Board sustains termination of Dyersburg gas foreman after missed calls during downtown grade‑1 gas leak

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen of Dyersburg sustained the termination of William Warner, a construction crew foreman in the city’s gas department, after an appeal hearing on April 20, 2026. City attorneys urged the board to uphold the superintendent’s decision, saying Warner failed to answer three calls to his city‑issued phone during a Feb. 7, 2026, grade‑1 gas leak in downtown Dyersburg.

The hearing focused on whether there was “substantial and material evidence” to support termination under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, the standard the board read into the record before testimony. The city’s human resources director testified an internal investigation and call logs showed three incoming calls to Warner’s city phone on the afternoon of Feb. 7 that were not returned. The city’s case included testimony from the gas superintendent and on‑call technicians who said the leak required immediate, sustained work and that the construction foreman was expected to carry and answer the city‑issued phone for emergencies.

Warner told the board he did not hear the calls because he was attending a funeral that weekend and said the city phone had been left at his home on a dresser; his spouse testified she checked the device and said she found no missed calls from city employees. Warner also raised workplace complaints about his supervisor and said the decision cost him insurance and livelihood. “I was out of town at a funeral when they were told that morning,” Warner said in his remarks to the board.

City counsel summarized the evidence in closing and asked the board to sustain the termination, saying: “This hearing was about Mr. Warner’s conduct … his failure to answer his city‑issued cell phone during a very serious grade‑1 gas leak in downtown Dyersburg.” The city presented a call log exhibit the attorney said showed attempts to reach Warner by three employees on the afternoon of Feb. 7.

Witnesses for the city described the leak as a grade‑1 incident that had migrated under the foundations of at least one downtown building and required immediate action. Superintendent Michael Hunter testified that crews had to shut gas and dig and that the incident affected multiple downtown blocks; he and other witnesses said they attempted to call Warner on the city phone and did not reach him. Assistant superintendent Tyler Hammett testified he called numerous times to assemble crews and that, given the potential for danger to life and property, the department had an expectation employees carrying city phones would respond for emergency calls.

After listening to evidence and closing statements, a board member moved to sustain the superintendent’s termination decision. The motion passed on a voice vote; the transcript records at least one abstention and at least one recorded ‘no’ but does not provide a complete roll‑call tally in the public record. The presiding official announced the board had sustained Warner’s termination.

Warner told the board he planned to pursue an appeal with a state body the next day. The record indicates the city had paid Warner for several days during the review and provided a written dismissal letter; the city’s personnel file and the call‑log exhibits were entered into the hearing record.

The board’s action is administrative — the hearing determined whether sufficient evidence supported the supervisor’s decision to terminate — and does not itself adjudicate criminal or civil liability. According to testimony at the hearing, the gas leak was downgraded after work by the department and contractors. The board did not conduct further disciplinary actions at the meeting.