DeKalb County is investigating allegations that the man hired to improve customer service in its planning office assaulted an employee last month – in front of at least one customer.
Eric Woods jabbed the worker in the shoulder, swatted his hands away from a computer and yelled at him as he worked the permit counter on May 17, just two months after being named DeKalb’s building development administrator, according to police reports.
“It does not present a professional image of the county employees and the work that we do, if the allegations are true,” county spokesman Burke Brennan said. “We take this very seriously and that’s why we are investigating.”
The worker, Tracy Evans, told Channel 2 Action News that the exchange occurred after he showed a letter of resignation, complaining about a hostile work environment, to a secretary. But Evans said he did not intend to step down and that Woods forced him to after their exchange.
“It was just my say to see if I could get some help. It was a cry for help,” Evans said.
Evans had worked for the county for eight years in a department that has been a focus of resident and developer complaints for years because of lags in permitting and lack of consistency in interpreting rules and codes.
Woods was not available for comment Thursday. When introduced to county commissioners at a meeting earlier this month, he described his role to unify the low-morale department and ease what customers describe as a frustrating experience.
“They were mired into a negative culture, with a lack of leadership,” Woods told commissioners. “The customer service was lacking because there was no accountability.”
Both Decatur Police and the county are investigating to see who is accountable for the May 17 incident. Until that work is completed, Woods remains on the job and has not been charged with any crime.
Evans told Channel 2 that he does not want his job back under Woods' supervision and complained only to prevent other employees from the same treatment he said he suffered.
“I felt the people I had left behind would be subject to the same hostility, the same conditions that I had worked in,” he said.
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