Souza email comments on numerous issues including phone harassment and ugly political sign incident.

(Editor's note: This email was sent to the city this morning from councilman Pete Souza.  It is a public record.)

Before I begin I would like to remind the council that there is a EEOC complaint among other things listing a violation of the whistle blower act. That being persons reporting violations are protected from acts of retaliation, I am sure Mr Ridley can clarify that.

For some time now a person or persons has been harassing citizens of the city and county with phone calls who list other people's numbers as the source. This similar to the 2012 Robo Calls erroneously listing the city phone number as the source. Last Thursday this harassment level increased significantly. Phone numbers erroneously listed were mine, Rodney Shoap, and others. In the past this action was reported To the CPD and the DA. That's fine this child like behavior can be expected,
but the people being harassed can of course seek civil action which well may be the case. Where I am concerned Sally in your capacity as city clerk I am informing you that my phone number will be discontinued this date and will be unlisted as result of this abuse.

You are all aware of last weeks signs commonly referred to as the Methberry signs. On the signs it states the mayor as corrupt, incompetent, can not Pass a drug test is Pete Souzas Bitch, ect... That's fine but here is some thing to think about. Shortly the person responsible will be identified and let it be known that person caused harm to innocent people.

Normal procedure for sign complaints is Vulgar or unlawful signs are picked up by the street department to be recovered by the owner. Signage Is governed by a city ordinance.

Here is what happened in this case, reports of the sign was called into the city (Sally Oglesby) who in turn called Chief Rosser. Chief Rosser called the city manager Steve Hill. Steve alleges he called the city attorney Will Ridley who told him to tape over the sign portion with the word bitch and leave it up. I spoke with Chief Rosser who confirmed this story yesterday. Once again I remind all parties of the whistle blower Act..

I'll let Mr Ridley make what ever comments he may on this since it is Steve Hills assertion that he was following instructions from the city attorney.  Although it is a given the city attorney only has the power to advise so I would be skeptical to the authentication of the facts. I am not skeptical
of the honesty of Chief Rosser who works directly for Steve Hill.

It was also reported that early that morning in Billy Loggins' office the city manager and Mr Loggins' and the city manager were having a good laugh about the signs.

I wonder what recourse is going to come to the originator of the sign, Mr Hill who's primary responsibility is to enforce city ordinances and safeguard the city from wrongful litigation. The parties injured were children and I assure you the parents are taking this serious.

By the way Mr Hill all city employees have to take a drug test. The last time I checked you were the only city employee not in compliance.

Ms Oglesby please insure that the council elects and Chief Rosser gets a copy of this E Mail.

Pete Souza

Interim city manager Steve Hill's removal may be on next weeks agenda. Missing memos returned to Hills personnel file

One Crossville city council member has proposed an item on the council's October agenda concerning the removal of interim city manager Steve Hill from his position.

Councilman Pete Souza sought to place the matter on the agenda as of Monday's deadline. Hill has attracted attention ever since he was appointed in April this year, being criticized by councilman Souza for swapping vehicles with the director of the parks and recreation department, a position he previously held before taking early retirement.

Souza also had numerous other complaints about Mr. Hill's actions as part of last month's city council meeting.  Souza's report on Steve Hill from the September council agenda.

Hill also removed documents from his personnel file that concerned criticisms by previous city mangers of his performance as director of Parks and Recreation including questions about purchasing and improper use of a city vehicle. Hill's action to remove those documents was presented to the Municipal Technical Advisory Services (MTAS) and the Tennessee Comptrollers open records counsel and both criticized the action.

Those documents have recently been returned to the file and the three reprimands dating from 2012 and 2014 questioned Hill's use of a city vehicle and the extreme amount of fuel used, reportedly more than any other department head in the city.

Rutherford memo from Steve Hill's personnel file

A memo from David Rutherford dated November 19, 2014 says Rutherford spoke to Hill about rumors on the street about tools and equipment being removed from park sites and then showing up at other sites. He reminded Hill that employees were not to use city tools and equipment for personal use.

In addition, Rutherford spoke to him concerning “high fuel usage” saying “he has been using more than any other department head.” Rutherford said he basically told Hill to “get his house in order.”

Earlier memos from city manager Bruce Wyatt also expressed concern about vehicle and fuel use as well as other items. Shortly after Hill's vehicle was captured by a speed camera in Oak Ridge Tennessee in March of 2012, Wyatt met with Hill telling him that no one knew where he was or why. The hand written memo indicates Hill said he was visiting ball fields and he was not speeding.

Bruce Wyatt memo on Steve Hill 

Wyatt's memo said that Hill was not apologetic and was very short. Wyatt also said he told Hill about his fuel consumption and that he wanted an activity report.

Second Bruce Wyatt memo on Steve Hill

The second memo by city manager Wyatt is dated September 2012 and the note said that he told Hill to report back with an explanation of his fuel consumption report. Wyatt also told Hill to “tighten up his accounting procedures.” The note said there were too many lost invoices and too many check requests months after being invoiced. Hill reportedly assured Wyatt that he would take care of it.  

The October agenda is expected to be released Thursday.

Councilman Pete Souza files 13 count ethics complaint against Jesse Kerley, Steve Hill and Jerry Kerley

Councilman Pete Souza has filed an ethics complaint with the city that includes some 13 incidents he thinks need to be investigated that include accusations against councilman Jesse Kerley, interim city manager Steve Hill and one count names Kerley's father, city water resources director Jerry Kerley.

Crossville city councilman Pete Souza, author of ethics complaints

Councilman Jesse Kerley, the target of the majority of Souza's complaints 

Interim city manager Steve Hill, also a target of Souza's complaints

Crossville city attorney Will Ridley who acts as the city's ethics officer

The ethics complaint was presented to city attorney Will Ridley on Friday September 16. Ridley is the ethics officer for the city and has reviewed the complaint for it to move to the next steps. Ridley released the document to city clerk Sally Oglesby on Friday September 30 with a cover letter to Mayor James Mayberry.

