Werner gets his lobster fried
The Ragsdale comedy express keeps giving. The latest victim to be thrown under the Ragsdale bus is Knox County Finance Director John Werner. At latest count that makes at least three victims under that bus. Tyler Harber, Requitta Bone, and now John Werner.
Mr. Werner has already repaid Knox County $2,256.86. Supposedly many of the charges going toward work-related meals that included the purchase of alcoholic beverages at official events and conferences. As the County Finance Director John Werner was responsible for auditing work related expenses. The buck has to stop somewhere.
But were there outrageous charges to Knox County for food items at local restaurants that had no foundation?
You could say that. In today’s Knoxville News Sentinel Scott Barker reports that Mayor Ragsdale’s executive administrative assistant Margie Loyd, former Knox County Commissioner Diane Jordan and a friend of Diane Jordan’s dined at Regas Restaurant and rang up bill for lunch of $227.56 including a 14.6% tip. The only thing this group was frugal on. One of the three ordered roast turkey and dressing for a relatively modest $10.95 but the other two ordered the lobster. But wait there is more, they also ordered two more lobster tails to go at $37.98 apiece.
Yes, to go.
On Thursday Mayor Ragsdale transferred Margie Loyd to the Community Services Department.
Scott Barker reports on the Werner resignation, “Ragsdale wouldn’t say whether he asked Werner to resign. “I accepted his resignation,” the mayor said twice when directly asked if he demanded that Werner quit.”
It is not known why Werner resigned or was ask to resign. This all happened after Mayor Ragsdale appeared on the Hallerin Hill radio program on WNOX in Knoxville Thursday morning. Mayor Ragsdale seemed especially concerned with a caller who asked pointed questions about whether Knox County performed adequate audits of travel expenses.
More discussion at KnoxViews and WBIR. If you work on the sixth floor of the City County building keep an eye out for that bus.
July 13th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
I wouldn’t lump Harber in the mix with the others.
Was he fired for excessively running up expenses? I don’t think he was.
And his allegations were not exactly found to be accurate, were they?
Surely they didn’t give him a credit card.
I am sure not defending Ragsdale or his free-spending staff, and, even if one orders lobster on someone else’s dime (which is poor form to say the least), ordering 2 to go (presumably for the Commissioner) was appalling and the staff member who did so should be fired.
July 13th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I wouldn’t lump Harber in the mix with the others.
It’s a big bus. Harber got thrown under for entirely different reasons. And his “innocence” is debatable. The bigger question is who is driving the bus.
You ask an important question, did Tyler Harber have a Knox County credit card that night at the Copper Cellar when he got a little loose and frisky?
Enquiring minds…