Changes coming in Personnel Board membership following resignations after meeting on French grievance.

Two members of the Crossville Personnel Board members resigned following the January 11 meeting to hear the grievance filed by city parks and recreation director Tammie French against then interim city manager Steve Hill.  Those leaving the board are members John Eldridge and Brooks Boston, both elected by the Crossville city employees. 

Members of the Crossville Personnel Board, city staff and observers

listen as the board hears the Tammie French Grievance 

at their last meeting on January 11, 2017.

Personnel Board discusses French Grievance

The Personnel board includes 5 members including 2 elected by city employees, 2 appointed by the city council and one appointed by the city manager. The process of replacing the two resigning members who were elected by the city employees is now underway.

The city ordinance on the personnel board says that “No member of the Personnel Board shall be employed by or be an official of the city, nor shall be a member of any local, state or national committee of a political party or an official or member of a committee in any partisan political group or organization, nor shall hold or be a candidate for any elective office. No member of the Personnel Board shall be an immediate family member (wife, husband, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, mother, mother-in-law, father, father-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, step-parent, stepchild, grandmother, or grandfather) of any employee or elected official of the City of Crossville.”

The Ordinance also sates the duties and responsibilities of the Personnel Board as follows:

“(a) Represent the public interest in the improvement of personnel administration;

(b) Advise the City Council and the City Manager on problems concerning personnel administration; and

(c) Hear appeals of any employee covered by this chapter relative to personnel actions taken by the city in which the employee feels grieved, as long as the employee has exhausted the grievance procedures provided in the rules and regulations. The Personnel Board may revoke, modify or sustain the personnel action being appealed. The Personnel Board shall have the right of subpoena, the power to examine witnesses under oath, the power to compel the appearance of a witness and the power to require the production of evidence by subpoena. During the review, both the appealing employee and city or other person whose actions are being reviewed shall have right to be heard publicly, be represented by any person the appellant desires and to present evidentiary facts. At the hearings of the appeals or grievances, technical rules of evidence shall not apply. All appeals shall be concluded as expeditiously as possible and in accordance with the requirement and procedures set forth in the personnel rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter. The cases shall be final. However, nothing in this section purports to preclude judicial review.”

The city employees are notified and have 5 days to nominate possible candidates. That took place last week and the city manager then determines the qualifications of the candidates and prepares the ballots that are distributed to the city employees. The ballots are tabulated by the manager with two city employees selected at random to observe the ballot counting and the results are certified.