Parks Director Tammie French files personnel grievance against interim manager Steve Hill

After some 6 months in the position, interim Crossville city manager Steve Hill has survived two attempts to dismiss him, criticism for removing items from his personnel file that reflected badly on him and and ethics complaints filed against him by councilman Pete Souza.  Now an employment grievance has been filed against him by the head of the department he once ran who worked as his secretary then moved up to manage the Parks Department.

Parks and recreation director Tammie French has filed a lengthy grievance complaint against interim city manager Steve Hill stating that she feels Hill has an vendetta against her or the department. The grievance is scheduled to go before the city's personnel board at a meeting set for January 11 at noon in the third floor conference room of city hall. Members of the personnel board include Brooks Boston, Beth Davis, John Eldridge, Tom Isham and Lou Morrison.

Crossville Parks Director Tammie French

(from city website)

Interim city manager Steve Hill

(Photo by Jim Young)

French wrote, “With a very heavy heart, I feel I have no choice but to file a grievance against my supervisor, interim city manager Steve Hill. From the very beginning of his tenure as city manager, he has singled out me and my department and is acting on some vendetta he has against me/us.”

French then outlined numerous incidents starting with one that has been discussed numerous times at city council meetings last year when Hill took the pickup truck assigned to the parks department director for his own use. The initial discussion of the swap came after Hills first staff meeting the morning after he was appointed and the swap was made later that day. “This initial act caused quite an uproar among other employees, many coming to me with sympathy and concern,” wrote French.



French stated that next during the budget process a raise for her and one of the parks department maintenance department employees was approved. And even though the raises were approved by the council with the budget, Hill never responded to multiple email requests from French to him about the raises going into effect.

French said that in July she was blindsided by an internal city text message concerning a decision to remove the Palace Theatre and the Crossville Depot operation out of the parks department and put them under Billy Loggins at the Marketing department. “I had no prior knowledge of this even being discussed or considered,” wrote French. French said shortly after she read the message she drove to the Palace and found out that the Palace Manager Ronny Hill, who is Steve Hill's brother, said that he was also shocked about the change and did not know it was being considered. Ronny Hill told French that he had no issues in working with French and that he appreciated what she had done for the Palace.

The next issue came in September when French began investigating the process for her and the Park maintenance supervisor Rick Houston to drive city vehicles home to be able respond to after hours and non-scheduled incidents. When French communicated with Hill on it as he needed to approve it, he said that he didn't have a problem with it but said that a permanent city manager should make the decision and refused to sign off on it saying the council would a new city manager in a month or two.

French continues saying that in late September she bean hearing from employees of other departments that Hill was talking to employees in her department and it was creating a serious rift between some employees. French wrote that in early November one employee came to her and said they were uncomfortable with the information but wanted French to know that there was a direct line of communication between her office and Steve Hill's and the employee had been shown text messages between Hill and a Park department employee.

French outlined that an written complaint had been filed against her with human resources (HR) but the employee did not want to turn it into a formal grievance. Mr. Hill had directed HR to speak with members of the Park's department. After a month and French requesting that Mr. Hill address the matter he spoke to the employees and told HR that he had told the complainant that the matter was a personal issue and the workplace was not the the platform to air them.

Then on November 30 French was called to Hills office and told that the Park maintenance employees would become part of the public works department. Hill told French that even as public works employees the crew would be assigned to the Park. According to French she was told that the decision was made by the city council.

It should be noted that the matter of the maintenance department reorganization has never been discussed at an open council meeting nor was any such official change approved by council vote.

Further meetings on the change involving French, public works maintenance superintendent Steve Powell, Hill and HR indicated that the employees would remain on the Parks budget but not in control of the Parks director, something French said she was not happy with since she was responsible for the Park's budget.

French said that she called Steve Powell to let him know that she had no issues working with him and that he was getting a good group of employees. She added that she wanted him to know her only problem with the situation was in how the transition was handed and that no one at Parks was even consulted about the changes until the decision was final.

French explained that the last incident lead to her filing the grievance, “I feel Mr. Hill is systematically tearing apart the recreation department a piece at a time, all because of some vendetta he holds against me.” French points out she has a 19 year spotless personnel record with the city, 17 years as Hill's secretary/administrative assistant. She said she was contacted by city manager David Rutherford upon Hill's retirement to become the director.

“It was apparent to the current department that Steve Hill left the department with bitterness. His appointment as interim city manager has offered him the opportunity to act on his bitterness.” She wrote that no other department that she was aware of had been targeted like the parks department. “His actions towards me have left me feeling like I am under direct attack.” French pointed out that while Hill wanted to wait on a permanent city manager to decided about a drive home vehicle, reassigning two separate divisions of a department was less important.

French concluded saying, “I have concerns about exacerbating an already uncomfortable situation or even losing my job. As director I am more than willing to work with other city departments on any and all projects as I have for the past 19 years. I'm hopeful this situation can be addressed and the recreation department can remain intact and proceed with business as usual. We are anticipating an exceptionally exciting 2017 season with bigger local sports leagues than ever before, increased tournament bookings and the repurposing of Garrison Park. Current much needed facility updates are underway at Centennial Park and the destruction of this department cannot help but cause undue problems with this progress.”