DUANE SHERRILLEditor

What started as a warning issued to the board of mayor and aldermen has become a reality as City Administrator Jason Quick has filed a complaint claiming breach of contract by the City of Tullahoma and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BoMA).

In his suit, filed in Coffee County Chancery Court, Quick asks that the court direct elected officials to cease actively trying to retain the services of a human resource firm, that elected officials by required to approve the organizational chart presented at the Nov. 10, 2025 meeting of BoMA, and that the Human Resources Director be reestablished.

The filing comes after Quick told the board of mayor and alderman late last year that a suit could be in the offing for what he believes are violations of his contract with the city in his role as city administrator. His suit names the city of Tullahoma along with Mayor Lynn Sebourn and Aldermen Bobbie Wilson, Busch Thoma, Jerry Mathis, Kurt Glick, Matthew Bird and Sernobia McGee.

In his suit, Quick maintains that his contract says he is the “chief executive officer of the city” and that his responsibilities include appointment and termination of all other city employees consistent with the city charter.

“The contract states that the plaintiff (Quick) shall be able to organize, reorganize and arrange the staff of the City and develop and establish internal regulations, rules and procedures as the plaintiff see necessary,” the suit reads with Quick maintaining he was hired under that understanding. “The City agreed to employ the plaintiff as city administrator to perform the functions and duties specified in the Tullahoma Municipal Code and perform other legally permissible and proper duties and functions without interference.”

The suit says he is supposed to supervise all departments and has the right to review all applications for employment and has the right to make written recommendations to BoMA regarding the hiring of department heads. Quick said the city began looking for the services of a human resource agency for consultation.

“This was voted on without consulting the plaintiff,” the suit notes, adding that Quick tried to right the matter by proposing an organizational chart at the Nov. 10 meeting that would address the human resources question. That proposal was denied.

Quick also maintains the mayor and members of the council have been trying to find a reason to fire him from his job.

“It is alleged that Mayor Sebourn and Alderman Bird and Thomas have been investigating the plaintiff with department heads in the city, city employees past and present, and local citizens to find causes for termination due to the plaintiff not acquiescing in his fundamental, fiduciary and contractual duties on the behalf of the city of Tullahoma,” the suit maintains.

There is no exact demand for monetary compensation from the suit although Quick asks that the city be responsible for attorney fees and any other damages the court finds he is due. The suit is signed by attorneys Garth R. Seagroves of Tullahoma and Gilbert W. McCarter II of Murfreesboro.

The complaint can be viewed below: