New Crossville city manager Greg Wood expected to start Monday

It has been a bumpy ride for the city of Crossville in the 11 months since Crossville had a professional government manager at the helm of the city.  The last one, city manager David Rutherford was voted out in a special called meeting April 5, 2016 and Woods first day in office will be March 6, 2017.

New Crossville city manager Greg Wood

In addition to a lawsuit filed by the former interim police chief Rod Shoap over his treatment, grievances filed by one city employee against an interim city manager that lead to his dismissal as well as the dismissal of a department secretary and a written reprimand placed against the city's marketing director, a councilman and a city department head both faced criminal charges over alleged actions, and reports of serious employee morale problems in several departments have been discussed by council and the community.

We asked Mr Wood for his thoughts on what he felt his first steps must be as he begins his new responsibilities as city manager.  His comments follow.

Greg Wood statement: Someone wiser than me once said, “you need to figure out where you are, before you can figure out where you are going.” The first thing I need to do is a lot of listening. I need to build relationships and trust. I need to understand the personality of the new Council makeup and what direction they want to take the City. I need to faithfully communicate that vision to the employees and make them feel they are a valuable part of a team with a vision. The bottom line as an individual I will accomplish little without an effective team.

There are some specific areas I would like to pursue, especially in the area of economic development, but again, that is not a solo act, it takes a team and a vision from elected officials from both Crossville and Cumberland County, as well as stakeholders in the private sector. I am not of the mindset that the government holds all the answers, but I also remember that I work directly for the five Council members elected by the citizens. Finally, I will endeavor to instill the employees with the values of stewardship and accountability I feel are a vital part of public service.  

City's personnel board expresses concerns over Tammie French vs. Steve Hill grievance.

The Crossville personnel board spent 2 hours reviewing the grievance complaint filed by Crossville parks and recreation director Tammie French against interim city manager Steve Hill but was unable to agree on much relief to the complainant due to the technicality of the timing of the complaint.

Some of the information released as part of the evidence angered one member of the panel and the communications between some of the city employees that used the city's internal messaging system called IPswitch were described by that member as “unprofessional.”

Tammie French began by describing her grievance and said it was not acceptable to her that Mr. Hill had made no attempt to address and resolve the issues I listed and those that have continued since I filed the grievance.

French continued, “Hill's actions are directed at me and not a move toward what's really best for the recreation department. There is a distinct pattern of Steve making decisions in regard to parks and recreation and without including me in discussions and decision making process. Its obvious to me that he has no respect for the fact that I am now the recreation director.”

Crossville Personnel Board, city staff and observers listen to 

discussion on Tammie French employee Grievance

After the grievance was filed, French requested copies of communications between her administrative assistant, city marketing director Bill Loggins and Steve Hill. Those communications revealed things that French said she was not aware of before her request was made. French explained, “Recently things have come to light that show Hill has enlisted other employees, both inside and outside the recreation department to help create an environment of turmoil that he knows I cannot function in. His improper and secretive line of communications has created a specific and strong divide among the staff. In my opinion, Steve's actions are detrimental to the future of the recreation department and I hope that somehow we can find resolution.”

Crossville director of Parks and Recreation Tammie French

French then passed out a number of pages of printouts of the internal messages that she received through making a public records request. The messages were reviewed for some time by the four members of the personnel board who were present. They included chairperson Beth Davis, John Eldridge, Lou Morrison and Tom Isham. Brooks Boston was unable to attend.

IPswitch messages between various parties. 

French explained that the documents she provided established a line of communication detrimental to her mostly between Amy Hester and Billy Loggins and Steve Hill. She said she felt Steve Hill was attempting to get inside information rather then coming to her with questions and problems. French said there were many derogatory comments made about her and other staff members. French told the board she also had requested emails between the parties and there was more similar information there but she did not want to over burden the board.

French explained that in mid summer she spoke to Mr. Hill about the volume of work that Amy Hester was doing for Billy Loggins. She said she told Hill the work was creating a problem. French said she went back and talked to Mrs. Hester about the situation, that future requests from Mr. Loggins should be run through French first, as Mrs. Hester did a huge amount of computer work for him. Said French, “She did not do that but the work continued.”

French said she went to Mr. Hill on January 4, 2017 to terminate Mrs. Hester but he rejected that. French said she was instructed to write Hester up but she has not been able to do that as Hester has been out sick since then.

“In my opinion,” said French, “Steve does not recognize me as the director of the department. In so many things he has made decisions where I have not even been consulted in advance.

Members of the board and city attorney Will Ridley discussed their responsibility and the grievance procedure including a report from the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) that says while some of French's complaints were qualifying grievances at some point, the complaints were not timely filed with in the 20 days the grievance procedure calls for. Other issues were “outside the scope of the grievance policy and should be reconciled at the operational/budgetary/managerial levels.”

Mr. Hill was given a chance to respond. Hill began by saying he had not read all the interoffice messages yet but agreed that if Mrs. French said there was a problem then he felt it was a problem. Hill told the board the procedure was to write up an employee three times before termination. Hill said the other complaints had been sent to MTAS and he agreed with them that they are not really grievances.

Interim city manager Steve Hill

Hill said he had gotten complaints on the parks department that had 5 full-time people and there was downtime during the winter. Hill continued saying that no policies were violated and he stands behind all the decisions he's made.

Board member Lou Morrison expressed surprise that an interim city manager would be dismantling departments. Morrison indicated the stack of messages he'd read and said to Hill, “I'm offended by these. I think its unprofessional of you and Billy Loggins and Amy Hester.”

Hill replied, “It probably is.”

Morrison said he was offended that Mrs. French's attendance at a family funeral was used as fodder for a joke, and was wrong. Morrison asked Hill, based on the procedure he quoted, an employee could undermine a department head and and all that could be done is to write them up? Hill responded that there were offenses that an employee could be fired immediately for and one example Hill gave was an employee being arrested.

Human Resources manager Leah Crockett read a statement concerning employment with the city stating that the city was an “at will” employer and that an employee could be fired at anytime with or without notice.

Mr. Morrison again took Hill to task over making a decision on French's request to fire Mrs. Hester without having reviewed all the documentation he was given. Morrison asked Hill if he would tolerate a subordinate treating him the way Hester had treated French. Hill said after he has read all the information he could give a better answer. Hill stated that Hester has also filed a grievance against French. Morrison responded to Hill, “you better read this!”

Morrison again returned to the messages saying he couldn't believe that Hill and one of his department heads would actively undermine another department head and enlist a subordinate to do so. “There seems to be something here,” added Morrison, “if everybody's always looking over their shoulder, its just not an effective way of leadership.”

Returning to Mrs Hester's employment, Morrison said to Hill, “In the businesses I've been involved with, she should have been fired on the spot. You should have been reading this (messages) and you should have done something about it. And Mr. Loggins, he is about as unprofessional as they come and that is something that needs to be addressed.”

The board discussed the need for smooth operation of the city and the recreation department because it attracts tourism dollars. Beth Davis said she was concerned about the situation as a taxpayer.

The personnel board members struggled with what they could do and what they should do about the complaint in light of the MTAS and city attorney's advice. They considered recessing the meeting to reconvene after members consider the matter further but finally one motion came from member Tom Isham to follow the recommendation of MTAS on the grievances before the board but the motion failed in a tie vote with Isham and John Eldridge supporting and Davis and Morrison opposed.

After additional discussion another motion was considered that the grievances are not timely filed but the board recommended that there be better communication between the city manager and city department heads. The motion was approved unanimously.  

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.”