Ridley's letter states that because he represents the council as a whole that he feels he has a conflict of interest that will not allow him to investigate the complaints or make any recommendation to the council as to the complaint's validity or merit.  Ridley suggests that the council hold a special called meeting because of the large number of complaints.  He adds that the ordinance does not provide a certain timeline in which complaints must be considered.

Two of the complaints (number 1 and number 9 below) relate to the pending criminal assault accusations between councilman Souza and Kerley that will be back in General Sessions Court on October 6.  Ridley says that those complaints not be considered until such time as the pending criminal matter is complete resolved.  After that the items could be considered.

The complaint that concerns city employee Jerry Kerley should be considered by the personnel board and not the council.  Ridley also provided a copy of a Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) opinion on procedures for the council to follow when considering an ethics complaint.  The MTAS opinion is dated September 21, 2016

 The complaint outlines some 13 events over the 10 page document. Those events range from the alleged assault by Jesse and Jerry Kerley against Mr. Souza, interim city manager Steve Hill interfering with the police investigation of the incident, and Hill's alleged misuse of city property before he retired from the parks department.

Additional items allege official oppression and abuse of office by Mr. Kerley including requesting certain people be arrested, releasing false information concerning an investigation into actions by former police chief Rod Shoap, and harassing citizens and city city employees.

The council/ethics committee is charged with determining if the complaints have merit, do not have merit, or require investigation. If investigation is needed and approved a lawyer from outside a 100 mile radius is chosen to investigate.

Councilman Kerley said earlier this week that he had not seen the complaint document but he still described the charges as "more lies."

The 13 items listed are described by Mr. Souza as events and a brief description of each one follows:

1. Conduct of Mr. Jerry Kerley, director of the water resources department for his action to participate in an act of violence with his son, councilman Jesse Kerley on June 2, 2016 in violation of the city personnel ordinance.
2. Interim city manager using his office to allow his friend and sponsor Jesse Kerley to interfere with a police investigation and to harass then police chief Rod Shoap.
3. Mr. Hill's use of municipal supplies for private use while head of the parks and recreation department.
4. Mr. Hill's unauthorized granting of himself and “a privileged employee” time off to play golf in violation of the personnel policy.
5. Mr. Hill, upon assuming duties as interim city manager acquired a utility vehicle that he utilized for his personal use.
6. That on June 3, 2016, Mr. Kerley and Mr. Hill, using their office approached the justice center to make sure no charges on councilman Kerley were passed through the magistrates office, described as an act of official oppression.
7. On July 3, Councilman Kerley and Mr. Hill released stories to the media concerning an investigation into police chief Rod Shoap that were not true. This is alleged to have been an act of official oppression.
8. Councilman Kerley, under color of office ordered police chief Shoap to arrest persons for the purpose of causing them harm.
9. Councilman Kerley stalked and assaulted councilman Souza on June 2, 2016 on city property following a council work session.
10. Councilman Kerley, under color of his office, actively interfered with a police investigation into the assault of councilman Souza.
11. Councilman Kerley and Mr. Hill used their offices to place false information with the press concerning an investigation for allegedly mistreating a supposedly gay city employee, claimed Shoap had an affair in Lee County Florida, and he had committed a felony for not filing a police report. Mr. Hill later stated to a reporter there was no investigation
12. Councilman Kerley used his office to pursue efforts to harass and cause harm to citizens of Cumberland County including former director of schools Donald Andrews and Randy Blankenship.
13. Councilman Kerley began harassing former city manager David Rutherford starting in January of 2016. In addition, Mr. Souza says that Kerley accused him of meeting with chief Shoap to have people arrested. Souza said he was only passing on information he received from citizens that resulted in drug houses being shut down and ways to help the department.

Souza's cover letter with the complaints ends by saying, “The decision to pursue this rests with the council., What is clearly evident is the acts listed in this complaint could not have transpired if open government existed on all levels. Now this council has the opportunity to bring in an unbiased investigator or shut this down and cover this up.”

Items removed by order of interim city manager Steve Hill from his own personnel file called into question

An investigation has been started into allegations that interim city manager Steve Hill had items removed from his own personnel file going back to his time as the director of parks and recreation. City attorney Will Ridley has advised Mr. Hill to return those items to the file.

Interim city manager Steve Hill

On August 30, Mr. Hill reportedly ordered human resources administrator Leah Crockett to remove the documents. He advised Crockett that the documents should be removed based on the city personnel policy that states written records of verbal reprimands should be removed after 1 year. Written reprimands under the policy stay in the file up to 5 years.

We spoke with previous city manager David Rutherford and he stated that he had two meetings with Mr. Hill over investigations into questions about tools and items purchased. Rutherford said he considered the first meeting a verbal reprimand but the second one he considered a written reprimand.

Previous city manager David Rutherford

Before the investigation into questions concerning a couple of hand tools and the reported purchase of a lawnmower blade for a cub cadet tractor, a kind that the city did not own could be completed, Mr. Hill put in his retirement effectively ending the investigation according to Rutherford.

We requested a copy of Mr. Hill's complete employee file September 13 and received a copy on September 15. The copy we received did not contain any reprimands in the file. There is a copy of a speed camera ticket from Oak Ridge dated 2012 that could be related to improper use of a city vehicle.

Because the documents were only removed two weeks ago, questions have just started to be asked about the legality of such action and the public records custodian, city clerk Sally Oglesby brought the matter to the attention of city attorney Will Ridley. Ridley reviewed the state law on records and contacted Mr. Hill to replace the documents.

