Randy Williams, named interim Upper Cumberland Development District director only a few weeks ago, found himself at the center of a controversy over the firing of two long-time UCDD employees last week.
After Williams, who was apparently former director Wendy Askins’ assistant for some time, fired Kathy Pealer and her daughter Ashley Pealer on June 18, a firestorm erupted, with the two women leveling allegations that the firings were carried out in retaliation for their involvement in blowing the whistle on Askins and the Living the Dream project in Putnam County.
The Pealer’s attorney has reportedly threatened a lawsuit if the women are not reinstated.
A special meeting of the UCDD board was called last Tuesday, and members questioned Williams about his reasons for the firings.
Williams told the UCDD board members that his decision to terminate the women was in the interest of cutting costs, and not retaliatory in any way.
“It was financial. There is no retaliation,” Williams said. “When I was made interim, I thought of ways to streamline and make the agency more effective. We're coming up on hard economic times. Reorganization and consolidation were the reasons, not retaliation. I didn't know that anybody had gone to the news media or anywhere else for that matter.”
Accusations that members of the board were directing Williams to fire certain people were also denied.
“No board members gave me opinions,” he said. “No board member told me who to fire. I did consult with attorneys about several different reorganization plans.”
Some members of the board felt that Wiliams should not have fired the women, especially so soon after his nomination as interim director of the agency.
Among those who did not approve of the firings was Putnam County Executive Kim Blaylock, who made a motion that the board force Williams to reinstate the women, and that he should not be allowed to terminate anyone else during his interim term as director.
“I don't really feel like anybody should be terminated during this interim period,” Blaylock said.
Byrdstown Mayor Chris Thompson seconded the motion, Cannon County Executive Mike Gannon, the board chairman, overruled the entire line of discussion saying that the matter was not on the agenda for the meeting.
“I overrule your motion because it's not on the agenda and can't be voted on today,” Gannon said. “Anyone else like to make a comment?”
Blaylock opined that the letter sent by eight board members to initiate the session stated that the meeting was called to discuss that situation explicitly.
According to Blaylock, the letter read: “...in accordance to the bylaws of the UCDD, the following executive committee members request a special-called meeting to discuss the recent and future employment actions taken by the interim director of the UCDD.”
“If that's what we're supposed to talk about today,” she continued, “then you're in violation of the bylaws and you're not fulfilling your duties as the chair.”
"Well, if you'll notice. it says members request a special-called meeting to discuss it," Gannon said, emphasizing the word "discuss." “If you are not happy with the way it is....”
“I don't think you can overrule that motion,” Blaylock interrupted.
“Well, I did,” retorted Gannon.
UCDD attorney Bob Walker interjected that the notification only informed the public and board members that a discussion was to take place, not that any resolutions would brought up, nor any votes taken.
“It's not valid to have a motion presented without the members of the public and the board being notified ahead of time as to what it is,” Walker said.
Thompson expressed his disapproval of the situation, and told the board that explanations were in order.
“I thought we'd get an explanation,” Thompson said. “If somebody had done something illegal, sure, they need to be terminated, but if not, we need an explanation.”
Livingston Mayor Curtis Hayes also expressed dismay that the interim director was terminating employees so soon after being named to the position.
“I just can't see how Mr. Williams had been in the position for two weeks and made the decision to terminate employees. I think they're great employees. I'd like to see the two employees reinstated and get some stability down and put some new rules down for the interim director and the new director, whomever that may be. Now's the time to fix it.”
UCDD bylaws, however, apparently give the director the authority to hire,  fire, and set salaries, and the board has no direct input regarding such decisions.
The bylaws clearly state that the executive director "shall be the chief of the staff. The director shall name, select, control and release such other staff members as may be necessary, prescribe their duties, authority and responsibilities and fix their compensation.”
Gannon told the board that they have no authority concerning who the executive director hires or fires.
“We just do not have the right to vote and tell the executive director how to handle personnel matters according to the bylaws,” he said.
DeKalb County Mayor Mike Foster pointed out that previous interim directors had made such decisions without the board’s input, with no objection from the board.
“Where were we when the cuts were being made under the previous interim?” Foster asked. “There were people demoted, promoted and got raises and we didn't say anything.”
When asked about his plans for reorganization and cutting costs in the future, Williams told the board that he didn’t have any.
The FBI is still conducting an investigation of the goings on at UCDD, and the meeting Tuesday was reportedly attended by a special agent from the inspector general's office for the U.S. Economic Development Administration, which provides a great deal of funding for the agency.