Mayor gives friend sweetheart consulting contract and a pick-up truck
Below is a comment submitted by former Kingsport Alderman Pat Shull. He raises some good points and I agree with his concerns about the two year contract at $35,000 per year and the pick-up truck gift.
I would also like to add that Mayor Phillips appointed his friends, Pal Barger , Dr, Bill Locke, and former Alderman Mike O’Neil to be on an oversight board for the Kingsport Convention and Visitors Bureau. I think I am seeing a pattern of cronyism here.
The act of the BMA approving a $35,000 consulting contract for Dr. Bill Locke is clearly a conflict of interest. During the deliberations regarding the City building the KCHE and RCHP it was absolutely crucial that the BMA receive assurance from the Dr. Locke, as Northeast State President, that NE State would fund the operating costs of these two centers IF the city would pay for construction of the buildings. Also, there was no discussion for any need for a consultant to perform the services described in the Times-News article. In my opinion, the city staff and elected officials are capable of performing the tasks cited. Hiring Dr. Locke to fix problems that he should have anticipated and briefed the BMA about during the higher education discussions is simply absurd.
Several weeks ago Dr. Locke received a gift of a brand new pickup truck. This
donation effort was organized by the Mayor, Dennis Phillips. The gift coupled with the consulting contract have the strong appearance of a political pay-off to Dr Locke for his cooperation during the BMA deliberations about higher education support. Further, it is well known that Dr. Locke is good friends with the Mayor AND the publisher of the Times-News newspaper. Again, hiring Dr. Locke for various services appears to be the granting of a favor to a friend rather than a responsible, necessary action by the city. Further, why would the current President of NE State (charged with administering the two centers) want her predecessor involved in her business? This is a bad management precedent.
I am familiar with Federal regulations regarding "conflicts of interest". Simply put, the above described acts would never be permitted at Federal level, and it is a disgrace that our BMA is so ethically blind that they would approve it at municipal level.
Patrick W. Shull, COL USA (Ret).