Crossville city attorney Will Ridely

At that point Mr. Hill brought up the issue of the difference between oral and written reprimands because a memo outlining an oral reprimand only stays in the file a year while a more serious written reprimand stays in the file up to 5 years. It may be necessary for the city to formally contact previous city managers David Rutherford and Bruce Wyatt to determine which kind of reprimands were in the file.

In mid April Councilman Pete Souza had reportedly been contacted and reviewed Mr. Hill's employee file and found several documents there that he had copies made of and copies were given to Mr. Hill and the other members of the council. Souza said that his discovery of the documents made Mr. Hill upset at the time.

Mr. Souza provided the following narrative:

“When Mr. Hill was appointed as interim city manager I received calls stating that he had been and was investigated for wrongful theft of municipal property. I am requesting that this investigation be revisited and Mr. Hill be charged or exonerated. I originally received calls from Parks department employees (not Ms. French). I also received inquiries from the press. My first measure was made to Police Chief Shoap and asked him if an internal investigation was ever conducted into the Parks department. Chief Shoap checked and told me his department had not done an investigation.

I pulled Mr. Hills personnel file and read where Mr. Rutherford had admonished him for excessive use of his vehicle (the second admonishment by a city manager) and not having his house in order. I saw to it that the rest of the council got copies of the admonishments.

I called Mr. Rutherford who informed me a councilman had complained to him that he ahd reports of wrongdoing and asked him to look into it. He found a problem with accounting for tools and had ordered inventories of his equipment. He had finance hold the inventories. Then during the investigation Mr. Hill opted for early retirement. Mr. Rutherford put a letter in Hill's file and moved on.

I checked with finance where during one inventory items were missing, the next inventory there were account for, the next inventory they were missing and the next inventory they were accounted for.

Last week a park's employee told me details on the incident. He asked how it was that nothing was done about him and how is it possible that he could come back to replace Ms. French. He told me what happened was Mr. Hill ordered a chain saw, blower and lawn mower blades for a cub cadet (the city did not have a cub cadet). That's when the inventory came about Hill returned the items and told his employee to write a justification for the chain saw and blower. He asked why since they already had a chain saw and blower. Mr. Hill strongly admonished them to just do what they were told.

I asked Mr. Hill about this and he threw a temper tantrum. He stated he did not have anything in his file and he would sue anyone who said anything. A reasonable person would believe that this investigation should be reopened and a determination made to either exonerate Mr. Hill or take appropriate action.”

Councilman Pete Souza

Mr. Souza also pointed out that Mr. Hill sets the example for city employees.

Souza letter to auditors requests review of several items to be included in the current city audit.

As the final months of two councilmen's terms head toward conclusion, a rash of final information requests and reports are coming out.

Councilman Pete Souza has written a letter he delivered at the end of last weeks audit committee meeting addressed to the auditors Maultin and Jenkins, CPA/LLC who have started their work on the city books requesting that they look into 4 items at his request and make the responses part of their audit report for the 2015-16 fiscal year.

Those 4 items listed in his letter include:

1. “The use of a city vehicle for personal use by interim city manager Steve Hill, whose authorization was not part of his contract, or authorized by a quorum of the City Council in a public meeting advertised or recorded. (City personnel ordinance paragraph 1-707, 2 and paragraph 1-708 and the city charter germane.
2. The execution of administrative action by interim city manager Steve Hill to grant himself and other members (selectively) to recreate (play golf) during normal work hours without authority granted in an open meeting, advertised and proper announced by the City council.
3. Review the policy of the city or the lack of policy by the City that (since 2007) Crossville Aero (fixed base operator), management supervisory for Crossville Airport, airport manager Crossville Aero be allowed under an honor system to pay fuel fees to the City. This even though at public meeting evidence was presented of conflicts with fuel payments and fuel delivery numbers. The determination that the difference of $2000 is insufficient to warrant auditing.
4. To review the City policy to allow Crossville Aero the use of a City vehicle and City tractor in conflict with the current contract and a legal opinion from the City attorney and the City charter.”

The audit is expected to be completed near the end of this year.

When councilman Jesse Kerley saw the list at the audit committee meeting he said it was "trash."

Discussion of rumors affecting city employee morale and performance of interim city manager Steve Hill sparks fireworks.

Councilman Pete Souza discussed rumors at city hall and the performance of interim city manager Steve Hill during the September regular city council meeting adding that he would be filing 13 ethics charges in a complaint that he said included both criminal and unethical behavior.

When Mayor James Mayberry called for the item on rumors affecting morale of city employees, Souza said, “I don't have a motion. I think everything I had to say I said in the article that I wrote for the agenda item. The rumors that are out there have affected the morale of the city employees, particularly those employees at the parks department.”

Here Souza was interrupted by Councilman Jesse Kerley saying, “Mayor is there a motion on the floor? Seriously, are you going to do your job? Its parliamentary procedure. Its Roberts Rules of Order, specifically states that there must be a motion on the floor for discussion to commence. That's your job mayor!”

Mayberry responded to Kerley, “After a brief introduction.” Mayberry then turned to Souza, “Is there a motion sir?”

No, I'm not going to make one. Let's just skip it. Everybody can read it. Everybody knows what's out there,” commented Mr. Souza.

Souza report on city hall rumors at this link

Mayberry then asked it Souza had a motion on the next item.

After a moment, Souza said, “I'm not going to make a motion.” He then asked for how long he could speak and was again told a brief introductory comment. Souza continued, “I wrote some things that I find relative to the performance of the city manager. The city manager's performance is reflected on those people who appointed him. And I'm not going to comment any further, because come Monday morning, I'm going to file 13 ethics charges of criminal and ethical behavior and I don't have to have a second for that!” (The ethics filing has been delayed but Mr. Souza said it would be later this week.)

