Newly-elected District 8 Commissioner Tim Boyd recently changed jobs, moving to a company that could bid on county contracts in the future.
Boyd left his job as manager at Southeast Carpenters, which he said has been dissolved, to become a pre-construction estimator for P&C Construction in Chattanooga. His first day on the job was Aug. 16.
In his new job, he will estimate job costs and help project managers submit bids for projects. Boyd said he would not vote on or participate in any discussions about contracts that might go to his company.
“If we bid on it and there’s the potential for P&C to be low, I would recuse myself from the discussion of whether they get the contract or not and I would recuse myself from voting on the resolution,” Boyd said.
According to the county clerk’s office, the company does not currently have any county contracts. David Williams, the company’s human resources director, said Boyd’s pay will not be based on whether the company receives contracts for projects. He said the company handles building remodels and full construction projects, working on commercial and industrial projects and some residential. The company’s president is Royce Cornelison.
He said the company does bid on government jobs.
“Our hopes are is that there won’t be any kind of conflict of interest with the whole situation,” Williams said. “Anything that we do, we’re going to have to be sure we're not imposing any kind of conflict of interest for Mr. Boyd and for P&C as a company.”
County Attorney Rheubin Taylor said as long as Boyd does not vote on the contracts or participate in discussions, there should not be any issues.
“As long as he does not inject himself into the matter, there’s no problem,” Taylor said.
Robin Roberts, the manager of field services for the County Technical Assistance Service, which gives guidance to county government, said he doesn’t see any issues with Boyd’s new job.
“As long as he’s not directly benefiting from it, other than his company having work to do, I don’t see that there would be any conflict,” Roberts said.
Dan Whisenhunt covers Hamilton County government for the Times Free Press. A native of Mobile, Ala., Dan earned a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Alabama. He won first place for best in-depth news coverage in the 2010 Alabama Press Association contest; the FOI-First Amendment Award in the 2007 Alabama Press Association contest; first place for best public service story in the Alabama AP Managing Editors contest in 2009 for economic coverage; and ...
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