GROVELAND, Fla. – The mayor and City Council will decide Friday night if Groveland City Manager Redmond Jones should keep his job.
A special City Council meeting has been scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday to decide if Jones should be terminated.
Jones told News 6 this will be the third time he's had to fight for his job in the city and he's ready to fight for it once again.
"I'm not just fighting for my job, I'm fighting for the city," he said.
Mayor Tim Loucks told News 6 he's not pleased with Jones' performance. He said the latest straw landed on his desk Wednesday in the form of 27-page report compiled by the Lake County Sheriff's Office reviewing the Groveland Police Department's policies after City Council requested the investigation.
According to the report, investigators found as many as six sexual harassment claims filed, but never investigated. The report also found claims of command staff showing favoritism and frustration with the leadership.
Loucks said they are taking the report very seriously and he's disappointed in the findings.
"It's horrible, I'm going to be honest. It's a horrible experience, because your police are the most trusted in the city," Loucks said.
That is absolutely absurd," Groveland Police Chief Melvin Tennyson said.
Tennyson told News 6 he agrees with some of the report, such as the disorganization of case files within internal affairs. But he said there are several inaccuracies within the report, including investigators not interviewing the entire police staff. He adds the sexual complaints he is aware of are documented at City Hall.
Jones told News 6 he immediately hired an independent Human Resources firm to conduct a separate investigation, which LCSO investigated policies and procedures. He said he doesn't understand the council's frustration.
"We have a long way to go. We have a lot to correct, we have a lot to do," Tennyson said.
"If there is favoritism, it's got to stop. If there's documentation missing, we want to know why. If there's harassment going on, we want to know why and who is doing it," Loucks said. "When you have a department in disarray like this it creates upset throughout the city."
The chief said they will earn the city's trust back.
"Give me, our City Council and our city management the opportunity to either identify the problems and correct the inaccuracies as we see them and if those inaccuracies are true to the best of our abilities, we'll own them," Tennyson said.
The mayor hopes to have the findings of the third party consulting company within the month.
Tennyson said the department is seeking state accreditation which will help improve the department's policies. He adds he is asking the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to open an investigation into the accusation of command staff using illegal drugs.