Hamilton County has suspended for five days an employee who worked on his private business during county work hours, Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey said at a meeting today.
He said the unpaid suspension became effective today and took into consideration Alan Knowles' performance record.
Knowles, a Hamilton County Public Works employee, acknowledged last week that he used his county computer and e-mail account during work hours to help run his private nonprofit business, Dove Ministries Inc., which books Christian musical acts.
Records show Knowles, who is the son of Hamilton County Clerk Bill Knowles, earns $64,555 a year as superintendent of support services for the Public Works Department. IRS records show he also earned $157,345 since 2007 as president of Dove Ministries Inc.
Some of Alan Knowles' e-mails went to his brother Finley, a DMI board member who is chief administrator in the Hamilton County Clerk's Office. Some e-mails also went to clerk's office employee Michael Clark, who did some work for DMI.