COLLEGEDALE — Wayon Hines is defending his dual roles of Colledgedale city manager and city engineer.
The question about whether the combined role was too much responsibility for one person was first raised by Commissioner Tonya Sadler on Oct. 16 during a Board of Commissioners meeting.
Hines has served the city as the city engineer since 2016 and was appointed as interim city manager in March 2021, according to the Collegedale city website. His role became permanent in May 2021.
During an Oct. 23 workshop, Hines spent over 15 minutes listing the many projects and changes that have been made since he became city manager in 2021.
For example, the city has worked to improve transparency through social media, the Collegedale Police Department’s public information officer program and the Collegedale website, Hines said. He also mentioned the incorporation of Sadler’s idea to include expanded agendas in commission meeting minutes and send overview emails to commissioners every Friday.
Hines reorganized the human resources office, started emailing payroll stubs, secured the library building and helped the city move the copy room in City Hall to create an assistant chief of police’s office, he said. Hines has maintained an open-door policy in his office, he said.
There has been a 50% decrease in liability and workers’ compensation claims in the last three years, the city manager said. The city has also seen a decrease in employee medical and supplemental insurance costs for the past two years, he said. City administrators made two big employee manual revisions and “big strides trying to bring our workforce pay up to market,” Hines said. For example, the city has expanded recruiting efforts while simultaneously cutting costs, he said.
Collegedale has also expanded its airport, with the recent reception of a $1.3 million grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation, according to Hines. Upgrades within City Hall and facilities maintenance include systems within the buildings that drive down utility costs, the city manager said.
Parks and Recreation Department developments include new qualifications of staff and the opening of the Little Debbie Park, Hines said. Since 2021, the number of programs has doubled to 300, and program participation has more than doubled, with about 5,000 people participating out of a community population of 12,300 people, Hines said.
He concluded with additional details regarding what’s been done since 2021 in the Police Department as well as public works.
“Thank you for listing that,” Sadler said. “Seriously, that’s a lot of stuff going on every day in Collegedale. … We are making leaps and bounds from where we were a few years ago.”
Some strain
Sadler said the commission unintentionally put a city employee in an impossible situation by hiring Hines as city manager and city engineer, and she is starting to see some strain and wear from this, she said. That’s why she feels like it’s time to redirect, she said.
In 2019, the commission first began discussing the possibility of hiring a staff engineer to reduce the amount of money spent on designing and completing projects all in-house, she said.
“As you all know, we have a staff engineer, but we’ve been told he doesn’t do design,” Sadler said. “And then there have been instances where you don’t have time to do design, so if both of you can’t do design, we’re not realizing those savings. We’ve ended up spending more, so that’s where I’m coming from asking for this conversation.”
Hines said during the Oct. 16 meeting the city does not have the resources to do in-house design and it has historically been common practice for certain city projects to be contracted out.
Both jobs
Commissioner Katie Lamb said during the workshop that since she has been on the commission, the city has always hired outside engineers, and there was always work the past engineer was unable to do because of limited time or capability.
Lamb said Hines has shown her he is capable of performing both jobs. Lamb said she did not understand what the issue with Hines’ role was, and she thinks there is better communication between the city administration and commission now than in her past years in leadership.
Hines has improved the relationship between the commission and city manager, Lamb said.
“I think that you’ve accomplished a lot, and I just want to say I’m pleased with what you are doing,” Lamb said.
Collegedale Mayor Marty Lloyd said he sees no reason for a change. He has spoken to every commissioner at different times, and they all said they are happy, whether it is with Hines’ performance, the way he is running the city or with the way that he treats them, the mayor said.
Near the end of the workshop, Vice Mayor Tim Johnson expressed his support, stating he gives Hines an “A-plus” for his role as manager, while adding that he would like to see more communication with the commission. Commissioner Debbie Baker said commissioners need to be able to voice their opinions, clear the air and move forward.
Hines closed the discussion by asking the commission to tell him about any opportunities for improvement.
“If they’re actionable, I will absolutely do it,” he said. “Just let me know.”
Hines’ responsibilities as city manager include, but are not limited to, ensuring laws and ordinances are enforced as well as serving disciplinary and management action to all department heads and employees, according to the city charter. Hines is also responsible for supervising the work of the chief of police, the city attorney, the treasurer and all other departments and divisions that may be created by the Board of Commissioners.
He must attend all commission meetings and has the right to be a part of discussion but cannot vote.
Initial comments
Sadler first expressed concern during the Oct. 16 meeting about having one person in the dual role.
“When you have someone doing two full-time jobs, you get part-time effort in both positions,” Sadler said at the meeting.
Sadler’s presentation sparked a conversation regarding the “typical practices” of a city manager and engineer as well as the realistic and long-standing expectations of this role within City Hall.
Sadler said she believes commissioners are “getting left out of some conversations” due to Hines potentially not having enough time to communicate with them as much as she expects, she said. For example, she said, she was unaware of a community meeting until it was announced online to the general public as well as conversations with the Election Commission that she said the Board of Commissioners was not briefed on.
“I don’t understand what separating positions has to do with feeling left out of a planning conversation,” Hines responded.
Higher cost
Separating the city manager and engineer positions and hiring another person would be more expensive on an annual basis, Hines said, and he doesn’t think it is the best value option for the city.
As city engineer, Hines had an annual salary of $97,323, which increased to $132,488 when he took on the additional role as city manager. Former City Manager Ted Rogers had a starting annual salary of $72,000, which increased to $128,315 by the time of his retirement in 2021.
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Baker came to Hines’ defense, saying he is strong in both roles. Hines not only has skills in engineering, but also the other skills required for the manager’s position that he has acquired over the years he has worked for the city, she said.
“You are well educated in running the city,” Baker said. “And I actually think you’ve done a fabulous job at it. … I feel an undercurrent here that we are looking at possibly wanting to see about replacing you as city manager. … I wholeheartedly disagree with that.”