OCEAN SPRINGS, MS — On the same night the Board of Aldermen voted to award David Harris the permanent City Attorney position, members were ushered into a closed-door executive session the public was told was for “potential litigation.”
It wasn’t.
What actually happened behind sealed doors Tuesday was something Ocean Springs hasn’t seen since the early days of the Securix scandal — a secret sales pitch by the new city attorney for a massive settlement contract that would route contingency fees directly into his own pocket.
And according to Mississippi law, nearly every part of the arrangement appears well outside the boundaries of acceptability.
PFAS Money on the Table — And Harris Wants a Cut
The settlement money in play comes from a nationwide process over PFAS — the industrial “forever chemicals” linked to cancer, liver damage, and long-term health risks that have been detected in water systems across country and in Mississippi. Municipalities are being encouraged to participate in national settlement programs tied to contamination from manufacturers like 3M and DuPont.
Cities can choose to file administrative claims for a share of the large settlement funds, and multiple firms are now competing to sign municipalities into their PFAS recovery programs.
Harris presented aldermen with three such firms. All offered to pay for testing the Ocean Springs water system and filing the settlement claims. All three proposals were essentially vendor pitches — the kind of business a city must legally discuss in open session, not in a locked room under a faux “litigation” label.
The Jim Hood Proposal
The option Harris pushed hardest was not just any PFAS package. It came from the Washington D.C.–based firm Weisbrod Matteis & Copley, working with a team led by former Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, one of the most recognizable and politically influential figures in the state.
“Mr. Hood knows Mississippi,” Harris told aldermen, according to those present. “WMC is already helping cities in the surrounding area, so it just makes sense.”
Like the competing proposals, WMC’s fee came through a contingency cut. The other firms wanted 25 percent. WMC asked for 33 percent. Still, Harris told the Board they were the “best fit.”
If the Board chose to work with Hood, Harris would serve as the city’s liaison for the deal – a point man.
He would also pocket 15 percent of the firm’s contingency fee.
The Money Clause: Harris Gets Paid
In the document Harris later emailed aldermen — and instructed them not to share — WMC laid out exactly how the fees would flow.
On page three, the proposal states:
“You approve of Your board attorney being associated by WMC to serve as local counsel and to be paid 15% of the 33% attorney fees, after expenses are deducted.”
This clause shows that the contract under consideration included a direct financial benefit to the city attorney.
Once aldermen reached the portion explaining Harris’s cut, several members began to understand why the entire discussion had been placed behind closed doors.
One alderman told GC Wire they initially thought they had misunderstood the part about Harris profiting. That uncertainty vanished when the proposal appeared in the file Harris sent a day after the meeting — along with strict instructions not to share it.
“These are confidential documents and should not be shared or discussed outside of the mayor, board of aldermen and myself,” Harris’s email stated.
Potential Legal Repercussions for the City and Harris
The arrangement raises multiple legal red flags for Ocean Springs.
Under Miss. Code § 25-4-105, a public official may not use his position to secure a financial benefit for himself — particularly through a contract he presents, explains, or recommends in his official capacity.
Municipal attorneys are also barred from advising a public body on outside legal work in which they have a financial stake. And contingency-fee agreements involving a city attorney are considered among the clearest forms of prohibited self-dealing.
Beyond ethics law, Mississippi’s Open Meetings Act does not permit a city to enter executive session to evaluate vendors, even when those vendors are law firms. PFAS participation is not litigation against the City, and therefore does not fall under any statutory exception for closed meetings.
Multiple aldermen, after reviewing the clause, said the conversation would have unfolded very differently had the financial conflict been disclosed from the start.
The Same Actions He Warned the Board About
What makes the moment even more extraordinary is that these are the same categories of conduct Harris has repeatedly warned aldermen could expose them to criminal penalties. For months, he has cited state law to threaten Board members with fines, censure, or removal if they discussed executive session matters or used their positions to financially benefit themselves or others.
Yet the PFAS session itself appears to have violated those laws, complete with a concealed proposal tied directly to Harris’s financial interests.
A Pattern of Ethical Boundary-Pushing
This incident comes after a series of ethical concerns surrounding Harris’s relationship with the Board.
Earlier this year, he advised aldermen on the legal structure of his own city-attorney contract — a move that several members later said left them feeling misled and pressured into approving terms they did not fully understand. Some described the process as Harris “boxing them in,” using his authority as legal counsel to advance the very contract that benefitted him.
Against that backdrop, the revelation that David Harris privately pushed a PFAS contract containing a built-in financial reward for himself — hidden from the public in an improper executive session — has surged to the top of some aldermen’s concerns.
