Shockwave Nelson Out Littleton I

The drama began to unfold mid week when a public notice appeared in the Daily Digest announcing a meeting of the board for today (Friday) at 1:00. Several board members had requested the meeting. However Brookshire objected to the meeting and wanted it canceled. Early Friday morning, written notices appeared on the doors at city hall stating that the meeting had been canceled. The notices were signed, printed, from Matt Brookshire, Chairman Of The Board.

LCUB board members arrived at the appointed time and the meeting was held. For now to make a long story short, councilman Tony Aikens stated that ever since Nelson had announced his retirement, it had created a lot of instability at the utilities and there had been a lot of rumors circulating and he felt for the good of the utilities and the rate payers the change needed to be made. Aikens made the motion to accept Nelson's earlier retirement notice and make it effective immediately and to appoint Shannon Littleton as interim manager of the utilities. The motion received a unanimous vote of the board.

As of 1:30 Friday Mr. Nelson is retired and Littleton is the interim manager. Legal challenges to the board's decision are a possibility. There were several other issues decided at the meeting but this was the big one. I will provide a more detailed update soon.

LCUB dismisses general manager

LENOIR CITY - The board of directors of the Lenoir City Utilities Board voted unanimously this afternoon to dismiss and replace retiring LCUB General Manager Fred Nelson.

In a special called meeting at city hall, the board voted to appoint LCUB Assistant General Manager Shannon Littleton as interim general manager during the search for a new leader.

Board member Tony Aikens made the motion to replace Nelson. Aikens said that the "rumors" among hourly and salary employees of LCUB were keeping them from concentrating on their jobs.

The board also voted to establish a search committee for a new general manager and new committees to oversee budget and personnel issues. The committees give the board more responsibility for management decisions at the utility.

Lenoir City Mayor Matt Brookshire, chairman of the LCUB board, was not present at today's meeting. Brookshire, who is Nelson's son-in-law, is considered a leading candidate for the new GM job.

During a board meeting earlier this week Brookshire and Nelson both argued against the formation of committees to manage personnel and budget issues. Under Nelson's leadership, the general manager had sole responsibility for salary and personnel decisions.

Board member Eddie Simpson said that he felt the board should "take back control" of LCUB.

A special called meeting of the board today was posted in a local newspaper on Wednesday. This morning, however, a notice canceling the meeting and signed by Brookshire was posted on the doors of city hall.

Board members reached at home this morning said they intended to hold the meeting regardless, as long as they had a quorum.

Nelson, who last month had announced his intention to retire in January of 2010, was not at the meeting and could not be reached for comment. The board voted to give him his full pay and benefits through his official retirement date. Nelson had worked for LCUB since 1966.

Brookshire told city council members earlier in the week that the board committees should not have control of salary and personnel issues.

Simpson said Monday he was in favor of using a committee made up of board members to make such decisions. Simpson was joined by Tony Aikens, Mike Henline and Douglas Hines, who all sit on city council and the utility's board.

Greg Wilkerson News Herald

Members of the Lenoir City Utilities Board met Friday afternoon, despite having the meeting cancelled by Board Chairman and Lenoir City Mayor Matt Brookshire, to force an early retirement for LCUB General Manager Freddie Nelson.

Neither Nelson nor Brookshire were at the meeting. Last month Nelson announced his plans to retire, effective Jan. 22.

The members present Friday, including Tony Aikens, Bobby Johnson, Joel Garber, Mike Henline, Douglas Hines and Pat Beasley voted unanimously to pay Nelson through Jan. 22, but replace him immediately with Shannon Littleton, the city's attorney and assistant general manager at LCUB, as acting manager until a permanent replacement is selected. Vice Chairman Eddie Simpson was also at the meeting but as acting chairman in Brookshire's absence did not cast a vote.

Aikens, who made the motion to remove Nelson, said when a person in Nelson's position announces his retirement, "it creates turmoil, rumors among the hourly people, administrative people and salary people." His motion included paying Littleton at the same level as Nelson while he is fulfilling the role. "I'll take the challenge as the board sees fit," Littleton said, adding, "I would encourage the board to do a regional search for a general manager."

Littleton also pointed out he would be among the candidates for the position. "I think we need to take our time and get the best person," Hines said.

The board also voted unanimously to expand the members of the search committee for a new general manager to include all the members of the board including the mayor. They also approved the appointments of Aikens, Simpson, Henline and Hines to the LCUB personnel committee and Johnson, Garber, Beasley and Gene Hamby, who was not present, to the budget and salary committees.

At the beginning of the meeting Littleton asked the board members to join him in a closed-door executive session to discuss possible litigation stemming from their actions.

LCUB names new GM
Littleton to replace retiring Nelson amid controversy
Heather Mays Farragut Press

In a special-called meeting Friday, Oct. 23, Lenoir City Utilities Board appointed LCUB attorney and assistant general manager Shannon Littleton as interim general manager, effective immediately.

“I really don’t know the Board’s reasoning for all the facts,” Littleton said.

“I do know Mr. Nelson has had some health issues, and locally, there has been a lot of rumors and innuendos surrounding this job.

“You know, that happens every time someone announces their retirement, so I thought the Board, to get employees settled down and let the public [be] reassured they were doing the right thing, thought it was necessary to call a Board meeting immediately to settle this stuff down,” he added.

Former GM Fred Nelson announced his retirement last month, effective in January. He was not present at Friday’s special-called meeting.

Amid rumors of nepotism, and after a controversial monthly Board meeting Monday, Oct. 19, the Board planned a special-called meeting Friday.

It was announced in a local paper.

When meeting-comers arrived, they reportedly found notices posted on the doors, signed by LCUB chair and Lenoir City Mayor Matt Brookshire, saying the meeting had been cancelled.

However, enough of the LCUB Board was there to constitute a quorum, so they held the meeting anyway.

Tony Aikens, Bobby Johnson Jr., former Farragut Alderman Joel Garber, Eddie Simpson, Mike Henline, Douglas “Buddy” Hines and Pat Beasley all were present.

All also voted to replace Nelson, and to appoint members to personnel, budget and salary committees, which Brookshire had voted against at the Monday meeting.

At that Monday meeting, the Board approved, by a 4 to 3 vote, the three committees, to be staffed by Board members.

Brookshire repeatedly stated the powers to hire and decide salaries should not lie with the Board.

“What do most people think about how you get a job at L-C-U-B? Who you know,” Brookshire, himself son-in-law to Nelson, asked at that meeting.

“You know the general manager right now,” Simpson said.

Nelson was quick to say, “I object to that.”

“That is not the kind of characterization we want at L-C-U-B,” Brookshire said.

Brookshire later said five LCUB employees are relatives of four voting Board members.

However, Simpson, who brought up the committees at that meeting, said, “This Board needs to represent the ratepayers and the people who have elected us better than we have in the past.”

“I think we should take back control of this Utility. … It’s what we’re expected to do,” he added.

The entire Board now is serving as the general manager search committee, after Brookshire asked Monday that only Johnson, Henline and Beasley serve on it.

Four Board members will serve both on the salary and budget committees; a different set of four will serve on the personnel committee.

According to Littleton, the groups decided to simply flip-flop which four served on which committees each year.

Although replaced, Nelson will receive his full pay and benefits until his retirement date, Jan. 22, 2010.