PANAMA CITY A Panama City employee was fired Wednesday, two days after he filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against the city.
According to the case dockets listed on the Bay County Clerk of Court website, former senior logistics manager John Paul Jones claims the city retaliated against him after he questioned if it illegally purchased Christmas lights last year. A termination letter to Jones from City Manager Mark McQueen states that he was fired on Wednesday two days after filing the lawsuit was filed.
The lawsuit states that following the city s annual budget review last June, senior leadership decided to not spend any additional money on Christmas lights that year.