Three County Officials Fired Over Text Messages

SEBRING - Three employees in the Highlands County budget department were fired Monday morning for "the nature of, and the volume of, text messages sent on county computers," said county Administrator Carl Cool.

The three employees dismissed are:
Treasa Handley, the coordinator of non-ad valorem tax assessments;
Jarrod Lee, the department's budget analyst; and
Christine Edwards, a budget technician.

All three were fired for a "misuse of county equipment" violation under the county's employee-conduct rules, Cool said. All three firings were related to instant text messages, which the employees sent and/or received on their county computers, Cool said.

At least one of the three has informed Cool that he or she intends to appeal the firing, although no formal appeal has been filed yet, Cool said. Under county employment rules, set by the county commissioners, every county employee has three days to file an appeal of a firing.

All appeals of a termination of employment are heard, and decided on, by the county administrator.
"We are expecting at least one appeal and possibly more," Cool said.

Cool would not elaborate on the specifics that made "the nature" of the text messages inappropriate to the extent that it contributed to the termination of the three.

Bernis Gainer, the director of the county Office of Budget and Management, who made the decision to fire the three employees, did not want to comment on the specifics of the dismissals.