Things occur to me at strange times and ways, when thinking about Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs office releasing statements that Knox County will hire a National Search firm for a Director of the Knox County Health and a Knox County Health Officer. YES, it will take two people to replace Dr. Martha Buchanan.
Screenshot of Dr. Martha Buchanan at the 5/20/2020 Zoom media Briefing
Now in review the Jacobs administration hired VACO, LLC as the recruiting firm to “National Recruit” for the recent Parks & Recreation Director position. VACO was paid $24,000 (based on a percentage of the annual salary for the position) which according to Abbey Harris the Mayor’s Deputy Communications Director was below the bid threshold of $25,000. Dwight Van de Vate, the fill-in Co-Chief of Staff of Mayor Jacobs told the Knox County Commission, the National Search located Joseph “Joe” Mack from Covington, TN So, a department with a $5.6 million dollar budget with 51 full-time employees and 43 part-time employees. No one in the 94 current employees were qualified or had the potential to “be considered”?.
Here is the question or thought that came to my mind today, Why did Jacobs administration not hire a National Search Firm to identify the two Co-Chief of Staffs to replace Mayor Jacobs Chief of Staff Bryan Hair?
You know, Chris Caldwell and Van de Vate,
Caldwell with his crony on his Finance Department payroll with no work product after more than 12 months on the payroll. I open record requested the emails and work product for the former finance employee. Zach Webb of Knox County IT Department informed me in a September 18, 2018 memo they terminated and purged the former employees email account on May 4, 2018 before the normal termination and purge date of July 4, 2018 (read memo below) Why did the previous administration, purge so quickly (during Mayor Tim Burchett‘s term and NOT Mayor Glenn Jacobs 9/1/2018 start date?)
memo from Zack Webb 9/18/2018
As for Van de Vate he has hop scotched from county office to county office in his “career” of decades, the elevator has gained a lot of operational hours thanks to Van de Vate, moving from Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison office to Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale office “CLEARED” to Knox County Engineering and Public Works to Knox County Community Development and now back to Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs.
Why NO National Search Firm for a Chief of Staff or two?
