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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
The Hamilton County Commission was ordered by Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton to be added to a lawsuit filed by County Attorney Rheubin Taylor against Mayor Weston Wamp.
After Wamp’s attorneys Barret Albritton and Everett Hixson questioned the panel’s authority over the hiring and firing in a counterclaim filed in late November, this occurred. They also stated that Taylor and the commissioners were “acting in concert” to keep the county attorney in his job.
After the hearing on December 2, Atherton made the decision to order Wamp to serve the commission with his counterclaim.
“Due to certain factual allegations and legal arguments raised in Mayor Wamp’s counterclaim, the court determined that the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners should be classified as a counter-defendant,” Atherton said in an order filed Dec. 13.
Because the mayor has raised the question about the authority the panel has over the dismissal of the county attorney, according to Wamp’s attorney, Atherton has added the commission to the lawsuit as an “indispensable party”.
Once the commission has been served, the panel can decide whether an outside attorney is going to be hired to help them navigate that process.
Commissioners had previously retained attorney John Konvalinka for up to $10,000 after Wamp attempted to fire Taylor in mid-October.
Despite a request from Wamp’s attorneys, the court recused itself from the case, stating that the request was not filed timely. Wamp’s attorneys have argued that Atherton’s presence at a County Commission meeting on Oct. 19 could affect the proceedings.
“I cannot at this point make a determination that somehow the observation of this court in a hearing or a public forum before a nonparty would somehow give rise to a necessary or mandatory disqualification,” Atherton said, according to a transcript of the hearing. “The ramifications of that are just too broad.”
Atherton added that repeated motions are not favorable, but he will allow another request to be filed once the commission has joined the lawsuit.
Taylor filed a lawsuit against the mayor in Chancery Court on Oct. 31 asking that Taylor’s four-year contract, signed in June 2021, is valid and that Wamp cannot unilaterally fire the county attorney.
Taylor has had overwhelming support from the county commissioners, and a series of resolutions have been passed that reaffirmed Taylor’s contract and regranting him access to his office and equipment.
Wamp stated in his counterclaim to Taylor’s lawsuit in late November that Taylor had lobbied members of the County Commission to help him retain his job.
“The County Commission responded to Taylor’s call for help with a series of resolutions designed to insert itself into the dispute between Mayor Wamp and Taylor,” Wamp’s counterclaim says, referring to the resolutions passed in October.
It shows in court findings that the mayor also argued using the Hamilton County Employee Handbook, which lists the county attorney as an at-will employee – meaning the occupant can be fired without cause. This language in the handbook was approved by the County Commission in 2017 and 2020.
Taylor’s current contract, which the commission approved in June 2021, states it can be terminated by the county if a majority of the County Commission decides to do so with agreement from the mayor. Without agreement from the mayor, ending the contract requires a two-thirds majority.
Wamp is arguing, however, that the contract is invalid and unenforceable because nothing extends beyond the term of the officials who approved it. Wamp and a number of new county commissioners took office Sept. 1.
Wamp’s counterclaim states that he has the exclusive authority to appoint and terminate Hamilton County department heads, including the county attorney. Going against the resolution passed in October, Wamp claims the commission does not have the authority to hire or fire.
According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Taylor has not spoken publicly since Wamp’s attempt to fire him in October. Wamp cited him for private work on county time, destruction of public records and violation of attorney-client privilege.
Vice Chairman Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, said by phone that he wants the issue to proceed to court so it can be put to bed. County officials are spending too much time and money arguing about their relative powers, he said, and there needs to be a definitive answer.
“I’m not picking sides,” Graham said. “I’m going to follow the law. If the law says (Taylor) stays, he stays. If the law says the contract is no good, he’ll have to go. But I’m going to follow the law.”
