My friend Phil Hamby (Philip W. Hamby, 1944–2013) was a Knoxville, Tennessee, businessman, builder, and the driving force behind the revived Knoxville Journal. Around 1995, as part of Premiere Publishing, Hamby helped purchase and resurrect Knoxville’s oldest newspaper name. He served as publisher and editor for nearly a decade, running it as a local weekly that dug into real community issues.
One of Phil’s most notable projects was a detailed, year-long series on the salaries of all Knox County School employees. That kind of straightforward, public-record journalism left a lasting impression.
Fast Forward to Today
As many of you know, this site — along with Backroom Knox on Facebook and Compass — has covered the Register of Deeds office, including the July 2025 Workforce Reduction Plan. Through public records requests, we learned that 14 employees were offered the plan and 5 accepted it.
#TheMegaBullhornofTruth investigative reporting also revealed that at least one employee had been working remotely from more than 800 miles away in Florida.
Those stories, April 9 HERE, April 15 HERE and April 16 HERE.
combined with Phil Hamby’s example, inspired a new monthly feature here.
Launching the Monthly Featured Office Salary Series
Why am I doing this?
Last year, a local outlet ran a headline focused solely on the percentage of my own salary increase. They left out critical context — that my position had changed from hourly/seasonal to full-time. When I asked the editor (via email) to also publish my actual salary for fairness, the request was declined.
I won’t practice selective transparency. That’s why I’ve filed open records requests for these documents. Each month, I’ll draw one county office from a hat at random. That office becomes the featured spotlight. The goal is simple: consistent, factual reporting so citizens can see exactly where their tax dollars are going.
May 2026 Featured Office: Register of Deeds
Unlike Editor/Publisher Phil Hamby, I will not publish individual employee names (though I have them in my records). Instead, here are the salaries by position:
Salary on 9/1/2025 → Salary on 5/5/2026
• Register of Deeds: $169,850.72 → $169,850.72
• Chief Deputy: $100,082.58 → $102,250.02
• Record Room Supervisor: $90,000.04 → $91,999.96
• Administrative Supervisor: $87,259.12 → $89,200.02
• Finance Director: $91,000 → $92,820.00
• Indexing Clerk Supervisor: $69,899.96 → $71,999.98
• Deputy Register: $69,500.08 → $71,999.98
• Record Room Clerk: $62,000.12 → $63,240.06
• Record Room Clerk: $60,000.20 → $61,200.36
• Indexing Clerk: $59,490.00 → $60,750.04
• Indexing Clerk: $58,500 → $60,000.20
• Record Room Clerk: $55,035.50 → $56,249.96
• Document Receiving Clerk: $55,701.36 → $56,999.80
• Customer Service Rep: $50,000.08 → $51,549.94
• Assistant Finance Director: $50,000.08 → $51,500.02
• Indexing Clerk: $47,499.92 → $49,000.12
• E-Document Receiving Clerk: $49,677.94 → $50,749.90 (approx.)
• TEMP (PT): $40,560.00 → $41,371.20
Workforce Reduction Context
In July 2025, 14 employees were offered the Voluntary Workforce Reduction Program. Five accepted, resulting in a total payroll reduction of $335,492.30.
Among those who left:
• One remote Systems Administrator (Florida) earning $86,498.88 as of Sept 2025
• Two Indexing Clerks ($62,236.20 and $62,816.78)
• One Document Receiving Clerk ($87,904.44)
• One TEMP (PT) earning $36,036.00
I can confirm the retired Document Receiving Clerk and TEMP (PT) were regularly present in the office.
Note: NEW HIRE WHILE REDUCING WORKFORCE While the reduction program was still winding down, a new hire joined in October 2025 as a Deputy Register at $52,499.98 — the step-son of a Knox County Department Head who has had past ties to the Register of Deeds office across different mayoral administrations (Burchett and Jacobs). Also, note Mayor Jacobs on July 1 through December 31, 2025 had implemented a Hiring Freeze. Why while reducing workforce, did the Register hire another, taking Deputy Register from 1 to 2? While ignoring the Mayoral Hiring Freeze. HERE IS THE LINK to the mid June 2025 liberal, Socialist, Unhinged biased story on the hiring freeze.
Current Staffing (as of latest records)
Total staff count: 19
• Register of Deeds: 1
• Chief Deputy: 1
• Record Room: 1 Supervisor + 3 Clerks = 4
• Indexing: 1 Supervisor + 3 Clerks = 4
• Administrative Supervisor: 1
• Deputy Register: 2
• TEMP (PT): 1
• Finance: 1 Director + 1 Assistant = 2
• Receiving: 1 E-Document Clerk + 1 Document Clerk
• Customer Service Rep: 1
This is the first installment. Once we complete the first round through all offices, we’ll begin circling back for comparisons. It will be especially interesting to track the Register of Deeds office under the next team after current Register Nick McBride moves to Trustee and Sherry Witt takes over. AGAIN!
Phil Hamby believed in shining light on public salaries and government operations. This series aims to continue that tradition with consistency and no favorites.
What office should the “hat” deliver next? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. More offices and deeper analysis coming soon.
#TheMegaBullhornofTruth
Transparency isn’t optional when it’s your and our tax dollars.
