Whistleblower in Rutherford County Property Assessor Rob Mitchell’s Office Alleges Conflict of Interest
- Matthew Giffin
- Jun 24, 2024
- 4 min read
A whistleblower in Rutherford County Property Assessor Rob Mitchell’s office has alleged another office employee has consistently violated a conflict-of-interest agreement by selling real estate while utilizing the time and resources of the county with Mitchell’s knowledge.
The whistleblower, Field Appraiser Richard Kincade, made the allegations in a complaint obtained by this independent journalist. Kincade sent the complaint on June 16 to Rutherford County Ethics Committee Chairman and County Trustee Teb Batey, the County Ethics Commission, Mayor Joe Carr, and Chief Human Resource Officer Sonya Stephens.
Before sending his complaint, Kincade contacted the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury’s Office in March with his allegations.
A source familiar with the situation told this journalist that Batey is in the process of scheduling a meeting of the Rutherford County Ethics Committee to investigate Mitchell and the Property Assessor’s Office in the first half of July as a result of Kincade’s complaint. The source also stated that the Ethics Committee Meeting will be open to the public.
The Tennessee State Supreme Court stated in its unanimous opinion in State ex Rel. Leech v. Wright that it “is patently intolerable and clearly unlawful and an inexcusable dereliction of duty for a public official to allow public employees to work for private employers while being paid from the public treasury.”
The 1981 case dealt with a Lincoln County road superintendent’s knowledge of a county employee who simultaneously worked for a paving company while being paid for working for the road superintendent.
“Common Office Knowledge” Employee Sold Rutherford County Real Estate Using Government Time and Resources, Whistleblower Alleges
Kincade alleged in his complaint that Residential Coordinator Chance Baker has regularly “prioritized selling real estate during county-paid working hours over performing his primary job duties…”
In an email to the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office in March, Kincade claimed Baker has brokered real estate sales, posted on social media, created advertisements, drafted contracts, conducted phone calls, sent emails, and responded to texts for his real estate endeavors during his working hours in the Property Assessor’s Office.
Kincade also claimed to this reporter that Kincade witnessed Baker use county resources, like the Property Assessor Office’s pictometry satellite imagery program, to assist in making real estate deals. The pictometry program allows office employees to view Rutherford County properties and access official details about them like property lines.
According to his apparent LinkedIn page, Baker started working as a real estate agent for United Real Estate Middle Tennessee in October 2017. He began working in the Rutherford County Property Assessor’s Office in December 2016, about one year earlier.
Baker posted to his Facebook page that he was among the “Top Producers in Volume” for United Real Estate Middle Tennessee on May 10, 2024. Several posts on Baker’s apparent Facebook page concern real estate and United Real Estate Middle Tennessee.
According to Baker’s apparent page on Homes.com, a website real estate agents use to list properties publicly, he has made approximately $13 million in sales and has closed 35 deals.
Kincade claimed Baker’s alleged activities as a real estate agent during his working hours in the Property Assessor’s Office were “common office knowledge” and that Property Assessor Rob Mitchell permitted Baker to pursue his real estate career as long as Baker only sold properties outside of Rutherford County.
Baker’s apparent Homes.com page indicates most of his sales have been in Rutherford County, including in Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Lascassas, Christiana, and Walterhill. Baker apparently posted to his Facebook page that he sold a Lascassas home in December 2023.
In his email to the Comptroller’s Office, Kincade also claimed that Assistant Elected Official Russel Key and Real Property Supervisor Lance Jenkins have been aware of Baker’s alleged activities as a real estate agent but “consistently neglect their obligations to address and rectify this behavior… Concerned staff members have directly approached Mr. Key regarding these issues, yet no corrective measures have been taken.”
Kincade also alleged in his email to the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office that Baker has been “enabled to delegate the vast majority of his job responsibilities to subordinate staff…”
Two employees in the Property Assessor’s Office familiar with the situation also told this reporter they have witnessed Baker take real estate phone calls during his work hours for the county. One of them claimed to have witnessed the other behavior Kincade alleged, including Baker delegating much of his responsibilities to other employees, and that Jenkins and Key have been approached about Baker’s alleged behavior to no avail.
No Response to Whistleblower’s “Conflict of Interest” Claims Yet
The Comptroller’s Office has apparently not directly addressed Kincade’s conflict-of-interest claims. However, three employees in the Property Assessor’s Office have told this journalist that representatives of the Comptroller’s Office have made visits beyond what is considered regular in recent months.
This journalist emailed the Property Assessor’s Office on June 20 inquiring whether Mitchell could validate Kincade’s claims. This journalist also inquired why Mitchell allowed Baker’s activities, assuming he could confirm Kincade’s claims.
This journalist has yet to receive a response by the publishing time of this piece.
Kincade made several other allegations of “unethical, immoral, and illegal behavior” in the Property Assessor’s Office, including not conducting “fair and accurate property assessments,” “political bias hiring practices,” “preferential employee treatment,” and “wage discrimination practices.”
He raised many of these concerns with the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office in three other emails from March.
The content of the complaint can be read here.
(Kincade referenced a total of 33 attachments in his complaint, which this journalist has not provided in the link above due to the amount of material and redactions possibly needed.)
Matthew Giffin is an independent journalist based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.