Assistant City Attorney Valerie Malueg speaks during a Chattanooga Public Library board meeting Tuesday. Listening are Meg Backus, right, and her attorney, Maury Nicely.Meg Backus, a top Chattanooga Public Library employee who resigned following a critical audit of the library, claims that she was given the option to resign in two months or be subject to public discipline and likely termination.
But after Backus — the library’s system administrator — submitted her resignation letter on Sept. 5 that stated her last day would be Oct. 31, library Director Corinne Hill told her she had to leave immediately. Hill told the library’s board of directors that she discussed the issue with Backus but never promised to keep her employed for two more months.
“The right thing to do is honor the terms of that agreement,” Backus’ attorney, Maury Nicely, told the board.
The board was split at Tuesday’s meeting on whether to pay Backus through October, and members decided to wait and have a private attorney-client-privileged meeting before making a decision.
The library board of directors met to discuss sweeping policy changes after City Auditor Stan Sewell found that top library officials had mismanaged thousands of dollars during national and worldwide trips to promote the facility. Sewell also found that the library’s board had no checks and balances in place to oversee the library.