MILLERSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A tense commissioner’s meeting in Millersville ended with the city firing their city manager on Tuesday and soon after, their city attorney.
Commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of terminating Scott Avery from the position, but some city leaders say there was almost no explanation for Avery’s firing.
Mayor Tommy Long confirmed Avery’s firing, but did not go into detail as to why this was happening or why commissioner Alisa Huling was allowed to vote, having only been sworn in 15 minutes earlier.
Long told commissioners and everyone in attendance that because Avery had already served at least a year, commissioners were within their rights to remove him from the position without explanation.
When pressed by other commissioners to explain anyway, a shouting match ensued with Long calling commissioners out of order. Watch the altercation in the player above.
Long announced later in the meeting that they already had a candidate ready to step in as interim city manager.
Moments after this, Tina Tobin was voted in as city manager, once again in a 3-2 vote.
Long provided commissioners with Tobin’s resume, which was obtained by NewsChannel5 Investigates. Tobin’s resume appears to show she has no prior experience as a city manager elsewhere.
However, that didn’t stop Tobin from making swift changes in less than 24 hours by firing City Attorney Jack Freedle — who had some words of his own.
NewsChannel5 Investigates obtained an email from Freedle to Tobin with the following message:
“There is no doubt that Tommy Long has misused his official position to proactively harm the people he doesn’t like and to benefit certain others — much of the proof is on video. This pattern was continued last night with the unlawful manner in which Scott Avery was removed, and you were installed.”
We know Avery’s time with Millersville was not without controversy. Earlier on, NewsChannel5 Investigates discovered that the city’s top cops were not certified, but still worked full-time hours.
We sent our findings to the POST Commission that oversees law enforcement in the state, and investigators determined that the department was not in compliance with state law.
Former Police Chief Melvin Brown and Assistant Police Chief Glenn Alred both resigned from their positions during the POST investigation.
Avery was their supervisor at the time, and he took responsibility for timecard issues we brought to his attention, which he later said was an oversight on his behalf.
With these officers no longer working for Millersville and the city in compliance, commissioner Cristina Templet says they deserve an explanation for why Avery was let go.
“Why do they think that as elected officials, they don’t need to give our constituents a reason for why they’re doing things? We’re here to serve the constituents. It’s not the other way around,” Templet said.
Templet says she talked several city employees out of a walkout on Wednesday, who were all upset about Avery's firing. She says despite concerns over the police department, some city employees felt Avery was turning things around for the better.
"Scott brought that city together. Like the city hall and the people that work in the city, they attribute the cohesiveness of that city to Scott Avery. Through all the mess of the commissioners, Scott has protected them," Templet said.
Templet has requested an ethics investigation over the handling of Avery’s exit.
We did reach out to Long and Avery for comment, but have not heard back at this time.
