Skillern says state should know about Knowles

Hamilton County Commission Chairman Fred Skillern said Friday the state comptroller should be informed about the actions of a county employee who ran a private business during county work hours.

But Skillern said he has not contacted the Tennessee Comptroller's Office about Public Works Department employee Alan Knowles and did not indicate that he would.

"Do I think the state comptroller ought to know about it? Yes, but I'm not going to answer for him," Skillern said.

The comptroller's office can audit local governments for misuse of public funds or resources.

Blake Fontenay, a spokesman for the comptroller, said Friday that while the office has received no request to look into the matter, "it doesn't require any kind of formal invitation."

"It could be a citizen who calls our fraud hot line," Fontenay said. "It could be a result of information resulting during a regular audit. There are any number of ways an audit can be started."

Knowles acknowledged last week that he used his county computer and e-mail account during work hours in the operation of his private nonprofit business, Dove Ministries Inc., which books Christian musical acts.

Records show 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.

His e-mails show he handled day-to-day operations of the business and took votes on board members for DMI on his county e-mail account during work hours.

Some e-mails went to Alan's brother Finley, a DMI board member who is chief administrator in the Hamilton County Clerk's Office. Their father is County Clerk Bill Knowles. Some e-mails also went to clerk's office employee Michael Clark, who did some work for DMI.

Alan Knowles' boss, Public Works Director Dan Wade, said Wednesday that a "formal warning" was placed in Knowles' personnel file for "failure to follow county policy."

But workers in the county personnel office said Friday they had no record of such a warning and refused to open the file for public inspection.

Personnel Director Rebecca Hunter was out of the office and could not be reached for comment. Wade did not return calls Friday.

Public Works is in the executive branch of county government and is overseen by County Mayor Claude Ramsey. Ramsey said last week he had not looked at Knowles' e-mails but planned to do so. He could not be reached Friday.

The county has an Ethics Committee that can investigate allegations of misconduct.

County Attorney Rheubin Taylor, who serves on the committee, said Thursday it could only open an investigation if someone files a formal complaint.

But the ethics policy's language states that the committee "may undertake an investigation on its own initiative when it acquires information indicating a possible violation."

Commissioner Larry Henry said he, too, thinks the state comptroller might become involved with the issue.

"I think maybe at a given point in time we might have to bring the state comptroller in to look at it," he said.

But Commissioner Jim Coppinger said a state investigation would be "premature."

"You've got to let the (county's) investigation occur, and I am assuming that's occurring right now," Coppinger said.

Commissioner Joe Graham said Ramsey "hasn't had a chance" to look into the issue.

"I'm going to wait and see what he does and I'm sure he'll do the right thing," Graham said.

Henry said Ramsey will make the call on what to do with Alan Knowles.

"Of course, the other two employees, they're under Bill Knowles," Henry said. "They [the clerk's office] have always done what was right in the past. I'm sure they will this time, too."

Debbie Rollins, the deputy county clerk in Bill Knowles' office, said Thursday she did not think that the e-mails between Alan and Finley Knowles and Clark violated county policy.

She said she warned the two clerk's employees about conducting personal business during work time.

Continue reading by following these links to related stories:

Article: E-mails show pattern of county employee running other business

Article: County quiet on Knowles e-mails

Article: Commissioners unsure what to do about Knowles

Article: County doesn't act on Knowles e-mails

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