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Multiple members of the public, including three former aldermen, presented their opinions on the actions of the board and specific aldermen following the actions taken by Alderman Jenna Amacher on Feb. 1 and 3.

According to city officials, Amacher was discovered in a file storage closet at City Hall, investigating documents that were in a bin, waiting to be shredded. Amacher made a statement to The News following the discovery, in which she stated the box was unlocked upon her discovery, which was guided by information by a “whistleblower,” who she revealed to be city recorder Rosemary Golden.

Amacher admitted that the documents in the box appeared to be legal and personnel files, as well as referencing conversations between her and Glick, related to his lawsuit against the city of Tullahoma for age discrimination. In her statement, she referenced HR Director Casta Brice.

“It’s also been said, back when Kurt’s situation was going on,” Amacher began, “that he felt that there were problems in HR and that Casta had a ‘hitlist,’ if you will, and that she kept records on all the employees – not just employees that were still here, but going back 20-30 years – and that she would essentially invite certain employees into her office and collect dirt on people in town and keep records of that to use to benefit her whenever she needed to for whatever reason. He felt that those files were there.”

At the Feb. 13 meeting of the board, members of the public had the chance to address the board during public comments.

Doug Traversa, an Air Force veteran with 20 years of service and a minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Tullahoma, spoke as a character witness and friend of Brice.

“Her character has been attacked, her ethics have been attacked and I’m here to stand up for her,” he said. “I’ve seen what she does to prove her character is above reproach. I was stunned to read in the newspaper that she is accused of having a ‘hitlist,’ and while I can’t read people’s minds and hearts, I would be absolutely shocked if this were true. It is amazing, the amount of bitterness, vitriol, hatred, anger that I read about in the paper week after week, and mostly I just don’t want to look at it; but when a friend is attacked, I have to come up here and say something.”

His remark about a “hitlist” references the remark made by Amacher in an interview with The News on Feb. 3.

He expressed his hope that his words would sway members of the board that had not made up their minds about the vote to place Brice on administrative leave, as well as the idea that his words might inspire other people to run for office in the next election.

“I don’t have to go by what Casta has said or claimed,” he said. “I’ve seen her in action, year after year. I know she’s a person of the highest integrity and ethics, and you should be very pleased to have her working for the city. It just breaks my heart that she’s being put through something like this.”

Tullahoma resident Rosie Graham shared her concerns on the actions taken by Amacher and other members of the board, in relation to the duties and responsibilities granted to the board by the city charter, municipal code and rules and regulations.

“From a citizen’s perspective, it appears that it was a jumble of confusion, misinformation, misunderstanding and overstepping the limits of elected official duties,” she said. “The ready-fire-aim vigilante mentality to solve what may or may not have been a problem created havoc in a situation that was avoidable if handled properly.”

She went on to critique items placed on the agenda for consideration, as drafted by Amacher, stating that she believed they were not within the board’s purview, under the city’s rules and procedures.

These items included: a motion to instruct the interim city administrator to place Brice on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into the disposal of city documents; a motion that removed the power of the interim city administrator to hire, fire, promote and demote city employees, instead granting that power to the board; a motion to set a date for performance review of former city administrator Jennifer Moody; and a motion to direct the city recorder to report directly to the board, rather than the interim city administrator.

Another citizen, Susan Harris, spoke further on these suggested motions, as well as commenting on the events of Feb. 1, as detailed by Amacher in public Facebook posts and Facebook Live videos.

“I find it ironic that an alderman who loudly claims to support transparency in government would call other aldermen from a closet to discuss city business,” she said. “This alderman did not call all the board, just a select number. In my opinion, this is not just ridiculously non-transparent, but it smacks of cronyism and quite literally backroom deals. It would be funny if it were not so embarrassing for our town.”

She cited posts made by Amacher on her public Facebook account following the events of Feb. 1 and 3, stating that Amacher had reviewed Tullahoma Human Resources documents.

“On social media, this elected official asserts that an elected official, on an individual basis, has the authority to question, instruct and investigate city employees at will,” she said. “Outside of specifically approved actions, I do not believe any individual alderman has any powers of authority beyond that of a regular citizen. This is only my personal opinion, and I am not a lawyer. Of course, neither were any of the aldermen who went to city hall that day.”

Former alderman Rupa Blackwell spoke before the board, sharing events that happened during her term that demonstrated the proper procedure when presented with information from a whistleblower.

“The last place I want to be right now is in this room,” she said, “but as a citizen, I have a responsibility to speak up. Whistleblowers are essential to democracy. It is the whistleblowers that help to hold people in power accountable, but during my three years as an alderman, I had to bring multiple concerns from whistleblowers to our city administrator.”

She then shared the process that the board is meant to follow upon receiving information from whistleblowers, from personal experience and public record. After a city employee submitted a complaint about discrimination and retaliatory action to Blackwell, she had directed them to speak to Brice, then spoke to Moody herself. An investigation was launched, using a third-party entity.

She reported that the prior investigation had determined that accusations of retaliatory action were substantiated and that the discriminatory action had been determined as cronyism. She then addressed the items that were added to the agenda for consideration by Amacher.

“They are shocking, at best,” she said. “The agenda items attack the structure of our city government that is created by ordinance to give certain authorities to the city administrator. The agenda items can open this board up to significant liabilities regarding hiring practices, and again, it could appear that personal agendas and retaliation is the goal in these items.”

She urged the board to consider the fiscal liability they could open the city to, should the items be approved.

Jim Woodard, two-term city alderman, former Chamber of Commerce president and local business owner, spoke on the effect that the actions of the board could have on the financial development of the city. Prior to Woodard’s statement, Tullahoma resident Danny Sloan made his case on a separate issue, pleading with the board to approve a rezoning for his personal property that would allow him to make home repairs.

“When I was an alderman for six years, it was helping people like Mr. Sloan is what I thought my position as an alderman should be,” said Woodard, “not trying to sneak down the hall at city government and go through the files. The mayor has told me that I can’t say anybody’s name, but some of our city council is unhinged.”

He stated that the current board was operating with a far greater budget than the city had access to during his time as alderman, referencing an upcoming investment of $3 billion into Arnold Air Force Base (AFB).

“We’ve got other developers looking to come into town, and if you don’t think these developers don’t look at the newspaper, watch these board meetings, pay attention to what’s going on. I hope you guys can get a hold of yourself, those of you that are participating in this, because the community is watching. They’re paying attention, and the ones that are paying the biggest amount of taxes are embarrassed by the demeanor of this board. Not all of this board, but certainly I think we know who it is.”

Greg Sandlin, former alderman and former chairman of the Tullahoma Planning Commission, spoke about the impact of the board’s actions on the development of the city

“Lately, when I speak with or am approached by leaders or neighbors, I hear the following descriptions of our town and of this board: ‘embarrassing,’ ‘volatile,’ ‘unpredictable,’ last Saturday I heard ‘laughing stock,’” he said. “I know for a fact, in speaking with area developers, that this has pushed commercial and residential development away from Tullahoma. We need you to do better.”

He went on to speak about the future growth of the city, specifically remarking on the 2040 Comprehensive Plan being killed, as well as the rezoning of the Anderson Farm, a prime piece of potential residential real estate, being denied by the board.

“We cannot let Tullahoma become predominantly a retirement community,” he said. “We want it to be that, but we need it to be other stuff too. We call ourselves now an ‘Aerospace Center of Excellence.’ Let’s strive for that and not be a museum of aerospace history.”

Following these comments made by members of the public, Brice was immediately placed on paid administrative leave.