SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — The President of the East Sevier County Utility District said he will resign at the water board's meeting on Thursday, Dec. 8, after the Tennessee Comptroller suggested the entire board be replaced.
"They asked me to drop down," said Roy Ivey, the president of the utility district. "Thursday night, I'm going to resign."
An investigation report by the Comptroller's office said Ivey ran an excavating business, which was paid for work by the East Sevier County Utility District, a conflict of interest.
"Staff was given proof of payment to Roy Ivey for $5,000 for a poured concrete pad," the Comptroller's office report said.
Ivey said lawyers told him he was allowed to conduct business with ESCUD, though they now say it's illegal.
The utility district's board has three commissioners, and each is paid for their work on the ESCUD board. However, to receive those payments, according to state law, the report said ESCUD commissioners were supposed to complete 12 hours of training, and file annual training statements every year. It said commissioners hadn't filed those statements since 2018.
The Comptroller's office report said those commissioners were paid illegally and should return the money they received.
Over the past seven years, people who live on English Mountain said they don't get clean, reliable water to their homes.
Ivey said it's because the utility district's infrastructure is old and they don't have the money to maintain the system. The Comptroller's report said around 60% of the water produced by ESCUD is lost and not delivered to people.
The report said the ESCUD didn't implement a plan to "control water loss" or "upgrade or replace failing infrastructure."
The Comptroller's office said ESCUD abdicated its responsibility and didn't "take proactive action in the best interest of the district."
They recommended all of the ESCUD board be re-seated.