Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey said Wednesday he still had not reviewed Public Works employee Alan Knowles' e-mail exchanges related to his side job as president of Dove Ministries Inc. The nonprofit business books Christian music acts for local concerts.
"I'll deal with this," Ramsey said Wednesday. "We're not talking about (dealing with it) months away. I don't have time to do it today."
When a reporter offered to send Ramsey the e-mails, he declined.
E-mails also indicate other county employees were involved with DMI work on county time.
Public Works Administrator Dan Wade, Knowles' boss, said Wednesday the county issued Knowles a "formal warning" for violating county policy.
Knowles had no further comment Wednesday. County Director of Human Resources Rebecca Hunter did not return repeated requests for comment Wednesday.
The city of Chattanooga recently faced a similar situation involving an employee. On Tuesday, the City Council authorized its audit committee to review whether Department of Education, Arts and Culture Administrator Missy Crutchfield violated city laws and policies by using work time to market a business.
Some county commissioners were unsure about whether the commission would take any action related to questions raised by the exchanges.
Chairman Fred Skillern deferred all questions to Ramsey. Vice Chairman Jim Coppinger deferred to Skillern.
Commissioner Larry Henry said the commission should pursue questions, but he didn't know if he will recommend doing so when the commission meets today.
Commissioner Tim Boyd said since he is new, he's not totally familiar with the county's employee policies. He said he needs more information.
"My initial reaction to that was that's more disconcerting than the Missy Crutchfield thing," Boyd said.
SPLIT SUPERVISION
The Public Works Department is under the county's executive branch, headed by Ramsey, who said he can only deal with Alan Knowles.
Two other county employees - Finley Knowles, who works in the County Clerk's Office, and Michael Clark, county commission records and archive clerk - had e-mail exchanges with Alan Knowles about DMI business. Finley Knowles and Alan Knowles are brothers.
Ramsey said Alan and Finley's father, County Clerk Bill Knowles, would be responsible for investigating any claims against employees in the Clerk's Office.
On Wednesday, Bill Knowles said he was unaware Finley Knowles was an unpaid member of DMI and didn't know about the exchanges Alan Knowles had with his brother and Michael Clark about DMI business.
"I'm not familiar with what you're talking about," he said.
County Attorney Rheubin Taylor said Bill Knowles must ultimately decide what to do about Finley Knowles and Michael Clark, because the County Clerk's office is not subject to the county's employment policies.
When asked if having a father investigating allegations against the son he employs is a conflict of interest, Taylor again said the "ultimate decision" about what to do belongs to Bill Knowles.
The county commission has a personnel committee and the county has an ethics committee to investigate complaints against employees and officials; according to county records Taylor and Bill Knowles are members.
Contact Dan Whisenhunt at dwhisenhunt@timesfreepress.com or (423)-757-6481. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DWhisenhunt.