Unease lingers inside Demorest City Hall months after investigation

DEMOREST, Ga. – Months after an investigation pulled back the curtain on a toxic working environment inside the Demorest Police Department, the investigation may be over — but the unease inside the city does not appear to be.

Emails obtained by Now Georgia show sharp exchanges between City Manager Mark Musselwhite and Police Chief Casey Chastain. Former city employees and other sources describe a difficult working environment. Two anonymous letters sent to Now Georgia independently call for an investigation into Musselwhite’s management.

And city records show Demorest has spent more than $1,300 on professional mediation and related services.

Together, the records and accounts raise a larger question: Was the turmoil uncovered inside the organization an isolated personnel problem, or part of something broader?

Trouble beneath the surface

The controversy became public when the Demorest City Council authorized an investigation following internal personnel complaints at the police department.

That investigation later revealed fractured relationships among civilian employees, allegations of favoritism and communication problems. One employee described the workplace as “toxic,” while Assistant Chief James Minutello questioned whether some relationships had become too fractured to repair.

The investigation did not substantiate allegations of inappropriate physical contact involving Chastain. Instead, it largely documented a workplace struggling with personality conflicts and management problems.

Now Georgia reached out to Chastain for an interview and sent questions about the conflict within the city.  Chastain said in an email that he is “diligently working together towards the common goal of providing the very best in governmental services to the citizens of Demorest”.  He concluded that “a detailed public discourse by me in the Court of public opinion would further that goal.”

But emails obtained since then show another strained relationship — this one between the police chief and city manager.

“The constant excuses”

A May 12 email exchange began with questions about municipal probation money.

Chastain explained that probation and the courts were separate functions and pushed back against the suggestion that collecting probation money was the police chief’s responsibility.

Musselwhite responded by questioning more than the money.

“Casey, this just seems very odd I am really struggling to follow you and your management skills on all these issues,” Musselwhite wrote.

Chastain pushed back.

Musselwhite’s response became sharper.

“Casey the constant excuses is what I am talking about,” he wrote.

Musselwhite told Chastain he was not asking the chief to personally collect the money, but wanted to know what Chastain had done about the situation. He then emphasized Chastain’s responsibility as chief, asking whether he needed to “get someone to explain that to YOU!!!”

“The buck starts and stops on your watch period the end,” Musselwhite wrote.

The emails provide a written glimpse into the tension sources say has existed behind the doors of City Hall.

What does Georgia law say about probation collections?

Georgia law does not appear to support Musselwhite’s assertion that probation collections were inherently Chastain’s responsibility as police chief. State law places misdemeanor probation under court authority and specifically provides for probation services to handle supervision and collection of court-ordered money.

The Georgia Attorney General has similarly described probation officers as an “investigative and supervisory arm of the court.” Nothing in that statutory framework makes collecting probation payments a general duty of a municipal police chief.

Unless Demorest specifically assigned Chastain responsibility for overseeing its probation operation, Musselwhite’s assertion that “the buck starts and stops” with Chastain goes beyond the responsibilities Georgia law ordinarily assigns to a police chief.

The key question is who Demorest’s probation agreement actually placed in charge of collecting and accounting for that money.  Now Georgia has been advised that an Alto employee used to handle the duties, but Musselwhite did not mesh well with him either.

City turns to mediation

Multiple sources familiar with city operations, including former employees, tell Now Georgia that Musselwhite has created a difficult working environment.

Musselwhite responded to Now Georgia’s emailed questions, saying, “I will not respond.”

Sources also say several department heads have been required to participate in counseling or mediation sessions involving Musselwhite and counselor Douglas Duke.

City records do not independently establish every participant or why each session occurred. They do, however, confirm Demorest paid Duke for mediation and related services.

One “Demorest City Hall Mediation Invoice” documents mediation sessions, mileage, a telephone conversation with a council member, and time spent reviewing a Demorest City Council work session.

That bill totaled $1,184.50.

A second invoice totaled $204.75 and included telephone conversations involving Mayor Jerry Harkness and Councilman Jimmy Davis.

Combined, the records show $1,389.25 in city expenditures for Duke’s services.

Duke is a Georgia Licensed Professional Counselor whose professional biography identifies him as a registered mediator with decades of experience.

The records establish that Demorest paid for professional mediation. The claim that multiple department heads were required to attend sessions with Musselwhite and Duke remains attributed to sources.

More voices emerge

Then came the letters.

Two people whose identities remain unknown to Now Georgia separately sent complaints asking for an investigation into Musselwhite.

The letters allege harassment, retaliation, mismanagement and repeated conflict with city employees. One specifically questions how many city officials and employees have allegedly needed counseling or mediation involving Musselwhite.

Now Georgia has not independently verified every allegation in the letters, and anonymous accusations alone do not establish misconduct.

Their significance comes from their similarity to concerns voiced separately by other sources and from conflicts now visible in the city’s own records.

Questions remain

None of this, by itself, proves misconduct by Musselwhite.

Managers have difficult conversations with department heads. Cities sometimes hire mediators when officials try to resolve workplace problems. Anonymous complaints can be incomplete or motivated by personal disputes.

But months after Demorest commissioned an investigation into turmoil inside its police department, signs of conflict continue to surface.

There are the harsh emails between the city manager and police chief.

Former employees and other sources describe a difficult workplace.

Anonymous writers are asking outsiders to investigate.

And more than $1,300 in documented city spending went to professional mediation and related services.

The original investigation warned what can happen when workplace relationships deteriorate to the point that employees dread coming to work.

Demorest investigated one part of that problem.

Whether it found the source of it remains an open question.

For now, the investigation is finished, but the unease inside Demorest City Hall remains.