Millersville city commission seemingly at war over recent firings, replacement hires
A special-called meeting in Millersville ended almost before it began Friday and quickly turned into an impromptu town hall discussion on the city's lack of transparency.
At the start of the proceedings, Millersville Mayor Tommy Long asked newly-appointed City Attorney Bryant Kroll whether commissioners could discuss the recent staff terminations and replacement hires for city manager, chief of police and city attorney after a lawsuit was filed this week, claiming the city violated open meeting laws.
"In light of the lawsuit pending, my advice is that you refrain from discussing these matters," Kroll replied.
After the three-minute meeting was adjourned, Commissioners Cristina Templet and David Gregory stayed behind, speaking with constituents inside commission chambers about the perceived lack of communication among their colleagues.
Millersville's commission fired the city manager, attorney and police chief in the span of three days late last month. The city manager, Scott Avery, was fired with great fanfare during an open meeting while the other two officials were fired quietly, via email.
Recent events appear to have started a war among commissioners, with Long, Vice Mayor Milton Dorris and Alisa Huling on one side and Templet and Gregory on the other.
The pending lawsuit referenced in the meeting was filed by Templet's husband.
And Templet, herself, accused Long, Dorris and the newly sworn-in Huling of violating Tennessee's Open Meetings Act during the last city meeting after they voted, without discussion, to fire Avery. Minutes later, they voted to hire Tina Tobin as interim city manager, again without discussion.
Cristina Templet on Friday told about 30 people during the impromptu discussion that Tobin's hiring after Avery's firing was proof of collusion between Huling, Dorris and Long.
"I'm so done with this commission not being transparent," she said. "I'm definitely going to be transparent."
After she was hired, Tobin made quick work of firing City Attorney Jack Freedle, sending him an email less than 24 hours later. He filed the lawsuit on behalf of Templet's husband.
Gregory said he has not anything like this in his 11 years as a commissioner. He asked the group of 30 if they liked what was going on with the city. Many shook their heads no.
He said the city needs to come together, speak up and vote in November.
In addition to the city manager and attorney, Millersville Police Chief Robert Richman, who'd moved to Tennessee from Texas before taking office in December, was fired by Tobin. He'd been hired by a unanimous vote from the board weeks earlier.
Now, Bryan Morris serves as Millersville's police chief, though it is unclear when he was hired. Morris previously served as Ridgetop's police chief and was there when the city abruptly disbanded its police department, citing budget concerns.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Commissioners spar during brief Millersville special-called meeting