Souza's report on interim city manager's performance at this link

The next item concerned the city manager's vehicle. Souza began saying he believed that the vehicle was being used improperly. Souza moved that the vehicle currently being operated by Mr. Hill be returned to the parks department and the vehicle previously used by the city manager be returned to city hall to be used by the city manager.

Interim city manager Steve Hill listens while the council discusses his actions.

With a second by Mayor Mayberry, Souza began discussion. He said when Mr. Hill was with the parks department he had to have a utility vehicle to haul things around. According to Souza, on Hill's first day as manager, he had parks director Tammy French swap vehicles with him. Souza said Ms. French had not come to him about the matter. Souza said he calls and complaints from other city employees on the vehicle situation. Souza asked if the parks department had to pickup supplies and material in a sedan.

Councilwoman Pamala Harris asked Mr. Hill about the situation and he said that Ms. French didn't have a problem with it and she could use the truck if needed. Hill added that there were other trucks in the park department that could be used to pickup supplies.

Mayberry asked what was wrong with the sedan. Hill said nothing and that he preferred driving a truck and the 4 wheel drive would come in handy depending on where he needed to go.

Souza expressed concern about the possible level of intimidation, “People are running scared. Morale is low. They are afraid for the jobs. They are afraid of Kerley.”

After Souza stopped talking there was a smattering of applause from the audience.

Mr. Wyatt said he had not had any employees call him about any issues and Mr. Mayberry said he had not had calls either.

Ms. Harris said she didn't think the council was supposed to interfere with operations. “This is just ridiculous,” said Harris, I think Mr. Hill and Ms. French can talk and can workout anything they need to workout to make sure that our parks and recreation department has the vehicles they need to go pickup whatever it is that they need. And I just think this is way out of control and shameful that we are sitting here and discussing this. I don't know what else to say”

Mr. Wyatt asked city attorney Will Ridley if the motion interfered with the city charter. Ridley said he would need to look at that before he could answer.

Mayor Mayberry expressed concern about the action in light of the charter and Mr. Souza then said he would withdraw his motion. That elicited a question from Mr. Kerley to Mayor Mayberry as to why he seconded the motion if he knew it was wrong? Said Mayberry, “I didn't realize it until it was brought to light by Mr. Wyatt.   

September Council meeting--Souza agenda items take aim at interim manager Steve Hill and his connection to Councilman Kerley

The September Crossville city council meeting seems to have a theme for the last several items on the agenda, the position of Crossville city manager.

The September 8 council's schedule includes the following meetings:

• Audit Committee 5:15
• Beer Board 5:45, 
• Solicitation Board 5:55 
• Council meeting 6:00 PM

Those items, put on the agenda by councilman Pete Souza as his council term nears its end, take aim at interim city manager Steve Hill, his administrative ability, his actions and his relationship with the councilman who has become Souza's antagonist, Jesse Kerley. Kerley and Souza have been locked in a battle of words, signs and allegations of physical altercations for the last several months ultimately leading to assault charges placed against Mr. Kerley.

The items placed on the agenda by Mr. Souza include discussion of standards of selection of the new city manager and possible legislative actions, discussion of rumors affecting morale of city employees, discussion and action on the performance of the interim city manager, and discussion and action on the use of the city managers vehicle. More on these matters below.

Other matters on the councils agenda include more typical business items including budget amendments, temporary road closings along with several purchases and contract approvals.

One item that seems sure to spark discussion is the sponsorship of the Tennessee Women's Open golf tournament and the Tennessee Men's Senior golf tournament that are both up for renewal. The cost to sponsor each tournament is $25,000 per year and the Tennessee Golf Association and the Tennessee Section of the PGA are requesting a 3 year contract for the sponsorships.

Council will also consider a 3 year contract with retail consultant r360, the firm selected in action at last months council meeting to guide the city in attracting large retail chains and additional resturants. The contract negotiated with the firm is for $35,000 for the first year and $28,000 each for the second and third years. Each additional year of the contract is approved year to year.

Council will also consider a press release policy following a discussion at last months council meeting. A final version of the policy was not finished at the time of the agenda's release but is expected to be available with a recommendation by manager Hill at the meeting.

Councilman Souza's item on standards of selection a new city manager expresses concern about the possibility of appointing a city manager prior to the seating of the newly elected council members so they can have a hand in making the decision. Souza also expressed concern that many of the applicants do not have previous city manager experience. (Link to applicant story) Souza sums up his concerns saying, “I would encourage the council to consider to defer the selection process until after the general election and look for a manager with both executive and municipal experience."  Link to current city manager applicants.

Mr. Souza's item on rumors and morale of city employees states “the city has gone into a period where rumors run wild resulting in negative effects on the morale of employees and thus the effectiveness of their performance to the community.” Souza cites the firing of the city manager David Rutherford, the resignation of police chief Shoap and the false allegations given to the press that Shoap was under investigation, and several other items he said all lead to the rumor mill running wide open.

While he says he does not believe the rumors he said they included that former Mayor J. H. Graham would take the position of city manager and that a back door agreement to put Steve Hill back in charge of parks and recreation replacing Tami French, a new appointee would replace chief Mark Rosser and Sally Oglesby would be replace by the assistant city clerk. Wrote Souza in conclusion, “I believe it is incumbent for this council to dispel these rumors at this meeting and so that the employees can go forward without fear of losing their jobs.”  Link to text by Souza on rumors he says are circulating at ctiy hall.

