The Oak Hill Slideshow
Posted on August 16, 2008 at 1:08 pmThe Oak Hill Gazette posts the full PowerPoint presentation by Oak Hill Mayor Tommy Alsup designed to refute accusations made by Commissioner Chip Throckmorton, former City Manager Bill Kraus and others at a forum for citizens at the Woodland Hills Church Of Christ.
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In The Name Of The Father: NewsChannel5’s Jennifer Kraus Speaks Out At Oak Hill Forum
Posted on August 13, 2008 at 7:36 pmOak Hill residents hoping for a reprise of the shouting matches at the last Board of Commissioners meeting at last night’s Mayoral Forum may have come away slightly disappointed.
The meeting, called by Mayor Tommy Alsup to address the concerns of Oak Hill residents in the wake of the disputed resignation of Bill Kraus and accusations of a “shadow government” by one of Oak Hill’s Commissioners, was a much needed political maneuver on the part of the embattled mayor.
In a methodical, bullet by bullet, PowerPoint presentation, Alsup addressed many of the allegations leveled against him. Alsup defended the infrequent, yet controversial practice of issuing checks from the City of Oak Hill bearing only one signature, his. Alsup projected onto two screens in the Woodland Hills Church Of Christ auditorium checks, also bearing only one signature, checks signed by Bill Kraus as well as some by former Mayor and current Commissioner Chip Throckmorton. Both are Alsup detractors.
Alsup also defended his hiring as a consultant, lobbyist Rob Ikard, to repair relationships with state officials outside of Oak Hill which had been damaged by Oak Hill’s prominent opposition to the so-called Bredesen Bunker.
However, the highlight of the evening’s festivities was the appearance of NewsChannel5 Anchor and Investigative Journalist Jennifer Kraus, daughter of former City Manager Bill Kraus. Kraus the Father was not at the forum on the advice of counsel, John Herbison, who has reportedly sent a letter requesting that Kraus be reinstated as City Manager.
Despite the absence of both him and his attorney, his side of the story was not without representation.
While Mayor Alsup repeatedly demurred from answering questions from the audience about the retirement of the City Manager citing the advice of counsel, Kraus the Daughter seemed less restrained.
Appearing at the forum as a “private citizen and resident of Oak Hill”, Kraus expressed “deep appreciation and gratitude” for the support of her father by many in the community and said that her father would “strongly disagree” with much of the defense Mayor Alsup had laid out.
Kraus took issue, in fact, with the very nature of the gathering. She told the assembled Oak Hill citizens, in a cautionary tone, that this forum was not a “public meeting” on the record like other Board of Commissioner meetings and as such nothing being said or done was either official or binding.
Kraus asserted that Mayor Alsup was in the wrong when, she says, he took unilateral action in a meeting with her father about his resignation leaving the other two commissioners out of loop. Kraus contended that the law is not in any way clear on whether a City Manager can endorse and contribute to a candidate for Commissioner.
Kraus the Father’s signature on a post card supporting incumbent Tommy Jacobs, as well as his financial donation, was the stick Alsup is allegedly to have held over his head when he resigned.
The law seems to be ambiguous as to whether Kraus’s action was or was not permissible. The oft-cited part of the state code T.C.A § 6-21-106 would seem to support the assumption that the Kraus was in the wrong in supporting Jacobs. A competing code, T.C.A § 7-51-1501 would seem to say the opposite. And the code on what to do when the codes contradict each other, um, I don’t even what to talk about.
Adding to the intrigue is the fact that, while the Oak Hill Charter reads exactly as T.C.A. § 6-21-106 does, the commission passed a ordinance in 1998 (similar in language to the wording at this link) which seems more in line with T.C.A. § 7-51-1501.
Regardless of the legality of the action, Kraus the Daughter argued that there was never a board vote either firing or officially accepting her father’s resignation so that, having rescinded his retirement, her father is still the City Manager of Oak Hill.
Alsup repeated what he has maintained all along, that Kraus was not forced to retire and that other Commissioners were kept apprised of his actions. However, Alsup stopped short of a full point-by-point rebuttal of Kraus, again, citing advice of counsel.
