East Ridge hired Tim Gobble to clean up. Arvin Reingold is a part of the problem.

Please let Mr. Gobble do his job.

Charles Bikas

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Mr. Bikas, that was a very interesting statement you made in regards to Tim Gobble, the city manager of East Ridge. I think there may need to be some clarification to your statement. The first thing I would point out is that you do not live in East Ridge, which is fine, but unless you have attended some of the city council meetings and are involved in the crazy politics of East Ridge, you have not a clue as to what Mr. Gobble’s responsibilities may or may not include.

I do not believe “clean up” is in his job description. The statement I will make regarding Tim Gobble is that his personal business should not interfere with his professional city manager business. The problem with bill collection goes back 6-7  years, with the council and city manager’s full knowledge. Mr. Gobble stated there is close to $1,000,000 in fines that have not been collected appropriately. When asked why this wasn’t taken care of earlier, he stated he was too busy with other priorities. He also stated there is a director of finance over the clerks that he said was responsible for the clerks' job performance. Councilman Darwin Branam said it was insubordination if an employee was instructed to perform an order and it was not done as instructed and they should be fired. Him, of all people, should know you just don’t “fire” an employee.

Is it not interesting that Mr. Gobble went after the court clerk and other personnel in that office when the subject of his daughter’s case came up this past September? Apparently, he thinks the court clerk has the power to dismiss or not to dismiss cases, or to move cases, even to the point of a shouting match in a public forum. Now, all of a sudden, we need to elect a court clerk.

Whatever happened to the responsibility of the director over these clerks? Was she suspended or reprimanded? He said she was over these clerks - where does her accountability lie with the performance of the duties of the personnel under her if this is such a major problem? Why does Mr. Gobble have a problem with the court clerk instead of her immediate supervisor? Why, because he does not like to be challenged.

Now, to your statement regarding Judge Arvin Reingold as being part of the problem. I would advise you to be very careful about making such statements about a man, who may be up in years, but is definitely not stupid. Maybe you need to tell him your feelings face-to-face. He knows what he is talking about and has the documentation to back it up regarding the court clerk and other court personnel and the September incident. The strange thing is that not one member of the council, the mayor, or the city manager ever went to Judge Reingold to advise him of any problems with the court or court clerks, nor the director as far as I know. Even though this is an “at will” state, you better have your documentation in order when you suspend an employee so as to protect your company/city in case of a potential lawsuit. Anyone in management should know those protocols, and, if they don’t, and perform as Mr. Gobble did this past September, it should be considered a dereliction in their job performance and responsibility and should be handled by the council accordingly.

So you see, Mr. Bikas, your profound statement shows your total lack of knowledge of just what is happening over here in East Ridge. Maybe you might want to consider coming over and seeing first-hand what is actually going on in East Ridge; I am sure you will find it quite entertaining.

Jackie Fulks

East Ridge