The most brutal agenda item offers a report that targets the performance of interim city manager Steve Hill, and it is not a good report. Souza wrote just over 4 pages starting off with his first action on his first day as interim manager to order the parks and recreation director to swap vehicles with him so he could drive a crew cab pick up truck he drove when he was parks director before taking early retirement. The current parks director has been driving the Impala that was originally purchased for the use of the city manager. And in the final city manager agenda item Souza is proposing the swap be reversed back. The complete text of Souza's statement on the performance by Steve Hill as city manager is available at this link.

Souza points out that the three previous city managers enforced the policy that the employees playing golf take personal leave to do so. Hill is reported to have said that if an employee works 40 hours a week then they don't have to take time off, but according to Souza this change was not disseminated to city staff. In addition, Souza states that it has been custom for the manager to advise the mayor and council members when he was unavailable for work but Hill has not done so in correspondence documenting his time off. Souza says Hill calls the assistant city clerk but should notify the council, city clerk and the finance department.

Souza outlines an email Hill received that came from councilman Kerley to marketing director Billy Loggins that ordered Loggins to tell Hill to call Butch Smith and tell him that Souza was looking into the property that Smith wanted and “was going to cause the deal to fall through.” Souza says this email that is public record shows that “councilman Kerley is telling the staff and manager what to do.”

“Mr. Hill's role in the resignation of Police Chief Shoap reflected the will of councilman Kerley as opposed to the needs of the city of Crossville,” according to Souza. He outlines several incidents including that Hill ordered the IT department to open early to allow Hill, council Kerley, and Kerley's father Jerry to review the video of the June 2 incident between Mr. Souza and the Kerleys.  This was done before chief Shoap arrived there and the group was deciding which part of the video to release and formulating a story that fit the video. Souza accused them of having “interfered with the investigation.”

Souza also references an exclusive story that states the accusations by Mr. Kerley of an investigation into alleged actions of chief Shoap at the time he resigned were false as stated by Mr. Hill.  The original story is available here.

It is not specified what action Mr. Souza wants taken under the agenda item.

Performance of Interim city manager Steve Hill by Councilman Souza

Discussion and action on the performance of Interim City Manager Steve Hill 

Since the beginning of his office, the City Manager has both worked without administrative skill, executive skill, and at times outside of the duties as the Chief Administrative Officer of the City.

Interim city manager Steve Hill

Mr. Hills first act as the Chief Administrative Officer was to exchange the City Manager’s staff car with the Park Superintendent’s pick-up. Why? Because, he could. This would show the City employees who is the Boss. It goes without saying that as Parks Department head, he justified that vehicle on a basis of need for the utility vehicle, yet as manager, that was of no more importance.

This follows the fact that Mr. Hill has the distinction to being the only City employee to have two letters of misuse of city vehicles in this personnel file by two different City Managers. His subsequent use of the City vehicle has been utilized as his own personal vehicle to travel to and from work and wherever he chooses.

City Councilman Pete Souza wrote this report

Mr. Hill swore on oath to obey the Charter and all ordinances. The very basis of this oath is the soul of the City. As the Chief Administrative Office, he is required to present himself to the community and city employees as an example to be followed.

Section II of the employees manual, paragraph 1-708, paragraph (2) states: “An employee may not use or attempt to use his position to secure any privilege for himself or others that is not authorized by the Charter, general law or ordinance or policy of the municipality. The use of the City Manager’s vehicle to travel about in excess of reasonable use is a violation of this ordinance. Every member of Council received the letters of vehicle abuse in Mr. Hill’s personnel file. Every member of Council has a copy of the City Manager’s previous and current use.

City Managers Bruce Wyatt, Jack Miller, and David Rutherford had and enforced a city policy requiring city employees to use vacation time when playing golf. When Mr. Hill was asked about the policy, he stated if they put in 40 hours, they didn’t have to use vacation time. Mr. Hill made an arbitrary change without going to Council (that being the whole Council not just his friend) and changing the policy so he could play golf with the Kerleys on City time. He did not disseminate that policy through the HRO or other employees. This, as a result, he used his position to allow city time to be used for recreation purposes along with a city vehicle.

It has been custom for the City Manager to let the Council and Mayor know when he was not available for work. Mr. Hill has not done so through correspondence documenting his taking of time off. Instead, he calls the Assistant City Clerk and says “I’m not coming in today”. It is his duty to notify Finance, the City Clerk, and the entire Council.

The city ordinance requires all part-time/full time employees to take a drug screening test before employment can be given. Mr. Hill has not done so. As the Chief Administrative Office and a former department head, there is no excuse. The city has a drug screening program. Since Mr. Hill has assumed duties as he Chief Administrative Officer, this program has ceased to continue. It is my understanding that this is part of our insurance plan, then again if the drug screening policy does not apply to him, why should it apply to anyone else.

Chain of command is outlined in the employee handbook. Shortly after Mr. Hill took office, he received an e-mail. The e-mail was from Councilman Kerley to Billy Loggins telling him to notify the City Manager to call Butch Smith and tell him Souza is looking into the property he desired and was going to cause the deal to fall through. This is telling in that it sets the role Mr. Hill was to follow to this date. That being Councilman Kerley is telling the staff and the Manager what to do. He could not do that with Mr. Hill’s predecessor. Mr. Hill, who swore an oath to uphold the Charter lost all direction of what his duty was. It is the duty and prerogative of the members of Council to make inquiries, any time, any place at the discretion of the Councilperson. Moreover, it was my fiduciary responsibility to see why the city was asked to provide worthless land without compensation that the City had paid taxpayer dollars for. It was, in fact, a reasonable and prudent court of action. However, Councilman Kerley set the precedence for the new Chief Administrative Officer to take orders from him and a subordinate, this showing who was now in charge of City Hall. This is not an allegation, but a fact and the e-mail is available for those who wish to look at it.

