Hamilton County Auditor Bill McGriff has determined that a county employee violated county policies by working on his private business during work hours, but left open the question of whether the activity was waste and an abuse of county resources.
McGriff released his report, dated Oct. 15, about Public Works employee Alan Knowles to the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Monday. The report addresses issues raised by this newspaper’s stories on Knowles, who is the son of Hamilton County Clerk Bill Knowles.
Alan Knowles did not return a call seeking comment.
“Mr. Knowles used his county computer and county e-mail account to transact certain business dealings for noncounty business purposes,” the report states. The report also found that Knowles did his work during the county’s standard 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. workday, but noted that Knowles’ boss, Public Works Administrator Dan Wade, said the side job did not affect Knowles’ job performance.