Chattanooga Public Library worker challenges exit terms after findings

photo Assistant City Attorney Valerie Malueg speaks during a Chattanooga Public Library board meeting Tuesday. Listening are Meg Backus, right, and her attorney, Maury Nicely.

Meg Backus, a top Chattanooga Public Library employee who resigned following a critical audit of the library, claims that she was given the option to resign in two months or be subject to public discipline and likely termination.

But after Backus -- the library's system administrator -- submitted her resignation letter on Sept. 5 that stated her last day would be Oct. 31, library Director Corinne Hill told her she had to leave immediately. Hill told the library's board of directors that she discussed the issue with Backus but never promised to keep her employed for two more months.

"The right thing to do is honor the terms of that agreement," Backus' attorney, Maury Nicely, told the board.

The board was split at Tuesday's meeting on whether to pay Backus through October, and members decided to wait and have a private attorney-client-privileged meeting before making a decision.

The library board of directors met to discuss sweeping policy changes after City Auditor Stan Sewell found that top library officials had mismanaged thousands of dollars during national and worldwide trips to promote the facility. Sewell also found that the library's board had no checks and balances in place to oversee the library.

Sewell's report, released to city officials in late August, found excess reimbursements of nearly $3,000 to Corinne Hill, Nate Hill and Backus. The report also said Nate Hill and Backus took multiple paid speaking and consultant jobs while on library time and took unreported vacation leave. When questioned, Backus gave false statements to the auditor and deleted relevant documents, Sewell reported.

Both Nate Hill and Backus were reported to the Tennessee comptroller's office for suspected fraud.

Nate Hill claimed during his suspension hearing last week that there were no travel policies in place to guide him related to paid speaking events, and that he offered to pay back any double reimbursements he received. After the hearing, Corinne Hill decided to suspend Nate Hill for three days.

Corinne Hill and Nate Hill are not related.

As of Tuesday, Nate Hill was on a trip with Code For America -- a nonprofit group that is working with Mayor Andy Berke's office to make public records more accessible to the public.

At Tuesday's meeting -- four weeks after Sewell's audit that found there were no internal controls in place related to travel policies and board governance -- Corinne Hill presented a report to the library board with a list of goals for the rest of the year. The list included:

• Conduct an annual audit on the library's finances.

• Hold annual staff training related to salaries, leave time requests and vacation.

• Hire a chief administrative officer for the library.

• Write a memorandum of understanding with the Friends of the Library related to financial support to the library, including travel reimbursements.

• The board's sub-committee will then present the proposed bylaws for review in November to approve by December.

The board meets again next week to decide whether to give Backus nearly two months of pay.

Contact staff writer Joy Lukachick Smith at jsmith@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.

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