We have a Council form of government. What that means, essentially, is that all members of Council are queried on all matters pertaining to policies and expenditures. When the County Commission was petitioned by the City to participate in a cooperative agreement to help fund an indoor recreation facility, Mr. Hill operated under Councilman Kerley’s guidelines as opposed to the Council. First off, the proposal presented was not what was agreed upon by the City Council. Mr. Hill brought to the buildings and grounds committee, a consulting company that was selected by him and not approved by the Council. While it was discussed that the City would provide the land, the proposal that the County would pay for the whole facility was never determined except in the mind of Councilman Kerley.

The modification of the plans to include indoor golf was never discussed by the Council that was presented to the County. Further, on three occasions, the County asked specific questions, how much does the City want us to obligate, who is going to run the facility, who pays for the operations and maintenance. Mr. Hill never answered their questions. Instead, he presented a razzle and dazzle show that left the County Commission unimpressed. So much, that one highly regarded County Commissioner stated the City doesn’t know what it is doing and lacks the leadership to undertake this endeavor or words to that effect. Mr. Hill presented Councilman Kerley’s plan negating the meticulous plan his predecessor had that included partnering expenses and operations, rather than what was presented to the County Commission. Mr. Hill demonstrated his inability to execute his executive duties and his lack of judgement by being directed by one Councilman, as opposed to the whole Council which was his duty.

Mr. Hill’s role in the resignation of Police Chief Shoap reflected the will of Councilman Kerley as opposed to the needs of the City of Crossville. His personal actions resulted in bad judgment, injudicious conduct that may be abuse of authority in order to execute the wishes of Councilman Kerley.

When Mr. Hill was a department head, he was equal in the chain of command with Jerry Kerley and the buffer of the City Manager presented direct operational control over other departments. Mr. Hill has failed to grasp that he cannot treat department heads differently. The long morning breakfast and lunches with the Kerleys during business hours and the special treatment for his golf pals present an image unconducive to good order and discipline as outlined in the personnel ordinance. The Chief Administrative Officer cannot maintain his position of authority while fraternizing with his subordinates. Previous friendships and the display of preferential treatment destroys the organization of the City.

Mr. Hill contended that Chief Shoap had to demonstrate to him that he was competent. I find this ridiculous. Every department head has proven their value as reflected by their personnel file. The only negative file is that of Steve Hill!

Well, the former chief was without precedence in the support from the community, his officers, and the Council at large. The Mayor, Councilpersons Harris, Wyatt, and myself expressed our admiration. However, Councilman Kerley who resented his inability to influence the Chief to arrest Donald Andrews, myself, and Mr. Blankenship’s elderly mother viewed him as an obstruction to his power. After all, didn’t he move to remove David Rutherford and have his friend Steve Hill put into the Administrative Chief’s position?

Mr. Hill kept putting his appointment off at the directions of Councilman Kerley. When I e-mailed the Council as to whether they support the Chief to be appointed permanently, Councilman Kerley went into a tirade saying I violated the Charter. I checked with the City Attorney expressing my position did not, in his opinion, create a violation. Mr. Hill absented his duties in City Hall to act as an agent for Councilman Kerley.

It is hard to find Mr. Hill in his office and only seldom does his staff know his whereabouts. Currently, the opinions of the staff is nothing is getting done. In the beginning, the staff covered for him, those days are over, they are not content to watch him flounder.

Mr. Hill has been at the courthouse monitoring the Blankenship case and reporting to Councilman Kerley. This is not his job. That is the City Attorney’s, but Mr. Hill cannot grasp that as the Chief Administrative Office, he is demonstrating that the prosecution of Mr. Blankenship has the highest priority of the City.

The Chief Administrative Officer on 3 June ordered the I.T. Department to open its office before City Hall was open to business. In that period, Mr. Hill with his friends Councilman Kerley and Jerry Kerley pulled the video of the altercation, edited out the first part showing the aggression and stalking and formulated a story to correspond with the remainder of the footage. By the time, the City Attorney and the Chief showed up, they had pulled evidence and interfered with an investigation, all at the use of the Chief Administrative Officer of the City’s knowledge and guidance. The City Attorney left the scene not wanting any part of the event and the Chief, verbally and aggressively confronted by Councilman Kerley, left. The City Manager then released a shorter version of the tape editing out the first part to the press. Mr. Hill either lacked the will to tell the Kerleys to stay out of the investigation or failed to have the morale courage to do his job as the City Manager.

Following the altercation on 2 June while ascending the stairs of City Hall, Jerry Kerley, who was a participant in the altercation, did say to the Mayor in the presence of an employee “I am going to whip Souza’s ass for painting Blankenship’s signs”, or words to that effect. An original statement is on file with the District Attorney. Not that it makes any difference, that was untrue, it was enough that they believed it to be true and decided it was ok to stalk and assault me on City property.

Mr. Hill whose job it was to maintain order and discipline is remiss in his duties for not taking action on Jerry Kerley. Then again, that’s his friend, father of his sponsor and protectorate. So, where are we? The city is without leadership and out of control.

After the confrontation of Councilman Kerley and the Chief, and the Chief’s failure to arrest me, Councilman Kerley took it on himself to harass the Chief.

Mr. Hill told Finance not to honor a trip that the Council, in its budget, approved. Upon confrontation on this, he denied telling Finance not to pay for it.

Mr. Hill, in his capacity, took the Chief over to Councilman Kerley’s house where Mr. Hill let Councilman Kerley threaten him for the Chief committing a felony. The City Manager was out of line for allowing that to happen.

Mr. Hill became Councilman Kerley’s aide de camp following him around to the Justice Center and District Attorney’s office with tales of woes trying to recover from the political disaster that following the altercation.

What should have happened is Mr. Hill should have stayed out of the investigations. His participation was abuse of authority. This will be further addressed.

