BY ANGELICA BROOKS AND SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
Editor’s Note: We reached out to Council members and Mayor Johnny Hammock earlier today for more information concerning this story. If we receive responses, we will update this article.
Following an executive session of the Tallassee City Council Tuesday Night, Mayor Johnny Hammock was removed from his position as Superintendent of Utilities by a unanimous vote of the council.
As Mayor and Superintendent, Hammock received a combined income of $75,000, $50,000 of which was for being Superintendent.
This falls on the heels of multiple executive sessions by the Tallassee Council in recent weeks. The council was reportedly discussing the “good name and character of an employee” in those meetings, which is allowed under the rules of executive session. Though until last night, no action was ever taken after the closed, executive sessions.
Council members made no comment after the vote and the meeting adjourned Tuesday night. However, we have learned the Council will issue a press release concerning Tuesday night’s action. We have also reached out to Council members and Hammock asking for comment on the Council’s decision, and his future with the city. As of this report, no response was given from council members or the Mayor.
Prior to the executive session in his Mayor’s report, Hammock said “I’m finishing up my last five years here at City Hall at the end of this month,” followed with a long list of what he believes are success stories under his leadership over those past five years.
But with the council’s decision, it leaves a lot of questions. The most basic being, what prompted the council to take this action? Who will replace Hammock as Superintendent?
Hammock has previously announced his campaign for Public Service Commission, Position 1. That election is not until next year.
There was a large crowd for the city council meeting Tuesday, with many in attendance openly voicing questions they have about transparency, and wanting to know more about what is going on behind the scenes.
They referenced the recent purchase of a truck for the Utilities Department, which apparently was done without the knowledge of the Council.
In the Sept. 14 meeting of the council, Mayor Hammock addressed the purchase of a Silverado for his use as Superintendent of Utilities, but stressed, “I have yet to drive it.” The purchase price was $31,000.
In the meeting the mayor told council members that he had been driving a city-owned Durango, but that vehicle was given to Code Enforcement. From there he began driving his personal vehicle, and received mileage checks for reimbursement.
He told the council that he drives more on behalf of the city than any other employee.
In that meeting he said that he believed he had been told by city officials to purchase a truck for his use “unless I misunderstood.” There were no comments from council members at that time.
At the end of that meeting in September, the Council recessed into executive session to “discuss the good name and character of several employees.” Whether or not the truck purchase was brought up in that discussion is unknown.
Trey Taylor is a former Elmore County Commissioner and also ran against Hammock for Tallassee Mayor in the past.
“We really don’t have many facts yet, mostly allegations and a lot of people talking,” Taylor told the EAN. “The Council is holding their tongues, because supposedly investigations are ongoing.”
Taylor said he would like to see more transparency about what is going on behind closed doors.
“My questions are have there been laws broken or ethics violations? Because if anyone knows of illegal activity and does nothing about it, they are just as guilty. I have lived in Tallassee for 54 years and I love it here. I hate that it has come to this for our town. The town deserves so much better.”
On Tuesday morning prior to the Council meeting, the City of Tallassee Facebook page disappeared from the internet. We reached out to officials for an explanation, and were told a new one will be created soon as the official City of Tallassee Facebook page.
In essence, while there has been wild speculation and claims on social media, alleged leaked emails and vidoes, at this point there doesn’t appear to be anything “official” to back it up. We are hoping that any release issued by the council will help clear up the multitude of questions about recent actions and operations within the city.
Are you a Tallassee resident with questions? This is how you can reach your council representative:
Tallassee City Council
Ward 1
Jeremy Taunton
400 White Oak Lane
Tallassee, Alabama 36078
334-415-3901
Ward 2
Sarah Hill
103 Camellia Drive
Tallassee, Alabama 36078
334-415-3000
Ward 3
Damian Carr
510 1st Avenue
Tallassee, Alabama 36078
334-252-8916
Ward 4
Bill Hall
809 Noble Road
Tallassee, Alabama 36078
334-312-6971
Ward 5
Terrel Brown
509 Powers Avenue
Tallassee, Alabama 36078
334-415-8922
Ward 6
Bill Godwin
8 Peachwood Drive
Tallassee, Alabama 36078
334-300-3566
Ward 7
Fred Randall Hughey
2325 Notasulga Road
Tallassee, Alabama 36078
334-201-4756
