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Ray names Newport Utilities in litigation
Ousted Newport Utilities General Manager Glenn Ray has filed a lawsuit in Cocke County Circuit Court naming the utilities board and three of it's members. The action filed Friday stems from Ray's removal from his post in late April, after a performance review at the end of his first year in the position. Ray says he was asked to resign with a severance package or be removed. The litigation names the seven member board, and Chairman Kenny Morgan, and board members Bill Costner and Charles Benson in their individual capacity. It says Ray had over 33 years of experience in operations, project and engineering management before he was hired for the position in April, 2013. The plaintiff points out that during the course of his tenure, he had never received a single oral reprimand for his performance, and was never suspended or demoted. In fact Ray says he received positive feedback regarding his performance from Chairman Morgan and other board members. But Ray says he was asked on numerous occasions to perform favors for the defendants "that he believed to be illegal as well as against the interest of important public policy." He also says he was asked to ignore and not report activities that he believed were illegal. He points to a decision by the utility board to employ Wolf Tree to trim trees along power lines. According to the lawsuit, Wolf Tree submitted a bid that was $300,000 higher than the lowest bidder, and in fact was the fifth lowest bidder. Ray says the procedure followed was illegal, and the firm employed few local residents. The plaintiff says when he questioned the decision by the board, he was told by Morgan to "leave it alone."He says Morgan also asked that the utility donate $1,000 to the Sunset gap Community center, which is managed by Morgan. The chair reportedly told Ray such donations had been made in previous years. But when the matter was investigated, Ray says he found that $100.00 had been donated the previous year. Ray says in October, 2013, Costner approached him and asked to have his grandson moved from Meter Tech to Apprentice Lineman, jobs that are in different job classifications and with different pay levels. Costner also allegedly asked that the salary of his grandson be kept at the previous level saying, "we need to leave my grandson's pay exactly as it is." According to Ray he refused the request "because it was a violation of city policy and Newport Utilities policy, modeled after TVA's recommended guidelines on pay scales." The plaintiff says he also was approached on at least two occasions by Benson who requested that Ray hire individuals for open positions at the utility. The General manager says he refused because, "the individuals were drastically under qualified ad hiring them would have resulted in violation of the Newport Utilities Board personnel policy." The lawsuit goes on to say the special meeting of the board at which time his ouster was discussed was not adequately advertised and resulted in a violation of the state's Open Meetings law. Following Ray's termination, the lawsuit says Costner defamed the plaintiff, when Costner said in the hearing of others in a local barbershop, that Ray had had "inappropriate contact with a female employee at Newport Utilities." The lawsuit asks that the court find that the actions of the board were illegal, the actions taken during the illegal meeting of the board are void, that the board be enjoined from hiring a new General Manager, that Ray receive back pay and that he receive damages determined by the court. Contacted Friday afternoon, Morgan said he had not seen the lawsuit and would have no comment. The ouster of Ray has created an uproar in the Cocke County community, with supporters of Ray showing up in large numbers at meetings of the utilities board and Newport city council. Morgan, Costner and John Bugg all serve on the city council and utilities board.
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