Three weeks after indicating they would be willing to work with Mayor George Flaggs Jr. on a plan to supervise the city’s nine divisions, Aldermen Michael Mayfield and Willis Thompson said they don’t intend to work further with the mayor on any plan he has to run the city.

The mayor’s most recent compromise on the issue, they said, is dead.

“As far as I’m concerned, it is,” Mayfield said Thursday. “It’s been hashed out again and again. We have a whole lot of work to do, and I’m not going to allow myself to get tied up in this any more.”

“I don’t plan on signing anything to add or give up any more authority,” Thompson added.

Flaggs on Nov. 23 presented the aldermen a resolution placing the city attorney and city clerk under direct board supervision, with the mayor over the police and finance departments.

Mayfield was placed over public works and community development, Thompson over the fire department, information technology, recreation and human resources.

The resolution was Flaggs’ fourth attempt to develop a system of accountability involving the board and a compromise from a resolution he introduced Nov. 16, which Mayfield and Thompson criticized.

Under that resolution, which was not voted on, Flaggs put the fire and police departments, city attorney and the finance and administration divisions under his direct supervision, with Mayfield overseeing public works and community development, and Thompson over information technology, recreation and human resources.

Mayfield and Thompson criticized the Nov. 16 plan, saying it gave the mayor too much control over the city attorney and city clerk’s offices.

Thompson suggested Flaggs put the fire department under him, something the Nov. 23 resolution did.

Both men, however, said later they would be willing to work with the mayor if he would provide insight and direction where he wanted to go with city government.

But by Thursday, they had a different opinion.

“I’ve looked at that (resolution) very closely again,” Mayfield said. “I’ve commented on that on several different occasions, since the term started.”

He claimed Flaggs “has spun in circles so many times,” about policy, he has no idea what the mayor is looking for or wants as far as running the city.

“It’s the same thing over and over again,” Mayfield said. “You can only spin in circles so many times until you find out you’re completely lost.

“I made my mind up the very last time he presented it, that it’s not doing me or anybody I represent any good to keep going through the same thing over and over again, and so I actually made my mind up I wouldn’t comment any more. I didn’t comment to him and I’m not going to comment any more.”

Thompson said the recent resolution was not much of a compromise.

“We’re all responsible for every department in the city,” he said, adding the board had an agreement to divide supervision among the divisions.

“That didn’t last long because for whatever reason it wasn’t enough control there (for Flaggs), but I don’t think he’s had any less authority than any other mayor had, so it’s the choice of whether you want to work with the board and work together. That’s the way I see it.”

Under the city charter, the mayor has the same authority as the aldermen.

“As far as the fire department goes, I just don’t see that much of a compromise, because we’re all equally responsible with every division,” Thompson said. “I just think we just need an equal say if that’s what the charter calls for and until the citizens of Vicksburg change it, that’s how it’s going to stay.”

Thompson said he couldn’t see any reason “why you have to sign over anything to do what you’re already commissioned to do.” Other administrations, he said, didn’t have to sign a resolution or change the ordinance concerning city government operations.

“My word is I’m going to do what I say I’m going to do and that’s the way we started. It started changing because it wasn’t good enough for him, I assume. I think he has the same thing (authority) every other mayor has had. If you’re going to do it, just do it.”

“I think it’s clear to me that this administration does not want to do anything — the board does not want to do anything — to move Vicksburg forward in a progressive way, so I might as well chill out and try an run this city as best I can with this form of government,” Flaggs said after he learned of the aldermen’s response.

“That’s what I intend to do. I’m going to continue to move Vicksburg forward as we’re doing. But we could move this city much faster if we had one CEO and not three.”

Soon after taking office in 2013 board agreed to assign supervision responsibilities over different city divisions.

In May, Flaggs introduce a series of ordinances to amend the city’s charter, which again assigned the mayor and the aldermen supervision over different city divisions, including the authority to hire and fire department and division heads. The mayor had authority over the police and fire departments, city attorney and city clerk, and had authority to set the budget without consulting the aldermen.

The board discussed the proposed amendments at a contentious work session broadcast over the city’s TV23 public access channel, which saw Mayfield walk out of the meeting shortly before it ended, and Flaggs later withdrew the proposal. Thompson later offered his own plan that allowed future administrations to develop their own organizational plan.

There were no other discussions on board assignments until Flaggs’ Nov. 16 resolution.