I-Team: Pendergrass makes first payment in whistleblower case

By Randy Travis Published June 10 PENDERGRASS, Ga. - It took nearly a dozen years, but the city of Pendergrass has made its first payment on what’s grown to a $1.5 million judgment from a whistleblower lawsuit. Sadly, one of those whistleblowers did not live to see any of the money. The FOX 5 I-Team first broke the story in 2009. Former city clerk Katherine Rintoul and police Lt. Bill Garner had warned the mayor that city manager Rob Russell was fixing traffic tickets and misspending tax money. It took nearly a dozen years, but the city of Pendergrass has made its first payment on what’s grown to a $1.5 million judgment from a whistleblower lawsuit. Instead, Mayor Monk Tolbert fired Rintoul. Garner later quit claiming a hostile work environment. It would take eight years to get their whistleblower case to trial. A Jackson County jury awarded the pair $1,056,000 in damages and back pay. So what did Pendergrass do? Refused to pay … for another three years. With interest building at $93,000 a year plus attorney’s fees, the amount Pendergrass now owes is around $1.5 million. Pendergrass kept city manager Rob Russell after employees complained he was fixing tickets and misspending money. Instead, the employees were fired. In April, after missing the deadline to file their final appeal, the city wrote its first check for damages: $50,000. City manager Russell said they’ve since mailed a second $15,000 check. The whistleblowers have set a June 18 deadline for the city to come up with a payment plan. "We’re giving them some time to figure it out," said attorney Nancy Val Preda. In true David and Goliath fashion, she bested a team of attorneys hired by the city. "They’ve always maintained we were wrong and the jury got it wrong," she said. Pendergrass has seen dramatic growth since the whistleblower lawsuit was filed 12 years ago. The increased user fees and property taxes from new warehouses and neighborhoods are expected to help pay the judgment. Around 3,000 people live in Pendergrass. This year’s budget is $908,650. Yet the plan is to pay off the judgment without raising taxes or cutting services. "It’s going to be difficult for us to pay it," said Russell. "We. Will. Pay it."