Aldermen begin hiring process

The Holly Springs Board of Aldermen set the process to consider the hiring of a number of individuals recommended by Mayor Sharon Gipson at the Dec. 19 meeting.

The hold up on hiring, as board members have described it. They say they need more information on whether there is money in the budget to hire, if the candidates for various jobs have been appropriately vetted, and was a background check conducted.

The city has no Human Resources director and Gipson has been conducting those duties singlehandedly for many months.

First up for consideration for general manager of the Holly Springs Utility Department was the mayor’s recommendation to hire Ernest Campbell. He is a supervisor at the HSUD.

Gipson restated Campbell’s credentials since she has had Campbell on the agenda for months for the position. The mayor received no motion on hiring Campbell.

Alderman-at-large Dexter Shipp had added to the agenda a recommendation to hire Wayne Jones as general manager at a salary of $85,000 a year.

Ward 1 alderman Bernita Fountain asked Shipp to provide the terms of negotiations with Jones.

Jones stepped forward and asked to conduct the matter in executive session.

There is no executive session because he is not an employee, Gipson said.

Attorney Garrett Estes suggested the board go into closed session to see if there is a need for an executive session.

“To be clear, I do not negotiate in public,” Jones said.

The board went into closed session and returned with no motion to go into executive session.

“I move to return to open session,” Fountain said, and the motion passed by unanimous vote of 4-0.

Ward 2 alderman Andre Jones was absent.

“Mr. Jones, we could not go into executive session, so it has to be open session,” Estes said.

“What type of negotiations?” Fountain asked.

Jones said he wants a fiveyear contract at $120,000 a year. He also said he needed a TVA report and financial report and the TVPPA (Tennessee Valley Public Power Association) report.

“Without these, I cannot say,” he said. “The utility needs a general manager. It does not have to be me. You need a qualified individual running that department.”

Gipson has been running the HSUD since Bill Stone was removed in the first year of the administration. The Chief Financial Officer position was also eliminated by the board of aldermen at the same time leaving top leadership positions vacant. The mayor stepped in to direct the HSUD following the retirement of interim general manager Donald Warren who served in year 2022 and retired in Dec. 2022.

Warren was moved into the spot from a supervisor of linemen crews.

“I’m pretty sure you didn’t run for mayor to run the utility department,” Jones said. “That (position) takes years of experience and includes water, sewer, gas and lights.”

Jones said, from the TVA report, the city is operating on a day-to-day basis.

“Management takes place from the top down,” Jones continued. “What are the conditions of the other wells?”

Water superintendent Eddie Jefferson had preceded this discussion by obtaining permission to make a radio frequency driven communication device with Well # 1, which he said pumps the largest volume of water out of the five wells the city has.

“That’s not your job,” Jones said to the mayor. “That’s why you have managers in place in the utility department who present (concerns) in such a way so you can know what your choices are.”

“Mr. Jones, let me say this, he (Jefferson) also said there was no general manager in place when we had water gushing. Tell us your experience in running a utility department,” Gipson said.

Jones said he has no direct experience, but has an engineering degree, which he said is needed to make decisions in management at the utility.

He said TVA started a new managers training department which could be beneficial. Winter is coming up and there could be another ice storm, he said.

“I live in this city. I want to see things get better. I’m willing to work to solve these problems. I’m willing to work with the mayor and each one of you. I want a 5-0 vote,” Jones said.

He said he read the utility department audit report.

“You need a team,” he said. “I’m not saying you don’t have qualified people in the different departments. It takes a certain level of technical expertise and years of experience.”

Jones said he has 30 years of engineering experience.

Estes stepped in to say that no one comes in as a hire and establishes a specific term.

“Everyone works at the will and pleasure of the city,” he said.

Jones said he does not want to take the position without a five-year contract, that it will take a year to see what is needed at the utility.

“I disagree with you - five years,” said Ward 3 alderman Colter Teel. “I couldn’t go with that. We (companies he has worked with) enter into an agreement for five years and they are awful. There is no need to discuss terms.”

“You can vote me out,” Jones said. “O.K., this negotiation is over with.”

Gipson began her list of recommendations for hire but aldermen, particularly Shipp, wanted to hear from department heads on what they needed and if their budgets had money to hire new personnel.

