By the end of the meeting, Loudon's city attorney, Joe Ford, had resigned and city manager, Ty Ross, had been suspended. Ford was out of town but was called and spoke to the council while they were in executive session where he tendered his resignation. 

Statement from Joe Ford on his resignation:

City council lost confidence in me and it was very apparent to me. I resigned to yield the position to the lawyer they had in attendance during my absence from the March 18 regular meeting, Ben Cunningham of Knoxville. I am very proud of my 7 years of service as the city attorney and enjoyed working with everyone at the City of Loudon.

Ross is suspended from his city duties but will continue with his utility duties. The suspension is with pay while the investigation into his "employment practices" is investigated. Ross left the meeting after the vote.

Loudon, Tenn. (WATE) - Officials with the City of Loudon are under scrutiny as the city grapples with employees' handling of feral cats.

Amid the heated exchanges during Tuesday night's city council meeting, city attorney Joe Ford resigned and the city manager Ty Ross is under temporary suspension pending city investigation - mainly due to people's concerns over job duties and the trapping of feral cats as well as social media posts. 

A group of feral cats had been trapped and taken to the local humane society by a city employee, according to Loudon residents and a letter from the city employee. The cats had been fed and cared for, but were considered feral. 

In a Facebook post made on Saturday, the Rainbow Promise Animal Rescue called for people to attend the city council meeting and to suggest a feral cat law be adopted "that protects them," the post stated.

WATE 6 On Your Side sent a crew to the city council meeting. 

It was a full house at the Loudon city council meeting Tuesday.

Prior to the meeting, city manager Ty Ross told WATE 6 On Your Side he planned on bringing up the cat issue and wants to create a committee to look into what can be done about the cats.

At first, Ross said he didn’t know where the cats in question hung out, but when asked again, he said it’s at an old building that the utility company now owns. 

Mayor Jeff Harris said that prior to the city council meeting, the city manager’s assistant emailed the city confessing to trapping the feral cats and taking them to the humane society.

There’s also supposedly a letter to city staff from the assistant where she claims full responsibility and wasn’t ordered to do it by Ross, the city manager.

According to the mayor, she has since been reprimanded.

The city's now-former attorney, Joe Ford, allegedly made a Facebook post regarding the feral cat issue. A council member said Tuesday they thought the city’s attorney’s post on Facebook showed bias on the topic.

As the city council went into an unplanned executive session mid-meeting, Ford resigned via speaker phone. 

The city council talked about hiring a Knoxville lawyer to investigate the activities of city hall staff; then, shortly after, the temporary paid suspension of the city manager was approved. 

"The suspension is due to employment practices, not due to animals,” the city council clarified. The paid suspension is temporary, until the investigation is completed.

The city manager will still have utility duties, but no city duties - during the paid suspension.