A series of open records requests has shed new light on the career and retirement of R.B., longtime System Administrator for the Knox County Register of Deeds. R.B. retired on December 15, 2025 after more than 32 years of service, but details from her personnel file—combined with property records and office policies—have prompted questions about work arrangements, potential out-of-state residency, and the circumstances of her departure.
R.B. was first hired on November 1, 1993. Her separation notice lists her last day of employment as December 15, 2025 (though some references cite December 11), noting that she “took the Register’s VWRP.” The acronym appears to refer to a voluntary workforce Reduction Plan or early retirement incentive program offered by the Register of Deeds. A follow-up open records request has already been submitted to Knox County Finance to clarify the exact terms of that incentive.
Salary History Shows Steady Increases
Public payroll records obtained via open records requests reveal the following salary progression while R.B. held the System Administrator (or Assistant System Administrator) title:
• June 6, 2016 (under former Register Sherry Witt): Title listed as Assistant Systems Administrator; salary increased from $64,222.60 to $65,507.
• January 7, 2019: Salary rose from $68,821.74 to $69,821.74 (title “system administrator” noted only on the prior salary).
• May 28, 2019: Salary increased from $69,822.70 to $70,821.70 (title again noted only on the old salary).
• February 13, 2021: Salary adjusted from $72,946.38 to $73,946.38; job title formally updated to “System Administrator.”
• June 19, 2021: Salary increased from $73,946.34 to $76,164.73.
• November 2, 2024: Final pre-retirement raise from $83,171.92 to $86,488.80.
These figures cover the period reviewed from Property Records Custodian Nick McBride’s tenure (beginning September 1, 2018, with his second term starting September 1, 2022) backward through December 15, 2025.
Property Records and Possible Out-of-State Residency
According to Knox County GIS (KGIS) records, R.B. sold her Knox County home on September 22, 2023. At that time her annual salary stood at $83,171.92. From November 2024 until her retirement in December 2025 she was earning $86,488.80.
It has been discussed—and is confirmed—that R.B. is registered voter in Florida for more than two years. ⤵️
Remote Work Policy and the Missing Exception
The Knox County Register of Deeds Employee Handbook (approved October 5, 2021, and on file with the Knox County Clerk’s County Commission) contains a section on the work day that states: “Exceptions may be made when the activities of the particular department require some other schedule to meet the need of the County and County Official so authorized a deviation from the established schedule.”
However, R.B.’s HR file contains no such exception or authorization for remote work or an altered schedule. On April 27, 2023, she was credited with 8 hours of sick leave—the only leave notation in the reviewed records. On December 30, 2022, she and ten other employees received additional vacation and sick time per the handbook.
Office Transparency and Public Records Access
Unlike nearly every other Knox County department, the Register of Deeds does not participate in the county’s online Open Records Portal. An email response dated January 27, 2026, from Knox County Records Management staff confirmed:
All records cited above were obtained through direct requests of the Knox County Human Resources, through the Open Records Portal.
No Confirmation from Oversight Bodies
Neither the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury nor the Independent Audit Office of Knox County has publicly confirmed or denied the existence of any investigation into R.B’s employment, attendance, or work-from-home status. The absence of detail from both offices leaves taxpayers without clear answers about whether her physical presence (or lack thereof) inside the City County Building was ever examined.
What This Means for Taxpayers
R.B. provided more than three decades of service to Knox County taxpayers. The public records themselves do not prove wrongdoing. However, the combination of an early-retirement incentive, a high-level IT position with no documented remote-work exception, the sale of her only known Knox County residence, and the office’s refusal to use the standard public records portal creates legitimate questions that deserve straightforward answers.
The VWRP details, any remote-work policy exceptions, and confirmation (or denial) of Florida residency are all fair game for additional open records requests. Until those records are produced, Knox County residents are left wondering whether one of the Register of Deeds’ highest-paid IT employees was physically present and performing her duties in the office she was hired to support—or whether county policy and oversight allowed something different.
Further updates will be posted as additional records are received. In the meantime, every open records request filed helps ensure that county government remains transparent and accountable to the people who pay the salaries.
An unrelated interesting find in reviewing the record, is the October 2021 Employee Handbook Knox County Register of Deeds
on Page 7 of the 10 page document
Section IV
(15) Effective Date. This plan shall take effect January 1, 1998.
Was it really updated in 2021 or just signed and dated?
