NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The city of Nashville is now taking steps to remove the director of Metro's 911 Center from that position.
Late last week, Mayor Freddie O'Connell asked Steve Martini to resign following an independent outside investigation that found multiple and systemic failures by department's HR unit.
Martini, who has civil service protection, refused to resign and then was placed on administrative leave so the city could begin the disciplinary process.
That process began with a letter to Martini from Mayor Freddie O'Connell which lays out the reasons Metro wants him gone. It cites not only the findings from this new investigation but also a history of issues that the city says it's had to address with Martini the last three years. The letter goes on to inform Martini that he is being charged with violating several Civil Service Rules including "Neglect or failure to perform official duty" and "Deficient or inefficient performance of duties." He will have the opportunity to present his side of the story at a hearing on January 20th.
Insiders tell us Martini has already cleaned out his office.
The mayor's letter to Martini also notes that employees have been complaining about the 911 director for years.
But it wasn't until last fall, when a current 911 dispatcher bravely came forward and spoke with NewsChannel 5 Investigates about what was happening at the Emergency Communications Center that everything started to change.
When we first met Hannah McGuire in November, she said all she wanted to do was be heard.
She stood on the steps of the old Metro Courthouse and introduced herself.
"I am a dispatcher and a trainer at the Metro Department of Emergency Communications," McGuire stated.
She then proceeded to tell the reporters gathered in front of her, "Today I'm here specifically to share how I've been failed during an HR investigation."
She was the first current employee from the Metro 911 center to publicly and openly share her concerns about working conditions at the DEC and specifically working for director Steve Martini.
And after her story made news?
"I remember sitting down at my desk and one of my co-workers behind me goes, 'Hey, Hannah,' and I turn around and he just holds his fist out for a little fist bump," McGuire shared.
And the support, she told NewsChannel 5 Investigates, has only grown.
We asked her, “So, are you glad you came forward?”
She emphatically replied, "Yes."
There had been complaints for years about Martini and his management style. Former employees described to us hostile and toxic working conditions where they often faced harassment and even retaliation.
Former dispatcher told us in our early reporting last summer, "It was the intimidation and the bullying factor."
We also interviewed Steve Martini who denied there was a problem.
"I don’t see the intimidation or retaliation," he said.
But the Metro Women's Caucus kept pushing for change.
Metro Councilwoman Joy Styles suggested early on, "This man is unhinged. And there is no reason why this city should still have him on payroll."
Yet Mayor Freddie O'Connell stood by Martini as did the city's 911 board.
O'Connell explained, "So far we have not found formal complaints filed," insisting that Metro HR had only received anonymous complaints that could not be pursued.
But Hannah McGuire claimed that was not true.
She explained to us in November, "I was sexually harassed by a domestic partner who also works at the agency numerous times while we were within the building," and described how she had in fact filed a sexual harassment complaint a year earlier and that 911 managers were extremely slow to react.
The city then immediately hired an outside firm to investigate the allegations.
McGuire says her phone blew up late last Friday when the investigator's report was released.
"I'm glad that they're seeing the severity of everything that happened," she told us Wednesday morning after she'd just finished working the overnight shift answering emergency calls.
The investigator's report describes a dysfunctional department that had significant issues handling HR complaints, largely because Martini had put himself in charge of HR and was unable and/or unwilling to do the job. As a result, the report stated, McGuire's complaint and others were not investigated or handled properly.
"It was very validating," McGuire said about reading the report, adding, "I cried a number of times."
She said it's clear now, less than a week later that personnel concerns are now being taken seriously and addressed immediately.
"I mean the difference is already very apparent to me," she said.
As for Steve Martini?
"I really wish that he had just accepted the resignation," McGuire shared.
She explained that as long as he fights to keep his job, the department cannot begin the search for his replacement.
But she said the mood at the Emergency Communications Center has definitely improved.
"It's almost been like a collective sigh of relief," she described.
And dispatchers, she added, despite the tough job they have, are looking forward to brighter days.
"There's a sense of hope on the floor that we haven't had in a while."
The investigator also looked into allegations that Martini created a culture of fear and mistrust in the department but wrote in his report that it was impossible to do so because so many employees were afraid to go on the record, fearing retaliation.
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