Below is a statement from Deputy to the Mayor and Chief Operating Officer David Brace about a Nov. 27 hearing officer’s ruling regarding Deputy Engineering Director Steve King:

We respectfully disagree with the hearing officer’s ruling that Mr. King, who first accepted a non-Civil Service mayoral appointment 13 years ago, has the right to “bump” or replace established, productive Civil Service employees from their current roles in the Engineering Department. The ruling would give Mr. King “bumping rights” to return to a chief civil engineer position he has not held in 28 years. Instead, we agree with Civil Service Director Vicki Hatfield, who has opined that Civil Service rules would give Mr. King “reinstatement rights” to any position he previously held which is vacant.

Mr. King chose to leave the formal protections of Civil Service in July 2005 to accept the appointed position of Engineering Director under Mayor Haslam and was then appointed as Director of Public Works in January 2008. In 2011, Mr. King accepted the appointment of Deputy Director of Engineering in the Rogero administration. These non-Civil Service mayoral appointments included significant compensation for leaving the formal protections of Civil Service. Mr. King is currently the sixth-highest-paid employee in the administration with annual total compensation totaling $155,916.

The Deputy Director of Engineering position was recently eliminated as part of an administrative reorganization to achieve greater operational efficiency and meet the specific staffing needs of the department. The Engineering Department is organized into three main divisions – Stormwater, Traffic and Civil Engineering – which are each led by a division chief who reports directly to the Engineering Director. The Deputy Director position has had no direct reports. Operational needs have evolved over the past seven years resulting in a greater need for staff-level engineering professionals rather than an extra level of management.

As a result of the reorganization, Mr. King was offered a generous severance package which he rejected. He was then offered reinstatement to a mid-level engineering position which would meet the needs of the department. This position would not have affected Mr. King’s retirement benefits, which are based on the two highest years of salary. His retirement benefits as of Dec. 1, 2018, would be $79,902 per year. Mr. King rejected that offer as well and filed his grievance.

Mr. King has been a long-time mayoral executive appointee in policy-making roles. Our position is that the rules of the Civil Service system do not allow Mr. King to bump Civil Service employees from their jobs. Therefore, we intend to appeal the hearing officer’s decision to Chancery Court. 

Allowing Mr. King to bump back would have dire impacts on career Civil Service employees, adversely impact the morale of the department, and disrupt efficiency and productivity of Engineering services. The domino effect would force the demotion of the current chief civil engineer who has earned promotions through the Civil Service system and served with distinction in his current position for more than 12 years. It would also cause a promising engineering professional to be terminated.  

Rather than disrupt the lives of these Civil Service employees and the department, Mr. King will be offered the opportunity to return to the Deputy Director position pending the outcome of the appeal.