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Hartselle Enquirer

Dozens attend public hearing regarding Halbrooks termination

City officials and citizens packed the city council chambers Sept. 6 to attend a public hearing regarding the termination of former public works director Tommy Halbrooks.

Hartselle Mayor Randy Garrison terminated Halbrooks July 24 citing numerous complaints regarding the “hostile work environment” at Hartselle Public Works. Halbrooks appealed the decision, stating that proper procedures were not followed and challenging the validity of the accusations.

A three-member personnel board heard testimonies from Garrison, the city’s Human Resource administrator Melee Laney, city clerk Rita Lee and various Hartselle Public Works employees, who cited incidents when Halbrooks used “heavy-handed tactics” and “intimidation” when conversing, training and disciplining his employees. The board also questioned Halbrooks and his attorney, John D. Saxon.

Citing the city’s personnel handbook, Saxon claimed the city did not follow its own procedure for terminating an employee. Halbrooks did not receive a formal evaluation in 2018 which, according to Saxon, should have happened in June of this year. Halbrooks said in the hearing that he expected to be reprimanded regarding the incident that happened with an employee July 19, but his termination came “out of the blue.”

The incident, according to several accounts, happened July 19 when Kevin Beasley was working at the Hartselle landfill on a new dozer that was running hot. Beasley reported he had to give the engine a break or it would burn up, and he was afraid he would be blamed for the destruction of the equipment, but he was allegedly instructed to run it anyway.

Laney said she spoke to Beasley after he left work July 19, and he said he felt as though he was being treated unfairly and being “set up to fail.”

“I don’t know where this came from, but I didn’t have a conversation with (Beasley) that day. Kevin Beasley is a good guy – I think he just got upset at a situation and thought I was behind it when I wasn’t,” Halbrooks said.

The incident in July, according to those who testified, was not an isolated incident, as the administration had received multiple complaints regarding Halbrooks’ management style throughout his 26-month tenure as public works director.

Some accusations, Garrison said, were made under the previous administration about events that took place during Halbrooks’ first few months of working for the city.

Laney said she had several signed statements from public works employees that corroborated accusations that Halbrooks was responsible for the hostile work environment.

Garrison testified that the volume of complaints was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” in his eyes.

“There’s a problem if they feel strongly enough about it that they have to come talk to me about it,” Garrison said.

Halbrooks rebutted the accusations, saying information about what he said or environments he created was misconstrued.

He said statements written by his former employees were given to him the night of the hearing, and he never had the opportunity to speak to the previous administration about complaints made in 2016.

“I haven’t read them in that much detail, but I can tell you that you can’t be a director or a boss and be a buddy too. It doesn’t work out,” Halbrooks said.

In his opening statement, Garrison said he told Halbrooks in a November 2016 meeting that the slate could be wiped clean.

“I expected the previous problems not to occur again … and that he would work on how he dealt with and how he disciplined employees as well as how they would be treated going forward,” Garrison testified.

Garrison said during Halbrooks’ first six-month evaluation, which was postponed until January 2017, it was noted that he needed to take a class on how to deal with subordinates.

In a memo regarding the Nov. 14 meeting, which was read during the hearing, Garrison wrote the following:

“I have just taken office and I do not feel comfortable issuing your 90-day review that was due on September 20, 2017. However, Melee Laney, HR administrator and I have met with you and gone over your job description, the personnel handbook and some complaints Mayor Smelser received. She has stated what is expected of you in your performance as public works director and since your six month probation is due December 20, 2016 I am extending it until January 20, 2017 to give myself more time to evaluate your work.”

During the time between the November 2016 meeting and his termination this year, Halbrooks said he was not formally reprimanded for anything nor were complaints mentioned in performance evaluations.

When he was terminated July 24, Halbrooks said he was called to city hall for a meeting with Garrison, Laney and other officials, while Hartselle Police Chief Ron Puckett stood outside. “It was such a strong-armed tactic to begin with. It was like I was a criminal already – like I was guilty even though I had not even been talked to about anything like this,” Halbrooks said. “We had had discussions but nothing about a hostile environment at all. I don’t know if they know the true definition of a hostile work environment. Hostile is usually used around some sort of discrimination, and there was no discrimination. There was no hostile environment. There was no personal vendetta against anyone unless it was pointed at me from the administration,” Halbrooks said in a separate interview.

Halbrooks said he and his lawyer decided to open the hearing to the public to let the truth be known and to have a fair attempt at being reinstated to his dream job. “I still have a lot of respect for the administration in the city of Hartselle, and obviously, it’s my town. I grew up here and I live here,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for the way things are, and I think it can still be worked out.

“I don’t know what had changed everything,” Halbrooks added. “There’s no line in the sand that I can draw that got us to this point. To go from nothing to a termination can destroy a person or destroy a family.

“I know my conscience is clear. I was doing a job that I was hired to do. There’s no real marker for why things went that way.”

Garrison declined to make a closing statement at last week’s hearing, saying he stands by his decision and his statements.

“I trust in the ability of the personnel board to do their due diligence and make a decision in their best judgment,” Garrison said in a later interview.

The board had seven business days from the time of the hearing to make a formal recommendation. Garrison said he expects to receive it early next week.

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