Former Millersville Mayor Tim Lassiter arrested for tampering with government documents
MILLERSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Former Millersville Mayor Tim Lassiter was arrested Tuesday for document fraud.
Officials at the Sumner County Jail told News 2 Lassiter was arrested on charges of criminal simulation and destruction of and tampering with government documents.
“This is what accountability looks like,” Millersville city attorney, Bryant Kroll said.
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According to an arrest report, Lassiter issued a building permit for a Millersville fire department renovation without following the requirements to do so. Kroll told News 2 Lassiter allegedly issued the building permit to himself to renovate the building without approval from the Tennessee State Fire Marshall’s Office.
Court documents state he then passed the permit claiming that it met the standards and requirements of the state of Tennessee. However, officials said Lassiter — who was also the contractor of the project — knew the permit should have not been issued.
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The building’s project was completed and did not meet fire code requirements, according to Kroll.
“[It’s] shocking because it’s the fire department,” Kroll said. “Because it’s not up to fire code, firefighters cannot sleep in the quarters here, they cannot operate as a fire department, and the citizens of Millersville want their own fire department here. They’ve wanted it since the city has been the city. Under the charter, we’re obligated to provide that. That’s why this is such an important issue.”
He was released from the Sumner County jail after posting a $10,000 bond. No other information was released.
The city estimates it will cost around $250,000 to fix the issues with the fire department building.
“Well, when it’s not up to code, you’re supposed to do this when it’s being built, otherwise you have to tear down walls, so that’s unfortunately what it looks like is they’re going to have to tear down a significant portion of this, if not all of it, and rebuild it,” Kroll said. “That’s the cheaper option.”
Lassiter previously stepped down as mayor in April of 2022.
The City of Millersville has seen numerous changes in leadership over the past few months.
On Jan. 30, a new commissioner, Alisa Huling, was sworn in. Then within 15 minutes, the newest commissioner was the deciding vote, 3-2 to fire the acting city manager, Scott Avery. Also fired following the city commission meeting was the city attorney, Jack Freedle, and the acting Millersville police chief, Rob Richman, who recently moved from Texas to take the Millersville job.
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On Feb. 13, Fire Chief Brandon Head was also terminated.
Just recently, Interim City Manager Tina Tobin, who was voted into the job this past January, sent in her resignation.
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