Manatee County
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Chatham Commission Chairman announces severance negotiations with
County Manager Lee Smith

Chatham Commission Chairman announces severance negotiations with
County Manager Lee Smith on August 12.

Will Peebles, Savannah Morning News

In July, Chatham County Manager Lee Smith was called into Chatham
Commission Chairman Chester Ellis' office.

At that meeting, he said Ellis was "very, very nice" and
"compassionate," but ultimately handed Smith a letter, dated July 19,
in which the chairman explained he was suspending Smith and placing
him under investigation due to an unspecified "recent chain of
events."

But even now, more than 100 days later, Smith has yet to be told what
he did wrong or the findings of any supposed investigation. He still
hasn't been removed from his position, not by resignation, termination
or otherwise.

"I do believe Chairman Ellis was trying to protect me from being fired
by the [commission]," Smith said. "I believe that wholeheartedly, and
others do also. It just was a way to block a [removal] vote, quite
honestly."

Chatham County code requires a two-thirds vote — six of the nine
members — to remove a county manager from office, but they must
adopt a preliminary resolution stating the reasons for removal. This
preliminary resolution must also pass by more than two-thirds vote.

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know so far

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In the time since his suspension, Smith and his lawyer, Brent Savage
of Savannah-based Savage Turner Pinckney Savage & Sprouse law firm,
have been trying to negotiate a severance agreement with the county,
thus far unsuccessfully. Smith and Savage received the initial
severance agreement sent by the county on Thursday, Aug. 25. 

They received another severance agreement from the county on Sept. 6,
this time with a smaller payout, and a request for an answer by
Tuesday, Sept. 13, 51 days ago as of Nov. 3. 

Smith said there are three things he's asking for in the severance
agreement: He wants to be vested by the county to have a pension in
retirement; to get health insurance in retirement; and nine months'
salary. All three were in the agreement, Smith said.

Smith found the offer agreeable but county leaders reneged.

"I signed it, we sent it back, and they then pulled the offer," Smith
said. "My attorney and I, we looked at filing suit against the board
for not fulfilling their obligations [in the severance agreement] and
giving me something which I signed in good faith."

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Now, Smith is still waiting, and he says the whole process —
uncertainty about why he was suspended, dealing with severance
negotiations, watching his team carry on without him — has been
rough on him both mentally and emotionally. When people ask him why he
was suspended, he doesn't have an answer.

"I tell them: 'I don't know, I must have been in a coma. Because I
don't know what I did,'" Smith said. "Nobody's telling me anything.
So, all I can say is: it has to be personal and very political."

Chatham Commission Chairman acknowledges Lee Smith Suspension

Chatham Commission Chairman acknowledges Lee Smith Suspension in a
prepared statement following the July 29 commission meeting.

Savannah Morning News

LEE SMITH SUSPENSION: Chatham Commission authorizes negotiation of
severance package

A CHANGE IN ATTITUDE TOWARD SMITH

A few years ago, Smith came out as gay.

"I went through a pretty bad divorce after I came here, and soon after
that, I came out as gay. And I don't wear pride flags or anything like
that. I'm just who I am," Smith said. "And I will say that I felt a
difference with board members after that happened. It is what it is.
You can like me; you can dislike me. I am who I am."

Smith says after coming out he felt that he was viewed differently by
some members of Chatham Commission, though he specifically said Ellis
treated him no differently after.

"I would say with the chairman. No. But with some of the other board
members? Yes. I do," Smith said. "I can be criticized for
this, whatever happens, happens. But I do believe that just the way
I'm treated has changed. I just feel disrespected."

COMMISSION COMPLAINTS

While he claims to not know the exact reason some commissioners want
him removed as manager, he has suspicions.

Smith says through conversations with commission members he deduced
that their complaints stemmed from two things: Their inability to
review Smith's performance formally, and that he was not communicating
"the way they thought I should communicate."

But since the county has yet to provide him with reasoning for his
suspension, he's not sure. All he knows is that someone — or more
— wants him gone.

MORE: Chatham County Manager Lee Smith's lawyer: 'He's never been told
why he's on suspension'

In the time since he was put on leave he's been applying for jobs
elsewhere. But due to media coverage of his suspension and supposed
investigation, he says employers are hesitant to give him a
callback. 

"I've been applying for jobs. I can't even get a return call on jobs
because this is still outstanding," Smith said. "You look on Google,
and you're gonna see this first: That I've been suspended and under
investigation.

"This literally has hurt me so badly. You can't imagine. And I'm going
to use the words 'absolutely terrified' about my future. I'm 58 years
old," Smith said. "Maybe some decade I can retire, we'll see. But
right now, I plan to work until I'm way, way gray."

Despite missing his friends and coworkers in "Team Chatham," Smith is
fine with leaving, he said, provided the county meets his requests in
the severance agreement. 

"I'm just looking at what I'm owed. What I deserve for the job I've
done in eight and a half years," Smith said. "I don't have a single
thing in my file. I've never been reprimanded, in writing, or in
public, or I mean, nothing."