FORT SMITH – Mayor George McGill is firing back at critics who say that he is using funds from a separate city department to bankroll a different position within his own office.

The firestorm comes after an article published in the Southwest Times Record revealed over the weekend that Jurena Storm, who has been working as McGill’s personal assistant, was actually being paid through the budget of the city’s utility department. Storm was hired in April to be the Utilities Department Communications and Training Program manager at a salary of $56,720 per year.

However, a month into her employment, Storm was transferred temporarily to the Mayor’s office to assist McGill during the massive floods that hit the Fort Smith area. According to the article, she has continued to work in the Mayor’s office and has all but relinquished her duties in the Utility Department. However, her salary was never reallocated in the city budget to come from McGill’s department, and is now raising eyebrows.

The Mayor took to social media to both defend Storm, and defend the way that her position is currently being funded.

“Regardless of a specific title or pay grade, it is a best practice across this nation for the Mayor of a community, particularly the second largest one in the state, to have professional staff support that helps a Mayor communicate, achieve, and innovate,” McGill said. “Jurena is doing a great job and is the right person for this important and necessary role.”

McGill went on to say that the criticism toward Storm is unwarranted given that she does not have any power to determine how she is paid.

“It’s extremely disappointing to me to see a good person being opened up for public ridicule over a matter of bureaucratic accounting that she cannot control. I’m saddened and surprised that unnamed sources have reached out to the media in an effort to discredit and cause confusion about the good work being done by your Mayor,” McGill stated. “I urge the Board of Directors to ignore this desperate act of political mayhem and vote to fully fund the operations of the Mayor’s Office.”

The Fort Smith City Board will meet Tuesday night to vote on the proposed 2020 budget.