Knox County Property Assessor Phil Ballard charged with felony official misconduct
Ballard became one of the subjects of a wide-ranging investigation by the state's watchdog agency into misuse of public money by Knox County elected officials and some of their employees. He was indicted Aug. 6 by a grand jury.
Ballard will continue serving as property assessor, his attorney, T. Scott Jones, told Knox News.
"I don't think he committed a violation of the law," Jones said. "I think it's best described as a 'much to do about nothing.' He will continue to hold office and serve the taxpayers of Knox County. He's innocent until proven guilty. He intends to avail himself in criminal court."
Ballard was booked at the county jail, posted a $5,000 bond and left.
The property assessor's office operates independently of the county mayor's office and is not subject to the supervision of Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs. Neither Jacobs nor the county commission have the power to discipline or remove people working in the independent county offices.
Unless constituents go through the process of filing an ouster lawsuit or a recall petition against an elected official who gets in legal trouble, there's nothing stopping the official from serving out the rest of the term, running for reelection or running for another county office.
An investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury – the state's watchdog agency – was turned over to Blount County District Attorney Ryan Desmond. His office is handling the prosecution after Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen recused her office.
The comptroller's investigation began after an investigation by the Knox County Audit Office.
Prosecutor seeks conviction for Property Assessor Phil Ballard
After the Knox County Audit Committee began digging into allegations of excessive travel spending and improper use of county-leased SUVs by Trustee Justin Biggs and some of his employees, investigators discovered Ballard was routinely driving a county-owned 2022 Ford Explorer for personal use even as he accepted reimbursement for using his personal vehicle for work.
Ballard told Knox News in April he didn't exclusively start driving the Explorer for a few months after he took office in September. He said he notified the county's human resources department that he was driving the SUV and receiving reimbursement for use of his personal vehicle, but a paperwork error prevented him from rectifying the situation.
In January, he told Knox News, he followed up with the county's finance department and offered to pay back approximately $2,000 in allowance. Instead, he said, he was told the county would take it from three upcoming paychecks.
County Finance Director Chris Caldwell told Knox News that Ballard asked to stop getting payments for personal vehicle use in January and the last payment to him was made Jan. 17. Caldwell said Ballard asked the county to start deducting the money he owed for accepting the reimbursement beginning April 11.
"There were attempts to address what I think can be described as a misunderstanding early on," Jones, Ballard's attorney, told Knox News. "I think Mr. Ballard has paid far and above any 'extra benefit' he received back to the taxpayers."
Ballard, 71, was elected property assessor in 2024, beating Jackie Raley by just 12 votes in the Republican primary before defeating Drew Harper in the general election. Ballard previously served two terms as property assessor – from 2008-2016 – and left office because he was term-limited.
Ballard is paid $195,326.56 annually.
Tyler Whetstone is an investigative reporter focused on accountability journalism. Email: tyler.whetstone@knoxnews.com; X: @tyler_whetstone.
Allie Feinberg is the politics reporter for Knox News. Email: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com; Reddit: u/KnoxNewsAllie
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Phil Ballard, Knox County property assessor, charged with felony official misconduct
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