Responding to apprehensions about the work culture in general government, Hamilton County commissioners took a step last week in transitioning to a civil service system, which would be designed to enhance protections for county employees.
The resolution was one of five that commissioners unanimously approved Wednesday after convening in closed session to discuss Mayor Weston Wamp's attempt on Oct. 14 to fire County Attorney Rheubin Taylor, who continues to work with support from the County Commission. Taylor has served in that role for almost three decades.
"Many in Hamilton County feel as if their workplace has become hostile," Commissioner David Sharpe, D-Red Bank, told commissioners Wednesday. "Over the course of the weekend, I have worked with (an) attorney to draft a couple of resolutions to ensure that county business can continue uninterrupted and professionally."
Wamp, however, said the move was inappropriate or even "insane," stating in a phone interview Friday that county administrators were blown away that the commission made that decision without consulting them.
"Nothing would degrade the quality of the professional life of the county's department heads like a move to civil service," Wamp said, "and I can tell you that because they work for our office, and we are in daily communication with them, and they were dumbfounded."
The County Attorney's Office will work with the human resources division to set up the new system, according to an unsigned copy of the resolution. The new system would apply to employees serving as directors, including assistant county attorneys, and below. Administrators, the county attorney and positions in the Mayor's Office would be exempt from the process.
A second resolution that commissioners approved Wednesday places a moratorium on employee terminations until the civil service system has been fully established. That is retroactive for the past 30 days. Terminations resulting from criminal conduct or "that follow the pattern of progressive discipline" established in the county's employee handbook are exempt, the resolution states.
WORKPLACE CONCERNS
Sharpe reiterated by phone Thursday that he received numerous calls from employees in Hamilton County government who were concerned about the work environment in the courthouse.
"It's not something that had been of concern previously, to my knowledge," he said, "but the workplace environment that was developing over the last week brought significant concerns, and I believe that the commission acted appropriately."
Commissioner Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, said Wednesday he was aware of similar concerns and was worried about what would happen over the course of the following week if commissioners delayed taking action.
"I've heard from many departments and many employees," Graham told commissioners. "They're, for a lack of a better word, shaking in their boots concerned, and I am as well. In this work environment ... in the United States, you can't just go out and replace people on a whim, because these people that work for Hamilton County are extremely talented at what they do, and people don't just apply like they used to."
Citing the potential for legal action, Graham said by phone Friday that he didn't want to say too much about the overall situation, but in his opinion, there would have been a mass exodus if officials didn't come up with a solution.
Commission Chairman Chip Baker, R-Signal Mountain, said he has not received calls from employees raising concerns about the work culture in Hamilton County government. He has asked Graham, who chairs the body's legal committee, to flesh out those details.
Asked if the switch to a civil service system would be a worthwhile move for the county, Baker said by phone that he's unsure.
"It's a topic that deserves a lot of study before anything moves forward," he said.
A "COMPLETE DISASTER"
Civil service is a "complete disaster," Wamp said, and would hamstring directors and administrators.
"You basically cannot fire people regardless of the situation," he said. "You'll hear this said often about the Sheriff's Office. It's the reason that in the different law enforcement agencies across our community ... that often people think once you're in a position in the Sheriff's Office, you're very hard to remove.
"The reality is civil service is a nightmare," Wamp continued. "It actually gives a property right to one's job."
Wamp said he's heard from "multiple commissioners" who said they did not realize the full extent of the resolution and that they intend to revisit the decision.
"I believe that as the more conservative members of the commission understand what happened, they'll realize that this was a ploy from the single left-wing member of the commission," he said.
Wamp forcefully denied claims that staff members are working in a hostile environment, noting that he participated in an employee appreciation luncheon Thursday that involved 200 people.
"We have a personnel issue with one person," he said.
HOW IT WORKS
Chris Acuff, an assistant professor of public administration at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said civil service systems were generally implemented in the United States in the 1800s to insulate public servants from termination, demotion or retribution based on their political allegiances or a change in executive leadership.
He said in an email that civil service employees are fundamentally different from political appointees, who serve at the pleasure of an executive. Employees hired in a civil service system often have to undergo some kind of examination or meet certain merit-based hiring criteria.
"In contrast to political appointees, civil service employees often have greater job protections and can only be fired or demoted 'for cause,' based on some form of malfeasance or wrongdoing, and are afforded a hearing conducted by a civil service commission or board," he said.
The state of Tennessee also has a civil service system, Acuff said, but it's less common among local governments. Nashville-Davidson Counties and large cities such as Memphis and Knoxville have a form of civil service, but most local governments in Tennessee don't.
"Nationwide, larger cities tend to have civil service systems in place, but they are much less common in county government," Acuff said. "In the few local governments that have such a system in Tennessee, they are most common in public safety positions such as police and fire."
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249. Follow him on Twitter @flavid_doyd.