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Open , Honest County Government |
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PUBLIC SPIRITED CITIZENS of SEVIER COUNTY |
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SCUD |
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Information has been received from two (2) – three (3) sources that warrant letting the people of Sevier County know that there are activities at SCUD that do not appear to be ethical or legal. These are concerning management and possibly by the SCUD Board of Directors. The activities have apparently been going on for quite a long period of time. Long enough, that there is an outcry for investigation and correction of those activities that appears to be diverting Public Funds for Personal use. Some, but not all of the information will be shared at this time. There will be other documents, later. The items in the photo gallery are letters; one written by a former employee and the other by a person living in the same neighborhood as the Director of SCUD. They were written anonymously because of fear of repercussion. That does not make them less credible. The Credit Card copies show trips, clothes, food & lodging, golf equipment, and other items that were purchased by office staff possibly in violation of company policies and ethical and legal standards. There is no doubt that gas prices were higher a few months ago and an explanation of the increase in the customer’s gas bill was given to the public but we believe that miss –appropriation of funds would also add to the cost. Again, this information is being posted to inform the Citizens of Sevier County that we have cause for alarm and because the persons involved are misusing Public Monies. This appears to be long standing and if it is, the Board of Directors has either completely ignored the obvious or is not aware of the apparent flagrant actions of the company they oversee for us, the CITIZENS of SEVIER COUNTY. Either way it is a “shame and disgrace”. Information has been forwarded to the State Comptrollers Office, Audit Division, requesting a detailed audit of the Utility Department for possible Fraud and Abuse. If you would like to contact us, please do so, everything is held in strictest confidence. |
Violations? |
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A neighbor and Former Employee Report Violations |
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To: Comptroller’s Hotline – State of Tennessee
615-532-2765 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: In speaking with the Operator today, reference was made to Personnel Policies & Procedures of the Sevier County Utility District. At the time of my call, having received this information in the past two weeks anonymously and directed to the post box of Public Spirited Citizens of Sevier County, I did not see, specifically, that these policies and procedures were ‘adopted by Board of Commissioners on December 18 2008’, how interesting? For some strange reason, there seems to be some changes going on at SCUD, possibly brought about by the interest of public citizens regarding the management of Sevier County Utility District. The catch is – these family members employed by the Manager, Matt Ballard, are ‘grandfathered’ in and these changes will not apply to those currently employed. One obvious thing I will point out is that this came from inside the operation by someone currently connected and since the rumored firing of an individual by the name of Janet, or Jan, who had made information available regarding the use of the company credit card account. Two dates of importance – the adoption of the policies, Dec. 18, 2008; The firing of Janet January 5, 2009 (best information available). |
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Information Sent to Comptroller’s |
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The people who have commented on this article are not happy. Gee, I wonder why. |
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SCUD defends, nixes incentive program (Click below) |
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Scud Deserves MORE than a slap on the wrist for their recent trip to Costa Rica. What about the other trips taken ? What about the Board of Directors involved? (see homepage for update) |
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*SCUD donated 5k to the school tax referendum? Rate payer? Public founds? |
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Did You Know That? |
