that evening.
Brooks sent an email to Mayor Steve Markus and other city officials and staff members at 5 p.m. Monday, stating his resignation was effective at that time.
“After much consideration, I am formally announcing my resignation as Alderman-Ward 4, effective today,” he said in the email.
The board gathered at City Hall at 6:30 p.m. for an executive session, followed by a regular meeting at 7 p.m. and voted 5-0 during the regular meeting to accept Brooks’ resignation. Brooks and aldermen Rick Yount of Ward 1 and Steve Miles of Ward 3 were absent from the meeting.
Brooks, 56, joined the board in April 2018 after winning a Ward 4 seat as a write-in candidate, possibly the first write-in candidate to win a county election, according to the Jefferson County Clerk’s office.
During a Tuesday-morning phone interview, Brooks said he appreciated his time as an alderman, but had mulled over leaving the board for a while. In April of this year, he was elected to the Dunklin R-5 Board of Education, and he said will continue serving on that board.
“First, I would like to thank the citizens of Pevely for the opportunity to serve them,” he said. “The reason for my resignation at this moment is they’re going into budget (discussions). I didn’t want to have a hand in the budget process if I’m not going to be there. That way, they can fill my vacancy with somebody who could be there next year.”
Over the past year, tensions have flared among Pevely board members, particularly late last year when two factions emerged – one supporting former Mayor Stephanie Haas and the other supporting Markus, who was a board member before beating Haas in the April mayoral race. Brooks had often sided with Haas, and at a Dec. 23, 2024, meeting, the majority of the board voted to limit Brooks’ access to City Hall and to deactivate his key card to the building. The motion also directed Brooks not to contact the city clerk or other staff members, and instead to take up any city business with City Administrator Andy Hixson.
Brooks denied any inappropriate behavior toward staff, saying the board’s actions against him stemmed from his investigations into the city attorney and Police Department operations.
During an earlier meeting, on Dec. 2, 2024, Brooks called for the formation of a committee to oversee the city attorney.
Hixson said Brooks’ current two-year term is set to expire in April 2026, when the seat will be up for election.
Markus said he would like to fill the empty seat “as soon as possible.”
He said the process to fill a vacant board seat calls for the mayor to nominate a replacement and the board to vote to approve the nomination.
Markus said the city is seeking applications from those interested in filling the seat. Applicants must be at least 18, a United States citizen, a city resident for at least a year, be up to date on taxes and meet any other state requirements.
Markus said that although Brooks represented Ward 4, applicants from any ward may apply to fill his term until the election of April 2026. At that time, however, only a Ward 4 resident would be eligible to run for the seat’s new two-year term.