A motion to pay $60,000 for Hamilton County Attorney Rheubin Taylor's legal fees failed in a 7-4 vote by County Commission on Wednesday, an action Taylor's lawyer, W. Neil Thomas, said will not dissuade him from fervently representing his client.
Taylor since October has been fighting an effort by County Mayor Weston Wamp to fire him.
"Despite the commission's action in not reimbursing Mr. Taylor's attorney fees, I did want to say that will not in any way deter me from providing him a zealous defense to a controversy initiated by the mayor and maintained by the mayor," Thomas told commissioners at the end of their regular meeting.
Commissioners were correcting a pair of budget amendments they passed Jan. 4 to pay future legal fees in a lawsuit Taylor has filed against Wamp. The mayor attempted to fire Taylor on Oct. 14, citing among his reasons private work that Taylor conducted on county time.
Taylor has served as county attorney for three decades and earns an annual salary of about $180,000. His contract says he can "engage in any other non-conflicting activities on a professional basis."
Under the contract, which lasts through June 2025, termination can occur if a majority of the County Commission decides to do so with agreement from the county mayor. Wamp has claimed he can unilaterally fire Taylor because the person who was mayor when the contract took effect is no longer in office.
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Two resolutions commissioners approved earlier this month did not include estimated dollar amounts for Taylor's legal fees or for an attorney the commission has hired to represent commissioners in the ongoing litigation.
The Tennessee Comptroller's Office told county commissioners in a Jan. 6 letter they would need to specify the approximate cost of those fees to comply with state law.
Commissioners Mike Chauncey, R-East Ridge; Jeff Eversole, R-Ooltewah; Lee Helton, R-East Brainerd; Warren Mackey, D-Lake Vista; Gene-o Shipley, R-Soddy-Daisy; Ken Smith, R-Hixson; and Chairman Chip Baker, R-Signal Mountain, all voted against paying Taylor's attorney.
"I did not believe that the county should be paying for attorney fees for an employee dispute against the county," Smith told the Times Free Press on Wednesday.
At Smith's suggestion, members also rescinded the initial resolution the panel passed Jan. 4 that committed the county to covering Taylor's ongoing legal expenses without specifying a dollar figure.
Commissioners have hired attorney John Konvalinka after Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton ordered the board be added as a counter-defendant in Taylor's lawsuit, which comes after the mayor questioned the panels' powers over the dismissal of the county attorney in a November legal filing. Commissioners anticipate the cost of Konvalinka's legal services could be up to $25,000, which they approved by resolution Wednesday.
In an interview after the meeting, Baker said the issue should have been resolved two months ago when Wamp indicated his office was in compliance with three resolutions the commission unanimously approved in the days after Taylor's attempted firing. Those resolutions were designed to reaffirm Taylor's four-year contract and preserve his access to his office space and county equipment.
"We're tired of being caught in the middle of this," Baker said, "and the one thing we do have the ability to do is control payments, which we today cut off."
The board has already chosen not to cover Wamp's future legal fees in the matter. The mayor's office has paid Chartwell Law $24,500, which is just short of the $25,000 threshold that requires commission approval. Baker said anything beyond the $24,500 has stopped.
"We're frustrated," Baker said. "We want this behind us. It's time for everyone to stand up and do the right thing and move on."
Eversole, who also voted against the resolution, said businesses don't typically pay for the cost of an attorney when there is an employment dispute, and similarly, the county shouldn't be bankrolling these legal costs.
"I'm concerned about growth, I'm concerned about development, I'm concerned about schools, I'm concerned about education," Eversole said. "I'm concerned about catapulting this county in a direction to where we feel comfortable leaving our homes and driving to the supermarket or driving to church or driving down the street. That's where our attention needs to be."
Wamp told the 11-member commission he has worked to narrow the scope of his countersuit to focus on the validity of Taylor's contract, which was approved by the board under former Mayor Jim Coppinger in June 2021.
"None of the 12 of us are attorneys," Wamp said. "None of us can give a definitive ruling on whether the contract was appropriate. I recognize that this body has voted to concur with that contract."
However, Wamp added, its legality has been questioned in a pair of legal opinions the mayor's office received from the County Technical Assistance Service and Knoxville attorney Dwight Tarwater, who is now one of the semifinalists for an opening on the Tennessee Supreme Court.
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Meanwhile, the matter is still working its way through Chancery Court. Thomas -- Taylor's attorney -- filed a motion Tuesday asking Atherton to rule on the legitimacy of Taylor's contract. Alternatively, he is asking the court to dismiss Wamp's counterclaim, arguing the mayor has not properly added the County Commission as a party to the suit.
In a memo filed alongside his motion, Thomas says Taylor's contract is between Taylor and Hamiton County -- not Taylor and Wamp. Additionally, the contract states it can only be terminated by eight members of the commission or six members with agreement from the mayor.
Thomas also rejected Wamp's assertion that Taylor is an at-will employee under the Hamilton County Employee Handbook.
"Wamp's arguments under the Hamilton County Employee Handbook are totally groundless that he has the authority to terminate Taylor for good cause, no cause or any cause, since the Handbook states it has no application," Thomas wrote.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.