After the Chief resigned, Councilman Kerley released a story to Jim Young that the Chief was under investigation. This was another lie by Councilman Kerley. There was no investigation. Mr. Hill told Mr. Young later that was all political talk. Mr. Hill denies that, but he is on tape.

It would appear that Mr. Hill cannot comprehend the possible civil damages that the City could encounter. He engages his use of his office whereby his actions and declarations puts the City at risk just to cover his friends.

It’s easy enough for people to criticize the voting record of the members of Council. We make hundreds of votes, many I wish I had not made. Mr. Hill is in office as the Chief Administrator and every day he is in office, he is a reflection of the leadership of the Council.

Crossville city council looks at policy on press releases

It was not clear what sparked the concern of Crossville city council member Pamala Harris about the subject of press releases and a policy about them, but the discussion was put on the agenda by Ms. Harris.

Interim city manager Steve Hill told the council he had looked into it and currently the city does not have a policy on press releases. He added that he thought a good policy would be to have all press releases go through the marketing and public relations director and then to the city council.

Harris added that she has seen press releases from different city areas, something she described as “willy nilly.” Harris moved that press releases go through marketing and public relations under the approval of the city manager. Harris' motion was supported by councilman Danny Wyatt.

It has been mentioned at a previous council meeting that Ms. Harris and city marketing/PR director Billy Loggins have a personal relationship.

Councilman Pete Souza addressed the issue saying that there had previously been a press release policy that went through the city manager and he had discussed it with the previous city attorney Ken Chadwell. “What happened to that policy, I don't have a clue,” added Souza. Souza also said that he felt the mayor should be involved in every press release “because he is the spokesperson for the city.”

Souza said he wanted to make one thing clear, “Press releases from the city are one thing, the city council is another things, the city council, and each elected member and each sovereign member of this county can speak to the press, or anybody they so desire anytime they want to. But when they speak, they are speaking for themselves, not the city.

Souza suggested that the city manager develop a policy and it come back before the council for approval adding, “There are some details that are being left out here.”

City engineer Tim Begley asked to address the council and pointed out that the public works department sometimes has water interruption announcements and public service announcements that he felt could be described as press releases. “These items need to be addressed as there is not a lot of time to go through the manager. Currently the public works secretary sends a fax to all the radio stations.”

Begley added that when there is work planned, they also try and get word out to the paper and if they are going to keep the public informed then the policy needs to include something for those type of announcements.

Councilwoman Harris then spoke to amend her motion to have the city manager develop a policy on press releases and it be brought back to the council for consideration. The amendment was supported by councilman Jesse Kerley.

Mayor James Mayberry said that he guessed his announcement that the city received a $500,000 grant had sparked the discussion. Mayberry said he received a call one evening from the state informing him of the grant, that it would be posted on the state's website that evening and the city could announce it the next day.

Mayberry continued that he had tried to work with the marketing department in the past adding that things did not work out in a timely manner adding, “If they worked out at all.” Mayberry said that was something the policy might need to consider.

The mayor said that as the elected executive officer of the city there were certain things he had to do and announced he had received a letter earlier that day from Governor Bill Haslam inviting him on a trip to Japan.

With that, Mayberry called for a roll call vote on the motion to have the city manager work on a policy to bring back to the council. The motion was approved by all five members.  

Very busy called meeting agenda set for noon Friday July 22 includes city manager, sidewalks, shooting sports park

The meeting started out to be about moving up the process of hiring a new city manager rather then wait until after the council election in November but the agenda has grown.

The meeting will be held without councilman Pete Souza who previously advised he was unavailable to meet. 

In order to move up the city manager hiring time line the council will have to rescind a previous action agreeing to put it off until the city election is held.  No reason for the change in plans has been released.  Emails this week from one council member sought to keep the applicants secret though city attorney Will Ridley advised that was not allowed under the open records law.

Also on the agenda is appointment of two members of an oversight committee for the economic development funds to the Chamber of Commerce and two appointments to the health and education facilities board.

A discussion of the use of city office space by the non-profit group Cumberland Rising, the drug alliance that came from the Horizon Initiative has been requested by council member Pamala Harris.  The partnership group has a temporary space on the fourth floor used by its director.

Cumberland County mayor Ken Carey will be at the meeting to discuss topics to include the shooting sports park that was discussed just over a year ago.  Carey will update the council on the project.
2015 story on the Shooting Sports Park

Carey will also talk to the council about the pay for 911 dispatchers.  The county's recent salary study showed that the dispatchers are below the average pay for the classification.  The city and county share the costs of the communications operation.

The long expected council discussion of the downtown sidewalk project and how to handle it will also be part of the called meeting.  The project has been looked at for bidding by a contractor and a study done by city staff to see what the cost and time frame would be to do the project with a dedicated city crew.  City engineer Tim Begley and street supervisor Kevin Music are expeted to report to the council as they try to decide the best way to proceed. 

Council will also discuss the lease between the city and Downtown Crossville, Inc on the building known as the Snodgrass building.  The initial term of the lease expires October this year and DCI is requesting a three year extension.  The city and DCI worked on repairs and upgrades to the building and all those have been completed according to the letter from DCI president Bob Schwartz 

An item on a project to convert old council audio tapes to CDs

Interim Manager Steve Hill and councilman Jesse Kerley respond to Shoap resignation controversy

Interim city manager Steve Hill talked Friday about the latest controversy in Crossville's operations and said a bit about what he felt led to the resignation of Crossville Police Chief Rod Shoap.

According to Hill and documents he provided, the interim chief position that Shoap held was only to be an 18 month position, a term that would have been up at the end of July. Hill said he had hoped to keep Shoap in the interim position until after the election to try and take some of the politics out of the situation, though he admitted it would be impossible to take all the politics out of the situation.

