The Sumner County Financial Management Committee voted Dec. 3 to require the library board to ratify the start dates and salaries of two newly hired library directors by Dec. 12 or face a suspension of pay and an administrative leave for the employees.

Chair (Speaker 1) introduced the item after finance staff notified the committee that the Westmore and Hendersonville library directors had been hired and placed on payroll beginning Oct. 31 without a recorded board vote on start dates or salary. "We need to get this cured," the chair said when moving the deadline and a possible payment suspension.

The law director (Speaker 7) advised caution but urged a prompt resolution to prevent litigation or payroll complications. "Go ahead and pay him because this is not worth me entertaining a lawsuit on the county's behalf for not paying people," Speaker 7 told the committee when explaining prior advice to finance staff. The law director added that the county could not unilaterally set salary levels for positions the library board had authority over, and instead recommended requiring the board to ratify the terms.

Several commissioners reviewed minutes and video of the library's hiring process and said they found no documentation of a vote on the directors' start dates or pay rates. Speaker 5, who reviewed meeting records, said the library board had historically promoted internally and had not previously recorded starting-pay or probation terms, leaving the county without a clear paper trail.

After debate over labor implications and the mechanics of withholding pay, the committee approved the motion (mover: Speaker 1; second: Speaker 4) by voice vote. The committee directed that, if the library board does not meet the Dec. 12 deadline to ratify start dates and salaries, finance will cease payments and enact administrative notice placing the employees on leave until the documentation issue is cured. The law director said staff will prepare formal notice language to avoid an improper termination and to limit legal exposure.

The committee's action addresses both the immediate payroll irregularity and broader governance gaps raised by members, who asked the library board to strengthen onboarding procedures and to document future hiring votes. The library board will need to schedule a meeting to ratify the hires or accept the committee's remedial steps.