Two women, a former city employee, and the other separate contractor hired by the city are suing the City of Walton, the city clerk, and former Mayor Gabe Brown for what they claim is "whistleblower retaliation."
Cindy Kirtley and Tiechia Miles are cousins. The two say they faced abuse and harassment after Kirtley, a former assistant city clerk for the City of Walton reported financial fraud by her supervisor, City Clerk Gevana Heeger Hicks, and former mayor Gabe Brown. Kirtley claims she faced unwarranted discipline and was eventually fired in July 2023 for speaking out.
Miles, who owns a cleaning service contracted by the city also claims to have faced retaliation. She says she suddenly began receiving complaints from city employees and had her contract abruptly ended soon after her cousin reported the fraud.
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In May, former mayor Brown resigned amid an investigation into his misusing city resources and funds.
Shortly after his resignation, Walton City Council released a report detailing the city's investigation into the former mayor. The report shows in March 2024, Brown appeared to use a city-owned vehicle and gas card to attend an out-of-town conference and failed to return the vehicle. It also alleges the former Mayor used a Walton plow truck to clear a private business parking lot in exchange for goods and $20 in January 2024.
Additionally, the council's report claims in 2022 and 2023, Brown authorized several payments to a contractor without council approval that were "significantly in excess of the agreed-upon price" and paid a second contractor for work on a project to convert a plot of land donated by the late Dr. O'dell Owens into a park and fire training facility without advertising for bids.
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Kirtley and Miles' attorney Jamir Davis says City Clerk Hicks participated in and allowed the misuse of funds to happen, then punished Kirtley for trying to hold them accountable.
"A lot of city officials were in on it," Jamir said. "They didn't want accountability. They wanted to spend taxpayer dollars as they pleased and it's unfortunate."
Due to an ongoing criminal into Brown's actions as mayor, Kirtley didn't go into detail about the other fraud she identified that was not included in the council's report, at least not yet.
"There's more than what was in that report. There's definitely more," Kirtley told reporters.
The federal lawsuit filed on behalf of the two women is seeking damages for lost wages, and pain and suffering.
WVXU reached out to Hicks and the City of Walton for comment but did not receive a response by the time of this article's release.