“I’ve already ventured too far,” Alsup explained to the crowd in his response to Ms. Kraus.
Former Oak Hill City Manager Under Investigation
Posted on July 24, 2008 at 7:57 amBill Kraus, the former City Manager of Oak Hill currently embroiled in a controversy over what he says was a forced retirement, is now under investigation by an organization overseeing Tennessee city managers. Paul Boyer, City Manager of Columbia, Tennessee, representing the Tennessee City Managers Association confirmed the investigation. Boyer could not confirm the nature of the investigation only that it was ongoing.
Ken Whitehouse reported last month that Kraus had retired as City Manager of Oak Hill. It was subsequently revealed that Kraus had lent both his name and his money to the reelection campaign of then Oak Hill Commissioner Tommy Jacobs. Both Tenn. Code Ann. 6-21-106 and the International City/County Management Association’s Code of Ethics would seem prohibit this type of activity.
Kraus disagrees saying that he had cleared his actions with more than one attorney. Kraus also asserts that the Oak Hill Mayor Tommy Alsup coerced his letter of resignation and that his retirement was forced, never acted upon by the board and thus, invalid.
During the battle over renovations at Tennessee’s Executive residence, which is in Oak Hill, it was revealed that Kraus had been convicted of felonies while serving as a City Manager in California. Kraus was also found to have attempted to conceal that fact on his Davidson County voter registration form. Temporarily relieved of his right to vote, Kraus is now, again, a registered voter in Tennessee.
SEE ALSO:
Kraus fights his retirement at raucous Oak Hill town meeting
Former Oak Hill City Manager Speaks At Commisioner’s Meeting
Posted on July 18, 2008 at 8:04 amOak Hill Commissioner Austin McMullen recounts a raucous Commissioners meeting in the City Of Oak Hill last night:
[Former Oak Hill City Manager Bill] Kraus also had an opportunity to address the Board of Commissioners and those present for the meeting. Unfortunately, Kraus chose to make several false statements or claims that were inconsistent with his previous statements. Kraus, who retired from the position of city manager last month, asserted that he was “forced” to retire based on what he claims is an incorrect interpretation of the law. Yet Kraus, in his letter dated June 21, wrote that he consulted with “five well-known and renowned attorneys” who he says told him that the law he violated did not require his termination. Despite this advice, he chose to retire. A person who consults with five attorneys before acting can hardly claim that he was “forced” to do anything.
There is no question whatsoever that Kraus violated Tennessee law when he openly campaigned for and contributed monetarily to the efforts of a candidate for the Board of Commissioners in last month’s election. In tonight’s meeting, Kraus claimed that the postcards he wrote for a candidate “specifically said” that they were “not an endorsement.” You can read the postcards and decide for yourself. I don’t see anything there “specifically” saying that Kraus’ signature is “not an endorsement.”
Although Kraus’ conduct in violation of Tennessee law raises concerns — especially in light of Kraus’ previous felony conviction — it probably does not matter in the end because Kraus retired from the position of city manager. Several questions were asked about Kraus’ resignation and whether it had to be accepted by the Board in order to be effective. My understanding is that Tennessee is an “at-will” employment state. This means that a person can terminate his employment “at-will” and without any acceptance by the employer of the employee’s decision to quit.
Commissioner Throckmorton falsely claimed that I campaigned on a promise to get rid of Kraus. I walked throughout Oak Hill during the campaign and talked to hundreds of residents. My position on Kraus was always the same — his undisclosed felony conviction raised concerns for me, but I was keeping an open mind because I felt he had done a number of good things for our residents. The fact that the City of Oak Hill would hire a city manager without conducting any background check or even requiring the completion of a job application — all while Commissioner Throckmorton held the position of Mayor — was a serious concern to me, one that I expressed on the campaign trail. The more recent revelation of Kraus’ additional violations of Tennessee law raised even more concerns for me, but Kraus ultimately decided to retire. It is noteworthy that during the citizen comment portion of the agenda — long before the end of the meeting — Commissioner Throckmorton walked out of tonight’s meeting without any explanation.
