Senoia Lawsuit: City Says Manager Hid $176K in Unauthorized Raises

The City of Senoia says its former city manager improperly increased his own pay by more than $176,000 through a series of unauthorized salary adjustments — raises the city alleges were concealed from the mayor and council — according to an amended lawsuit filed this week.

The amended complaint, filed March 2 in Coweta County Superior Court, names former City Manager Harold Simmons, former Assistant City Manager Jeffrey Fisher, and former mayor William “Dub” Pearman III as defendants.

Salary increases detailed

According to the amended filing, Simmons increased his own salary multiple times between 2020 and 2024 without approval from the mayor and council, which the city charter requires. The complaint states that Simmons directed payroll staff to implement the increases himself.

The complaint lists the following salary adjustments:

• 2020: $99,718 to $109,689
• 2021: $109,689 to $112,980
• October 2021: $112,980 to $130,492
• April 2022: $130,492 to $137,017
• 2023: $152,877 to $160,520
• 2024: $160,520 to $176,573
• September 2024: $176,573 to $183,635

The city alleges the changes resulted in an approximately 85% increase in Simmons’ salary over five years.

The complaint says Simmons was only authorized to receive the same 2% annual cost-of-living adjustment approved for all city employees unless the mayor and council separately negotiated more. By that measure, his salary would have risen from $99,718 in 2019 to about $110,096.73 by 2024. Instead, the complaint says it reached $183,635 by late 2024 — about $73,538 more per year than the city says he should have been making. Using the salary figures and effective dates listed in the filing, the excess pay appears to total roughly $172,000 over five years, though the city’s lawsuit puts the salary damages at $176,705.24.

Allegations about work schedule

The amended complaint also alleges Simmons spent limited time working at City Hall while serving as city manager.

The filing states: “According to City Hall employees, after Defendant Fisher was hired, Defendant Simmons would be at City Hall for less than 10 hours per week, as opposed to the schedule for City Hall employees and the schedule set forth in the Employment Agreement, of 40 hours work each week.”

The complaint alleges this occurred during the same period in which Simmons’ compensation was increasing significantly.

Council says increases were concealed

According to the complaint, members of the mayor and council say they were never informed of the salary adjustments.

The filing states that Simmons did not negotiate the increases with the governing body, did not disclose them to council members, and never obtained formal approval for the changes through a vote or resolution.

The complaint also alleges Simmons structured city budgets in a way that concealed his individual compensation. According to the filing, his pay was included within broader budget lines such as “City Hall – Salaries and Wages” and later “City Manager/Asst Manager – Salaries,” preventing council members from seeing his individual salary.

Council members said they first became aware of the salary levels only after an October 2025 open records request produced Simmons’ W-2 wage statements for the previous five years.

The complaint alleges the W-2 records released through the open records request had the box showing total wages redacted. However, the filing states that the Medicare wages section of the forms remained visible and still revealed the level of compensation Simmons received.

The complaint states that “Council Members were shocked by the payments to Simmons. The payment increases were drastically disproportionate to annual increases authorized by the Council,” and adds that “the Council was also outraged by the deceitfulness.”

The filing also alleges Simmons justified the increases during a council discussion by pointing to the fact that city budgets had been approved, stating that once a budget passes “it is up to him how he gives it out.”

Dispute at council meeting

The amended complaint also references a Nov. 3, 2025 work session where Simmons asked the mayor and council to publicly state that no unauthorized expenditures had occurred or authorize a forensic audit costing $65,000.

According to the filing, council members began questioning Simmons about the large salary increases reflected in payroll records and how they had been authorized.

The complaint states the discussion quickly escalated. It alleges Simmons became “argumentative to the point of being insubordinate and unprofessional” when asked about the raises and refused to answer multiple council members’ questions. The filing further alleges he became “belligerent” during the exchange and demanded that the council address his request immediately.

According to the complaint, Simmons argued that discussing the raises was unnecessary because prior city budgets had already been approved, stating that once a budget passes “it is up to him how he gives it out.”

Allegations involving personnel records

The city also alleges documents were added to or removed from Simmons’ personnel file in November 2025.

According to the complaint, a salary authorization document signed by Simmons was removed from the file, and other documents were later added that purported to justify earlier salary increases.

The complaint states that council members learned on Nov. 12, 2025 that several documents had been placed in Simmons’ personnel file that purported to authorize raises retroactively. Those developments, the city alleges, expanded the scope of the investigation beyond Simmons’ actions alone.

Allegations involving former mayor

The amended complaint names former Senoia mayor William “Dub” Pearman III as a defendant and alleges he was involved in documents that were later placed in Simmons’ personnel file to justify some of the salary increases.

According to the filing, council members learned that several documents added to the personnel file purported to have been signed by Pearman and former Assistant City Manager Jeffrey Fisher on unspecified earlier dates to justify salary adjustments effective in 2020, 2022, 2024 and September 2024.

The complaint alleges those documents had not previously been disclosed to the mayor and council and were not in the personnel file when it had been reviewed earlier.

The lawsuit further alleges Pearman discouraged further investigation into Simmons’ expenditures. During a council discussion, the complaint states Pearman described examining the issue as “a fishing trip” and said he was not in favor of pursuing it.

The complaint also alleges Pearman did not disclose the salary payments or increases to council members during the period he served as mayor, despite knowing that salary increases for the city manager required approval from the mayor and council.

Allegations involving assistant city manager

Former Assistant City Manager Jeffrey Fisher is also named as a defendant. The complaint alleges Simmons implemented the salary increases with Fisher’s assistance and that Fisher was aware of payments to Simmons that had not been approved by the mayor and council.

The complaint also alleges documents that later appeared in Simmons’ personnel file purporting to justify the raises bore Fisher’s signature along with Pearman’s.

Allegations involving church demolition debris

The amended complaint also alleges Simmons used city property to dispose of debris from the demolition of a church where he served as chief executive officer.

According to the filing, Simmons obtained the Feb. 16, 2023 permit to demolish the Pleasant Grove Nondenominational Church building and identified himself on the application as both the “General Contractor” and “Pastor” for the project. The complaint further states that the demolition was carried out “under the direction of Simmons.”

The lawsuit alleges the debris from that demolition was not taken to the Coweta County landfill in Newnan. Instead, the complaint says Simmons had the demolition debris transported to Senoia and dumped on city-owned property.

To show the scale, the complaint states the debris field appears to represent about 20 containers using 40-yard roll-off units. The city alleges the mayor and council did not authorize the disposal and were not told about it.

Phones and investigation

The complaint also alleges Simmons attempted to prevent an investigation into his actions.

According to the filing, Simmons directed the Senoia Police Department not to investigate him regarding the salary increases and related matters.

The complaint further alleges that when Simmons and Fisher returned city-issued phones after their Jan. 5, 2026 termination, city data had been deleted from the devices.

According to the filing, Simmons returned his phone with damage consistent with it having been struck with a hammer or similar object, rendering the device unusable.

Civil claims

The amended complaint includes claims for conversion of city funds, breach of contract, trespass, and punitive damages. The city is seeking damages, attorneys’ fees, and other relief.

Mayor Scott Tigchelaar declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing litigation.

The case is pending in Coweta County Superior Court, where the defendants will have an opportunity to respond to the allegations as the lawsuit proceeds.