Teel said he wanted to know more about how new hires would be financed.

Gipson said the board had approved a line of credit at the last meeting and use of a certificate of deposit.

Ward 4 alderman Patricia Merriweather said the board had approved use of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money in order to meet the city payroll.

“We didn’t have to take ARPA funds to make payroll,” Gipson said. “We did use it to make payroll.”

Shipp said the city has a shortage of police officers.

Gipson said there is a shortage of employees in all areas – that the monies being used now to make payroll were set aside for emergencies.

Merriweather said the ARPA funds were approved to make payroll with the number of employees already working, not for additional hires.

Fountain said the board approved the ARPA fund ($500,000) with the idea to have the money available to make payroll to the end of June (end of the budget year).

Gipson brought up Tommy Tucker and introduced his credentials, but the board made no motion to hire.

Shipp said aldermen did not receive the agenda with the recommendations to hire without consultation in time to make decisions.

“It’s like we are being forced (to hire),” he said “I got this agenda today at 10 o’clock. I would love to have time to look back over them.”

Gipson said there was only one new person recommended to hire on the agenda while all the others have been on the agenda before.

“Your concern was about what we did with finances,” she said.

Teel asked for the agenda to be included in the board packets instead of the day before the meeting.

“We’ll work on that,” Gipson said.

Merriweather said it is the board’s responsibility to move the city forward, as well as the mayor’s.

“We are concerned we are having to use ARPA (money) now to make payroll with the current employees,” she said.

Gipson said the money was requested to make sure there were no more overdrawn accounts or bounced checks and to make sure the city is financially stable.

After discussion, Fountain made a motion to approve a transfer of Demetrius Russell from customer service to accounts payable at the HSUD and the motion passed.

Shipp asked for department heads to step up and make reports or requests.

Police chief Darryl Bowens said his main concern is staffing - “boots on the street.” There have been only two officers covering night shift, he said.

He asked for four officers to run night shift for the safety of his officers.

“What is the holdup?” Fountain asked. “Have you depleted your budget? Two people can’t break up a fist fight.”

Fountain said it is very important to put people in place for right-of-way clearing, for linemen, and for hiring a Human Resources director.

“We need an HR person who is doing everything they are supposed to do to make sure (candidates are vetted),” Fountain said. “We created one because it is a conflict in perception the mayor does not have the authority to decide.”

Gipson said the county has no HR.

“This is not the county,” Fountain said.

Estes redirected the board’s attention to the agenda where the department heads were being heard.

Bowens asked for officers salaries be raised to $16.50 an hour to help with retention. Fountain made a motion that the raise go into effect the first pay period in 2024. The motion passed 4-0.

Fire Chief Rodney Crane stepped up to ask the board not to forget increases for his employees.

Next up was Terry Sims with water and Tracy Reynolds with gas. They asked to promote Jimmie Harris to foreman in water and Jamario Beard as foreman in gas at a rate of $19/hour. The board approved the promotions.

Michael Howell asked Tykevious Hudson and Michael Chase Johnson be hired as apprentice linemen.

Fountain asked if there are funds at the HSUD to hire them. Annie Mason, accounts manager at the HSUD, said there is money available but she needs meter readers as well. The cash flow coming in would improve with meter readers, she said.

George Humphreys, superintendent, said the HSUD is short of linemen crews as it is and linemen safety is an issue, as well. The salaries should be competitive in order to retain employees, he said.

Fountain said aldermen cannot tell if there is a shortage of employees at the HSUD because people have quit, but the board of aldermen do not know how many have quit.

Shipp asked Mason when the city would start receiving its fee-in-lieu of payments from HSUD.

“We hope to start soon,” Mason said.

Teel asked how many people have left the HSUD.

“The tough part is we don’t know if anybody’s gone,” Teel said. “It’s a red flag for us. It would be easier to hire if we know how many people you are short.”

Mason recommended Harris and Beard be paid $20/hour and the board approved the measures.

Aldermen approved hiring Tykevious Hudson and Michael Chase Johnson as apprentice linemen at $16.69 an hour.

Fountain made a motion to hire Ben Norman as a meter reader at $15.50/hour and the motion passed by unanimous vote.

The board then went into executive session to discuss personnel and potential litigation in the utility department and security plans at city hall.