KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — One Knox County Parks and Recreation Department employee has been fired and another suspended following an internal review of their conduct while on county time, 10News has learned.
As county employees, Gary Edsell and Joe Inman did side work for several people including the now former chief of staff for Mayor Glenn Jacobs, the investigation showed.
County officials looked into their actions this fall while also reviewing the personal use of a county golf cart.
Chief of Staff Bryan Hair quit in October after admitting to using the golf cart for his wife and parks senior director Paul White was fired.
Records obtained by 10News show Edsell was fired Tuesday and Inman was put on 10 days’ suspension and had his annual pay reduced by about $5,600.
A disciplinary letter for Inman included highlighted time card records in May, June and July when the side work allegedly happened.
Records show Edsell was disciplined in January 2017 over a missing county chain saw.
Documents state Inman’s chain saw disappeared. Police were alerted and a report taken.
But then Edsell told Inman another county employee might have borrowed it, and officials found out that Edsell himself had taken it for use.
For that, Edsell was suspended three days without pay and was stripped of his take-home vehicle privileges.
“Your actions have created (sic) bad situation and strained relationships between you and your co-workers,” a 2017 disciplinary letter states.
Edsell had worked since 2013 for the county, records show. Inman had worked at least five years.
The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has also been looking into activities involving Parks and Recreation.
No report has yet been made public. The state office does not comment on their work while in progress.
Jacobs issued a statement Wednesday.
“The Comptroller’s investigation is ongoing, but we’ve made some additional personnel changes based on what we’ve already learned. As I’ve said before, ethics are not ambiguous. We have safeguards in place to help employees in bad situations and they are ethically bound to use them when appropriate. I hate to see anyone be reprimanded or lose their job, but public trust is fragile and I truly believe Knox County and its team members must be above reproach.”
