County Commissioner Greg Beck said it was inappropriate for fellow Commissioner Tim Boyd to include articles critical of the late Cleveland Grimes in a 57-page report on the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority.
He said, "Criticizing a dead man - I don't know if that's appropriate. If that's Christianity, let me off the wagon."
Saying the report should be rewritten, Commissioner Boyd said Mr. Grimes, who died suddenly at the age of 58, was beloved by many people.
He said, "Never in my life have I seen a dead man criticized."
Commissioner Boyd said he was standing by the report.
He said he was not personally being critical of Mr. Grimes, but was just including information he had gathered as he held a series of community meetings on the WWTA.
The commissioner noted that the Legislature voted to reorganize the WWTA, and he said he hoped his report would be used by County Mayor Jim Coppinger for the reorganization.
But the county mayor was highly praiseworthy of Mr. Grimes, saying he had just won an award from his peers.
He said Mr. Grimes had inadequate funds to work with, but "I can't tell you how many times he salvaged economic development for us."
The county mayor said Mr. Grimes and his successor, Mark Harrison, "have solved many problems for us that didn't make the headlines."
Commissioner Boyd said he wanted to go over the report with Mr. Harrison and WWTA Board Chairman Mike Moon. He said he was willing to meet and tried several times, but he said the meeting did not come about.
The commissioner said the WWTA is needed to help make more development possible around the new Bass Pro Shop in East Ridge. He said action is needed before the Border Region Act terms expire.
He said he is expecting an announcement from the WWTA regarding East Ridge projects within the next two weeks.