SEE ALSO: Oak Hill Gazette
Signs Of GOP Support
Posted on July 14, 2008 at 7:37 amThe Oak Hill Gazette reports that the Republican Mayor of Oak Hill seems to be supporting Democrat Mike Stewart for state House in the 52nd District.
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Oak Hill Mayor On City Manager’s Rescinded Retirement: “There Will Be No Vote.”
Posted on June 30, 2008 at 9:07 pmIt would appear that the rumors that William Kraus was attempting to rescind his retirement as Oak Hill City Manager were true. As reported in the Tennessean, William Kraus, who resigned his position as City Manager on June 18, will attempt to force a vote on his retirement at the next Oak Hill Commissioners meeting on July 17.
At issue, are political actions Kraus made in support of since defeated Commissioner Tommy Jacobs which would appear to be illegal based on Tenn. Code Ann. 6-21-106. Kraus asserts that he cleared his political action in support of Jacobs on two separate occasions with the City Attorney. Both the City Attorney and the Mayor of Oak Hill reject his account.
In a letter to Oak Hill residents dated June 21, Kraus recounts the circumstances that lead to his retirement:
[O]n June 16th, the Mayor ordered me to his house where he and the City Attorney told me that I had violated a little known state statute that forbids the City Manager from assisting a candidate for the Board of Commissioners. The Mayor then told me that I had to either resign or retire immediately. Keep in mind, that the Mayor was acting alone, and as I later learned, without the knowledge or consent of the other two commissioners - Commissioner Ray Throckmorton and former commissioner Tommy Jacobs.
I agreed to retire though, despite being advised by five well-known and renowned attorneys in town who all agreed that forcing me to leave my position for this sort of violation was totally unnecessary.
Mayor Alsup disputes the above accusation as well as the contents of the letter in their totality. Alsup explained to Post Politics that there was no forced retirement. Alsup asserts that Kraus was simply made aware of his violation of the code, and instead of facing the very vote he now seeks, Kraus elected to resign.
“Dr. Kraus was advised of the illegality of his actions and that the consequences for such actions could be dismissal by the board. He chose to resign,” explains Alsup.
Alsup also disputes Kraus’ allegation that a political operative was hired by the City at $60,000 dollars a year. The operative in question, Rob Ikard, the former Tennessee state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, is an independent contractor. He works on a per project basis for which he can be paid no more than $10,0000 per project according to City regulations. No more than that amount has been paid per project to Ikard according to Alsup.
The forcing of a vote of the Board Of Commissioners is an interesting route for Kraus. There are only three commissioners in Oak Hill, two of which have signed a statement addressed to the Citizens of Oak Hill that states, among other things, the following:
Kraus chose to resign effective June 18, 2008, and is no longer an employee of the City of Oak Hill.
Bill Kraus did a lot of great things for the City of Oak Hill. However, we could not ignore what we were advised was a violation of state law.
They say every battle is won before it is ever fought. In the case of Bill Kraus, this would seem most definitely to be case.
“Dr. Kraus resigned and we accepted that resignation. He no longer comes into the offices. He no longer serves as City Manager. An interim city manager has been appointed and we are actively seeking a permanent replacement,” explains Alsup, “There will be no vote.”
William Kraus dodged a bullet when the town of Oak Hill allowed him to stay on as City Manager after it was revealed that he had a felony conviction in his past. At this point, while the will to rescind exists no way to do so does. The clock has run out.
There will be no vote.
UPDATE: Dr. Bill Kraus responds:
I am now advised by an attorney that specializes in employment law that my initial “forced” retirement, dated June 18th was never legally acted upon by the Board of Commissioners at their monthly meeting on June 19th. Thus, in his opinion, I am still City Manager until the July 17th meeting which is the next legally constituted meeting.
In the meantime, the telephone and email response to my letter of June 21st has, to put it mildly, been overwhelming and I am truly grateful. I am in the process of preparing a letter to the Board of Commissioners requesting that they take the legal action that they have not, to date,taken and that the Board meeting be relocated to larger facilities to handle those who do want to attend.
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