JACKSBORO, Tenn. — The Campbell County Government hired two county commissioners for county jobs while they held office, records show.
The Campbell County Commission is the county's legislative body. Commissioners are responsible for the county's budget, as well as taxes and for making rules for the county.
Sanitation Director
Commissioner David Adkins is the sanitation director for Campbell County. Commissioner Zach Marlow was hired for a data processing job in the finance office.
Fifty people applied for the data processing job. Six people applied for the sanitation director job. Out of the 56 applicants, two of them were county commissioners. Both of them got the job.
One of the applicants for the sanitation director job was the public works director in Norris for eight years. Another had 20 years as the district manager for Waste Connections.
By comparison, Adkins worked as a shop teacher at Campbell County High School. His pay increased from $46,902 on a ten-month teacher contract, to $67,147 annually when he took the sanitation director job, his personnel file shows.
"What probably sold me there was a contractor license, a CDL license and the fact that they could work on diesel," said Mayor Jack Lynch, who nominated Adkins for the job. "I had my secretary mask 'em. I didn't know who I was looking at."
Even though Lynch masked the applications, only one of the applicants was serving as Interim Sanitation Director at the time of the applications and that was County Commissioner David Adkins.
Adkins took over as interim director after the county commission demoted the former sanitation director, William Rutherford. When Adkins took over as interim director, he fired Rutherford. A lawsuit by Rutherford alleges he was pushed out because he didn't allow commissioners to illegally dump at the county's waste facilities.
"Several of the individual Commissioners, their constituents, friends, and/or relatives, began using the Sanitation Department's waste facilities, including the Transfer Station and Convenience Centers," the lawsuit said. "(Rutherford) complained about, and refused to participate in and/or remain silent about the illegal activities he observed during his employment."
Commissioners said they fired Rutherford because of his poor performance, the lawsuit said.
Adkins responded "no comment" to all of our questions.
Data Processing
Commissioner Zach Marlow was hired for a Data Processing job in the Campbell County Finance Office in 2023.
Of the 50 people who applied for that position, several had decades of experience in administration, bookkeeping and accounting.
Marlow's resume said he has a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and is working toward a Master's Degree in Public Policy. He expects to graduate in May 2024.
Before holding the county job, Marlow's resume said he worked as an Audio Visual Technician at First Baptist Church.
Lynch said he did not hire Marlow's position. He said Campbell County Finance Director Jeff Marlow hired Zach Marlow. The pair are not immediately related. WBIR has been unable to determine if the men are related in any way.
The finance director did not respond to emailed questions about the hiring. Commissioner Marlow did not respond to a request for comment.