DPW head, brother who worked at landfill fired

BY MELINDA J. OVERSTREET / GLASGOW NEWS 1
On Friday, the employment of the superintendent over the Glasgow Department of Public Works and that of the manager of the Glasgow Regional Landfill were terminated – not by their own choice.
Mayor Henry Royse declined to confirm or comment on the firings on Saturday; Glasgow News 1 promptly filed an open records request, which was fulfilled late Monday.
Roger Simmons was hired in April 2019 as superintendent by then-Mayor Harold Armstrong; Shawn Simmons had worked for the city since June 1, 2005. Shawn is Roger’s nephew by blood and brother via adoption. When Roger Simmons was hired, it was announced that the assistant superintendent would be the immediate supervisor over Shawn Simmons, and any matters that needed to go above that level were to be taken directly to the mayor rather than to the superintendent.
Roger Simmons told GN1 via messages early Monday evening that it was the mayor and Lance Crimmins, human resources manager, who met with him at approximately 3:15 p.m. Friday, but he said he did not know the details of how the termination happened with his brother.
A memo to Roger Simmons from Royse with the specification “hand delivery only” and with “notice of dismissal” as the subject was received as part of the records request. In it, Royse states that as the executive authority for the city and as authorized by city and state laws, the numbers for which he cites, he was notifying Simmons of his decision to terminate his employment.
“The reason for your removal is that, in my judgment as Mayor, the efficient operation of the department of public works cannot be best achieved by your continued leadership of this department,” the memo signed by Royse states.
The now-former superintendent submitted a written statement – essentially a letter to the public – saying that begins by thanking the residents of Glasgow for the opportunity to serve them as superintendent.
“It has been a challenge going through a pandemic, retaining employees, equipment breakdowns and back-to-back winter storms, etc., but we still provided services to our citizens during these events,” Roger Simmons wrote. “You have dedicated, hard-working employees at the Department of Public Works. They have to work in some of the worse conditions imaginable in all weather conditions, if its at Landfill, Sanitation Department, Transit, Street maintenance, Stormwater drain cleaning or keeping the equipment up and running.
“It is a large operation, and each employee has a role to perform, and each role is important to be successful. If its picking up letter on the side of the street or operating the heavy equipment at the landfill every job they do make[s] our city and lives better one day at a time.
“I will miss all the employees as I know they will continue their hard work to serve the citizens of Glasgow.”
Shawn Simmons started in the Street Division of the Department of Public Works and moved to the Landfill Division in 2012. He was promoted to assistant landfill manager Jan. 6, 2020, interim landfill manager in July 2021 and finally landfill manager in October 2021, all according to records received from GN1’s request. A personnel status form effective July 1, 2022, however, shows his title as assistant landfill manager again.
Shawn Simmons’ final such form, with Friday as the effective date and Monday as the submission date, was signed by the mayor and initialed by Crimmins, and a personnel status form for Roger Simmons, had the same dates, signature and initials on it. Both have “termination” checked as the action taken for the status change.