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Citing concerns about his performance as Decherd city administrator, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen fired Rob Bennett Monday in a split vote.

Decherd Mayor Mary Nell Hess said a series of negative issues had been reported about Bennett in an annual performance review.

Hess said Bennett had taken a lawn mower for his personal use from the Street Department that was supposed to not work. However, she added that it ran smoothly.

Bennett said the instances Hess was referring to date back to 2021 when he was not the city administrator and was assistant street superintendent at the time.

Hess said there had been no record of the sale for the mower. She also said that Bennett had used city tools for personal use.

She added that he had taken wood from the city cemetery and used it to surround his backyard.

Bennett later said that the mower had been legitimately paid for, and its sale had been authorized by a department head. He said he did borrow tools, but other city employees have from time to time also done so because they were allowed to.

He said he was also given the wood from the cemetery by a department head.

Hess also said that Bennett had other negative performance concerns, including issues related to communication with other employees and declining morale among departments.

Alderman Shuler Hopkins, who had cast the sole dissenting vote, said Monday night was the first time he had heard about the concerns that had been expressed about Bennett.

“Everyone in this room knows more about this situation than I do,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins questioned why there was such urgency to act on Bennett’s termination.