Hill said that while he had discussed Mr. Shoap's position with some of the council members, they all expressed opinions on the position but none ordered him to either fire or hire Mr. Shoap for the position full time. Previously Hill said he had discussed with Shoap staying in the position until after the election was over and Shoap said to him he didn't want to wait and he asked Hill to “either hire me or fire me.”

Hill said he wasn't certain but thought that Mr. Shoap had a conversation with one of the council members and then indicated he was open to staying through the election.

Hill said he felt that a recent meeting he had with Mark Rosser may have precipitated the resignation. According to Hill, the meeting, requested by Mr. Rosser was held at his office and Hill said he felt Mr. Shoap found out about the meeting and thought he was interviewing Rosser for the full time position. Hill said that was not the case but added, “Shoap had a knee jerk reaction and decided to turn in his resignation before he was fired.” Hill said this was just his personal opinion on what had happened.

When asked about the meeting, Rod Shoap said the meeting had nothing to do with his decision and he had complete trust in Mark Rosser. “I'd trust him with my life,” added Shoap.

Hill mentioned a recording of former city manager David Rutherford speaking to the police department about Shoap's hiring and saying that Rutherford Shoap would be interim and would not be eligible for the full time position. Hill said he hadn't heard the recording but Hill was present at a staff meeting with Rutherford before Hill left the parks department that Rutherford said who ever served as interim would not be the full time chief and that the position was to train a member of the department to take over when Shoap left.

Shoap started January 28, 2015 in the position and when announced it was listed as a temporary position. At the time, some 10 applications had been received and three of those interviewed. Names of the applicants were not released at the time.

While Hill said that when he checked with city attorney Will Ridley, Ridley said that 18 month period was not binding, Hill felt the city needed to follow the arrangements as it might affect future such agreements.

The reports that Jesse Kerley told him to fire Mr. Shoap are not true according to Hill who added that Kerley told him it was his decision. “I know exactly how he and Mr. Souza feel about Shoap,” said Hill and he added that Wyatt, Harris and Mayberry have not discussed the position with him.

According to Hill, the problem Kerley had with Shoap was not that he wanted people arrested but that Shoap had not done a report on the two incidents involving Pete Souza. Hill said he couldn't argue with Shoap's contention that make a report would just put it out in the media, but added, “Jesse asked him for a police report.”

Hill said that while Rutherford was still manager, they had put out a call for applications for a full time position and Shoap's was the only application that was received and not withdrawn. A second application was put in from the department but was taken back when he and Shoap were the only two applicants. Hill said he wasn't sure how Rutherford planned to get around the original hiring as a temporary position, but Shoap was the only applicant at the end of the process.

Hill was asked about the failure of the city to pay for police chief's meeting that Mr Shoap talked about in a previous story. Hill said he found out about the situation from Mr. Shoap. When he checked on it he said the check was not sent by the finance department as that would have been right at the end of the 18 months and they felt if Shoap wasn't staying the city shouldn't pay for the trip. He added that if Shoap was staying they could always still send in the check.

“It wasn't me that put a hold on it, finance caught it,” explained Hill. He added that Shoap and Mark Rosser were signed up to go. As it stands now, Rosser will attend the meeting.

When asked about Hill's contention, Shoap said that was not the same information his questions about the situation turned up. He was told that the canceling of the trip came from Hill.

There are also some concerns over an incident that so far has not resulted in any action or complaint against the city. Both Councilman Kerley and Steve Hill talked about an alleged incident involving a Crossville police officer, their sexual orientation and an significant other. The story being shared is that Shoap spoke to the officer and said they needed to get rid of their significant other then was contact by the significant other. Hill said that there was another employee that verified such an incident had taken place. At this point no names of those involved have been discussed at all.

When Shoap was asked about the situation he said that the matter was related to a report that had come to the department from a professor at a Georgia college related to a paper written by the officer's roommate that mentioned using the Crossville resident's firearm to self inflict harm on the writer of the paper. According to Shoap the situation was a problem because the officer's roommate was a convicted felon and that was a policy violation. Shoap said he had no idea about the employee's orientation and he didn't care, but he said that the fact that Mr. Kerley was putting out the information in the public would be a much bigger problem.

Shoap said his concern about his officer was so that there wouldn't be a problem with any potential domestic violence that might happen where officer could lose their right to have a weapon and would then be unable to do their job as an officer. He added that he has dealt with those kinds of things for 30 years and is certified in training those kinds of situations for officers. Shoap said he recently run such training for the sheriff's department.

“Everything chief Shoap told you is a bunch of trash,” said Jesse Kerley, “he'll be lucky if he doesn't cause the city to be sued.” Kerley said. He continued, “I never asked that man to arrest anybody. I did ask him to check Blankenship's insurance card because he doesn't have insurance on his car. I asked him to file a police report on Pete Souza vigorously elbowing me in the back after the February meeting which he never filed. That's why Chief Shoap don't like me, he's protecting Pete and nobody sees it.”

Shoap explained that he had in fact checked on the registration and insurance of Mr. Blankenship's vehicle and everything was in order. Shoap added that the evening of the June meeting, he had passed that information on to Mr. Hill and asked him to pass it along to Mr. Kerley.

After discussing a situation that involved an attempt to set up a meeting between councilman Kerley, chief Shoap and school director Donald Andrews, a meeting that never took place as Mr. Andrews declined to set up the meeting, Kerley said that he did not tell employees to do stuff, but he had asked the city manager what I can and can't do because, “if you step outside of that charter you have personal liability and they can sue me for doing that and I know that.”

Kerley described Shoap as “a better politician then anyone sitting on that city council."

Kerley added, "You tell the public that I've never had my butt crawled so hard over an issue except when David Rutherford hired Chief Shoap when there was capable officers in that department that could have been hired.”