If the past year in Ocean Springs has made anything clear, it’s that secrecy inside City Hall rarely benefits the public — and often hides decisions that cannot survive sunlight.
A PFAS settlement contract potentially worth millions, introduced behind closed doors, and containing a built-in payout for the city attorney, is the latest example.
Whether the Board chooses to revisit the issue publicly, seek external counsel for review, or involve state oversight agencies, one thing is clear: the voters will be watching.
OS needs a new city attorney…..Harris will have OS in multiple law suits that the taxpayer will have to settle.
Well, isn’t that special! The progeny of another attorney/judge crook, D. Neil Harris, is padding his wallet over and above the cushy salary he receives from the job he foisted on the stupid aldermen of our city. Can we cc the FBI with this? Brian, this needs to go somewhere quick, along with the malfeasance of the parking garage, the transparency issue, the license plate scam (see: Robert Wilkinson, Wilkinson’s son, Ex-Chief Dunston, Erich Nichols, Josh Gregory, et al), and much, much more. We the people are fed up!
The Press Release and subsequent filing are intended to mislead. While the City is finally doing what Securix has long demanded in releasing funds, it continues to hide the facts that the Federal case was dismissed with prejudice over a year ago, that the Attorney General’s Opinion declared the system legal and the Department of Public Safety did so also in contracting with Senatobia…in May, 2023. There had been no action on the remaining State case over many months and we were assured that it was set to be dismissed.
Finally doing the right thing with those funds is appropriate but the continuing judicial terror, (Judge Harris refuses to accept recusal, will not allow due process, release of transcripts or submission of a single subpoena that will shine the light of day on those that have so greatly damaged the People), is something that should concern every Mississippian. If you want transparency, are innocent and willing to speak out you must go to jail but if you are politically-connected the rules do not apply. What the Wilkinsons and Josh Gregory have done are, by their own admissions, serious state and federal crimes.
QJR’s Attorney Wrigley says that Securix Mississippi also had business with Ocean Springs. Why do Wilkinson and Josh Gregory who operated it not merit Class Action status for that? What about Saltillo, Pearl, Biloxi? Now over a year after Alex Wilkinson recorded the massive crimes that continued from the time Ocean Springs was involved, and Securix filed that with Federal Authorities, have those responsible not paid DPS the almost $360,000. due or returned any of the $1.5 million taken illegally from violators as the law requires? Why were hundreds of thousands of dollars from the bank account QJR controls diverted and $48,000 stolen to pay Dunston?
Securix never sent a citation to anyone; only the city did that. It never collected money, Certified Payments did that under its contract with the City. Securix never made a single decision regarding guilt or innocence; City officers did that. Securix made no decisions about forms and system elements as it is only a SAAS… software as a service. All operations were handled by Alex Wilkinson as Manager and these others as hundreds of emails prove.
A Class Action against rather it rather than those who should be held accountable is like suing Microsoft because a criminal used its software. Securix accepted massive losses to protect the people of Ocean Springs and all of Mississippi by reporting these crimes to federal and state authorities. I personally made the initial call to Commissioner Tindell. We always did the right thing and ask now that the People rise up and demand full transparency and an end to this lawfare. Judge Harris has allowed these people to continue stealing from the State and to remain above the law regarding their crimes for over a year since DPS shut it down. It is said that there is to be a trial in January in his court; that will not happen. A jury trial that is transparent must be assured instead. The People have a right to know and the double standard of these elitist, politically-connected people playing as though they are “Putin” must end now. Mississippi and its People deserve far better.
Yet again, remember that Securix records are open to all. We have nothing to hide and will not rest till the massive losses we accepted on your behalf result in a future free of the abuse that you, (and us) have suffered. They stole money from the State, from us and in tens of thousands of illegal citations issued …. from People all over the State along with your peace of mind… your privacy. The Wilkinson-Gregory-Harris-Dunston Cabal must be broken and faith in the legal system restored. As Sam David says: “the most extreme example of local lawfare anywhere in the nation for decades.” It is a disgusting image for Ocean Springs.
I am getting confused because I see a Securix, LLC and a Securix, Mississippi. Are they the same company or are they different???
Securix LLC was the company the city of Ocean Springs contracted with. City Attorney Robert Wilkinson also represented this company.
After OS ended the contract with Securix LLC, Wilkinson created a new company with Josh Gregory and Quinton Derickson called QJR LLC. QJR then partnered 50-50 with Securix LLC to create Securix Mississippi LLC.
I’ll note that none of these things pertain to the article above. This is a completely different scandal.
I applaud you for your sleuthing on behalf of our fellow Ocean Springs citizens, Brian! I hope we can change a corrupt environment here!!!
-Bill