One of the leaders of Chattanooga’s technology team was placed on administrative leave after speaking publicly about the city’s cybersecurity and a decision to lay off seven permanent staffers in his department.
Aaron Welch was told last week that under a reorganization included in Mayor Tim Kelly’s proposal for next year’s budget, he and six other regular employees were slated to be laid off at the end of June. Welch is the director of information technology security for the city’s Department of Technology Services.
He and other members of the department spoke about the layoffs during a City Council meeting. They said then that the reorganization caught them by surprise. And Welch said at the time that he had major concerns about aspects of the city’s cybersecurity. Some of those concerns stem from the city’s response to the 2024 hacking of a vendor the city used for debt collection services. Others are tied to an audit of the city’s wastewater treatment plant, he said.
(READ MORE: City of Chattanooga says it was also affected by data breach)
Welch said a week later, in another City Council meeting, that after speaking to the City Council following the layoff announcement he was placed on paid, non-punitive leave that will end with the current fiscal year.