Unless a settlement is reached soon, attorneys representing
Loudon County Mayor Buddy Bradshaw and General Session and
Circuit Court Clerk Lisa Niles will square off in Chancellor
Frank Williams' court next week to argue a case that could
end up forcing a tax increase.
"I don't think there will be any further negotiations,"
Bradshaw said this week.
Niles, who could not be reached for comment, filed the
lawsuit in September 2014 demanding six additional deputy
clerks, each at a $31,000 salary per year, and pay increases
for all 17 full- and part-time employees in her office.
In appearances before the county commission Niles has blamed
staff shortages for backlogs in the court system. The total
cost to the county to fund her request was about $210,000
per year.
The county commission initially approved two additional
clerks but Niles declined to accept the offer. In May the
county discussed but declined to approve a counter-offer
that included two more additional clerks.
It's not the first time Niles has threatened to sue the
county for additional resources. In 2006 she threatened to
sue the county for additional staff but the issue was
settled when then-mayor Doyle Arp and commission approved
two additional employees.
Bradshaw said he and the commission have worked hard to
settle the case out of court but at this stage it's unlikely
a settlement will be reached without trial. The county will
have to pay legal costs for both sides, win or lose, he
said.
"The worst-case basis is that this could be very expensive
for the county," he said.
Commissioner Van Shaver said that if the county loses it
should only be required to pay "reasonable" legal fees. Some
estimates on the legal costs have reached $100,000, he said.
The big cost to the county could be in the long-term
recurring expenses if the judge decides to give Niles all
the new employees and raises for staff that she has
requested, he said.
"That's a tax increase for sure if she wins," Shaver said.
Bradshaw said it was too early to start predicting tax
increases, noting the judge might choose from a number of
options including giving Niles less than everything she has
requested in the suit.
Even more problematic, if Niles is granted raises for all
her staff, would be dealing with other county office heads
who might demand raises for their staff, Shaver said. "She
wants to pay her people more than any of the people working
in other offices. What do we do about that?"
Shaver said he has a big problem with elected officials
using such tactics.
"It's nothing but legal extortion," he said.
Attorney Joe Ford, who is representing Mayor Bradshaw, said
legal costs might end up being a wash with the money the
county saves in salary for the new clerks that the county
offered to provide Niles.
"The county has not had to pay for the new employees who
were approved but who were never hired over the last year
and a half," he said.
Niles' attorney, Zachary Tenry, could not be reached for
comment.