Conflict of Interest Investigation leads to Firing of McMinnville City Employee

An investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has led to the firing of a McMinnville Water Department Employee.
The Comptroller’s Office recently completed an investigation detailing the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Between June 2013 and September 2015, a former employee responsible for ordering degreasing chemicals made purchases totaling $46,882 from a company owned by someone with whom he had a close personal relationship.
This created the appearance of a conflict of interest. The volume and cost of chemicals purchased by the department increased significantly during the time the former employee was buying from the vendor with whom he had a personal relationship. The investigation began after department officials alerted the Comptroller’s Office to their concerns.
Findings of the investigation indicated not only the appearance of a conflict of interest, but also failure to monitor the cost of chemical usage and failure to evaluate vendors effectively prior to adding them to the approved vendor list.