News

City initiates 'internal investigation' into public works over 'concerns' relayed to officials

By AMY MCCRAW and BILL MOSS, Published: October 31, 2025

The city of Hendersonville is investigating one or more employees of its public works department “regarding a concern that was relayed to us” in the past couple of days, City Manager John Connet said Friday afternoon in response to questions from the Lightning.

“There’s been no terminations,” he said. “We’re in the middle of an internal investigation regarding a concern that was relayed to us regarding the public works department. … It just popped up the last couple of days, and really all I can tell you at this point is we are investigating some concerns. It is an active personnel matter. We wish we could tell you more, but we can’t at this point. As soon as we know, when we get all the way through this, we'll release a full statement.”

Asked whether the inquiry was an human resources or police matter, Connet responded that it was HR.

In a statement the city said much the same thing as the city manager.

The city “holds its employees to the highest standards of professionalism and integrity,” it said. “In alignment with that value, an internal investigation has been opened to gather facts surrounding a concern in the Public Works Department.

“Because this is an active investigation, we are limited in what we can share at this time, but we will provide an additional statement after the investigation has been completed.”

Asked if he could say how many employees were the subject of the internal investigation, Connet said, “Not at this time.”