An Open Letter to the Citizens of Henry County

An Open Letter to the Citizens of Henry County
On January 1, 2013, I had the honor of beginning a four-year term to serve you as Chairman of the Henry County Board of Commissioners.  I took an oath to uphold the laws of the land. I take this oath seriously. Honor and duty in service are core principles that guide me every day.
I learned duty and honor as an Eagle Scout.  I was proud to serve in the military. I retired from the FAA as an Air Traffic Controller after 32 years of service. I had the privilege of serving my friends and neighbors as Mayor of Hampton for 24 years.
I was proud to serve as Executive Assistant to the Henry County Board of Commissioners for 7 years. While in that position I was asked to serve in many different capacities including Purchasing Director, Human Resources Director, Code Enforcement Director and Director of Animal Control. These positions gave me great insight into the day to day workings of county government.
Needless to say, I was ready to hit the ground running on day one of serving you as Chairman of this great County.
By County Charter, the Chairman is the Chief Executive Officer of the County.  This has been the case since 1991 when the citizens of this County voted by referendum to amend the Charter to create this position and the duties that go along with it.  The duties of Chairman are different from the duties of district commissioners. By Charter, the Chairman as CEO "may delegate administrative duties" to a County Manager. Every Chairman since 1992 has been allowed to function in their elected position, until now.
Since taking office, I have chosen to exercise my right to vote. The Charter states the Chairman "shall be a full voting member" of the Board. I believe that citizens have a right to know where their Chairman stands. There are district commissioners who do not want me to exercise this right
I take issue with the public accusation made by the District 5 Commissioner against me at the December 16th Board meeting.  He and the other Commissioners seem to think that I want to fire all of the Department Heads in the county.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  As I have said repeatedly, I believe that our employees are our best asset. I am committed to ensuring that we have policies in place that protect employees and the public.  The Board and I have disagreed on several personnel issues.

For example:

The County has an obligation to ensure that your tax dollars are being properly used. When I learned that certain police officers were engaged in sexual misconduct while on-duty and at times, inside County vehicles, I demanded that action be taken. When I learned that some of this misconduct involved the most vulnerable in society and female subordinates, and that upper police management was not taking sufficient action to rid the department of this behavior, I called for a change in leadership in the police department. The Board refused to take action.


I believe it is wrong for a county employee to violate county policy and State law by transporting an infant in the front seat of a county car, on county time.  The lack of judgment is worsened by the fact that the employee lied about the incident until there was a mention of a video tape footage from a local convenience store she attended. I brought this to the attention of the Board.  The Board refused to take action.

I believe that it is unfair to fire a county employee for using a curse word in a meeting with her bosses when one of the bosses had used the same word himself. This was brought this to the attention of the Board.  Once again, the Board refused to take action.

I believe that firing a Department Head and eliminating a Department under the guise of saving money without having any calculations to save money and be more efficient is wrong.

I believe it is illegal when the Department Head who is being fired was the victim of harassment at the workplace by another Department Head.  An independent outside investigation found the incidents of harassment true and the perpetrator Department Head received 40 hours off without pay.  However, now she is fired and he still has his job and additional allegations of harassment within the workplace by other co-workers have been filed. I brought this to the attention of the Board. The Board continues to refuse to act.

I have stood alone in voicing opposition to these matters. I offer no apology.  I take my oath to faithfully uphold the laws seriously. I will continue to serve the citizens to the best of my abilities and in accordance with the responsibilities set forth in the Charter that was approved by you the people, not politicians.

I was elected upon the campaign promises of changing the way we do business in Henry County.  My mission has been to conduct county business in the light of day for all to see, to treat our employees fairly, and to make sure that the county operates in a fiscally conservative manner.

The Commissioners continue to complain and say that I am not a team player. The District 2 Commissioner even met with me early on to say that the Commissioners did not like my leadership style.  When I inquired about the specific complaint he stated that if the majority of the Commissioners agree on a matter that I should be with them and vote along with them.  We are not elected to come to a consensus. Elected officials develop the best solutions when they each bring their perspectives and constituent concerns to the table. We will not always change each other’s mind. However, we will vote and move in the direction of the majority vote.

I certainly understand the art of compromise as it is something that all of us do every day.  I would not have been elected to public office for over 30 years without understanding how and when to give and take.  However, there are some issues upon which I am simply not willing to compromise.   And for that I make no apology.

Thank you.
Chairman Tommy Smith