A retirement party and a 30-year service award might be the ideal way to wrap up a career with Burlington’s municipal government. But the parting of ways hasn’t been nearly so sweet for some people who’ve left the city’s employ.
Since the summer of 2024, the city of Burlington has involuntarily bumped a total of 20 staff members from its payroll. Just over half of these former employees were let go while still in the initial probationary stage of employment. Others were on staff a bit longer before they were sacked for reasons such as the theft of gas from city’s the public works department, visiting the liquor store in a city-owned vehicle, and leaving a personal firearm behind in a gun-free facility.
The Alamance News has learned about these sundry dismissals through a public records request that the newspaper lodged with the city this past December in order to obtain information about disciplinary actions against city staff.
Under North Carolina’s Public Records Law, units of state and local government are obligated to release the dates of disciplinary actions such as demotions, suspensions, and terminations, in addition to more general information about an employee’s tenure, title, and salary. In the case of an employee’s termination, the law also requires the release of an explanation, which often appears in the former staff members dismissal notice.
The Alamance News had previously requested this information from Burlington in the middle of 2024 as part of an investigative series about disciplinary actions by public employers. The newspaper’s latest inquiry to Burlington had keyed in on actions since July 1, 2024 – which had been the cut off for the earlier request.
In response to the newspaper’s most recent inquiry, the city’s personnel office has released records of 31 disciplinary actions that had occurred through the end of 2025. These actions included two demotions, nine disciplinary suspensions, and 20 terminations – 12 of which took place during the former employee’s probationary period.
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Siphoning off gas from public works
On September 22, 2025, the city fired Justin Clayton and Brandon Coachman for allegedly misappropriating gas from the public works department. In each case, the employee’s supervisor observed that the department’s management had deduced the theft by “working with the Burlington police department to review gas report usage and video footage.”
“Data such as your historical and current transactions using gas key fobs was reviewed and compared to other staff and measured against your work assignments,” Alan Idol, the city’s grounds and cemetery superintendent, added in the dismissal letters issued to both employees. “GPS data from your assigned city vehicle was used as well.”
Coachman, a grounds crew leader who had been with the city since May 31, 2006, was apparently able to offer something in the way of an explanation when he was confronted with this evidence three days before his dismissal.
“You stated that you did not steal gas for your personal vehicle [and] that your personal vehicle requires 93 Octane [while] the city fuel is 87 Octane,” the dismissal letter went on to recall. “At times, you were asked by others to get gas in the tanker truck…often during your lunch break…[but] when asked what you did after you filled the tanker truck, you were unable to say specifically.”
The letter went on to conclude that Coachman “did not present any significant information to dispute the facts obtained in the investigation.” He was consequently dismissed for “the willful misuse of city funds and/or obtaining city funds under false pretenses;” “participation in any action that would in any way seriously disrupt or disturb” the city’s normal operations; and “misconduct on or off the job which adversely reflects on the employee’s ability to perform their job.”
Coachman was earning a salary of $49,441.60 a year at the time of his termination.
Clayton, meanwhile, seems to have been more truculent in his response to this same set of allegations.
An Equipment Operator II who first joined the city staff on July 27, 2020, Clayton was given the same opportunity as Coachman to explain his alleged wrongdoing. His supervisor nevertheless shared a much different account of the equipment operator’s “pre-disciplinary conference” on September 19, 2025.
“When asked if you understood the purpose of the meeting, you indicated that you had not really read the letter,” Idol went on to recall in Clayton’s separation notice. “You continued to state, ‘you are not going to play me. I am not stealing gas. I have already sent the letter to my attorney, but you would not allow my attorney to come to this meeting.’”
Idol added that Clayton had declared he was heading to Florida when instructed to report back to work on the following Monday to hear the management’s final decision. Clayton apparently resisted the order to attend this meeting in person – reportedly protesting “what’s the difference if I just call out?” And he refused to sign the notice to acknowledge his receipt of the document.
Clayton, who had been making $45,073.60 a year as an equipment operator, was ultimately sacked for the same three policy violations that were lodged against Coachman. Yet, unlike his senior colleague, Clayton has also been brought up on criminal charges based on his alleged professional lapses.
On September 22, the same date that appears on Clayton’s dismissal notice, Burlington’s police department issued a warrant for Clayton’s arrest on six felony counts of larceny by an employee. The warrant describes each alleged violation as the theft of “15 gallons of gasoline inside 3 red metal gas cans.”
The case against Clayton is currently docketed for a hearing on May 6, 2026.
Have gun, but no license to travel
Another involuntary dismissal from public works occurred on May 8, 2025 when the department’s solid waste division removed Chris Gamble from his post as an Equipment Operator I.
A member of Burlington’s city staff since July 12, 2021, Gamble was dismissed for two apparently unrelated offenses.
The first transgression occurred on April 24, 2025 when a member of Graham’s municipal police force ticketed Gamble for driving a city-owned vehicle without a license. According to his dismissal notice, Gamble had been “admonished to slow down your driving speed” prior to this citation, and in January of 2024, he was apparently subjected to “a counseling discussion” about “safe driving.”
The second slip, whose date doesn’t appear in dismissal notice, concerned an unauthorized firearm that Gamble reportedly brought to work inside his backpack. This concealed weapon was subsequently discovered when Gamble left his backpack behind after a visit to his supervisor’s office.
“You…acknowledged that your bookbag did contain a firearm…[which] you had left in your bag from personal activities the previous night,” Chris Felts, the city’s solid waste superintendent went on to recall in the Gamble’s dismissal notice. “City ordinance sec. 23-1 regulates weapons on municipal property, [and] you do not qualify for any exceptions or exclusions. [The city’s] police department retrieved this property and will deal with you on resolution.”
Gamble had been earning a salary of $44,075.20 prior to his termination.
A drink run in a city vehicle
Another noteworthy departure to occur since the summer of 2024 was the dismissal of Gracey Minor from her job as an animal services officer. Originally hired on April 13, 2024, Minor was still in her probationary period when she got her pink slip on July 5 of the same year.
Jessica Arias, the city’s animal services director, was unusually explicit when she explained her reasons for parting company with Minor. In Minor’s dismissal letter, Arias recalled that the city’s higher-ups had received a complaint, along with photographic evidence, that Minor and a co-worker had driven a marked animal services van to a liquor store operated by the N.C. Alcohol Beverage Control Commission. Arias added that a copy of this complaint had been forwarded to Burlington’s city council as well as The Alamance News, which went on to publish a story about the allegation.
In Minor’s dismissal letter, Arias identified the tipster as “a former city employee” who she conceded wasn’t entirely correct in the claims leveled against the two animal services employees. Among other mitigating factors, both staff members were apparently off the clock when they went on this drink run, while the second employee had driven to the liquor store in his personal vehicle.
“What was substantiated was that you did drive the city animal services vehicle and park it at the ABC store on S. Church Street in plain sight for the purpose and intent of buying alcohol,” she continues. “Even though you were with a companion who purchased and transported the alcohol, all after work hours, your decision to drive the vehicle while on personal, non-work-related errands is a policy violation.”
Arias goes on to note that, by parking the city-owned van in front of the liquor store, Minor had exhibited “poor judgment which opened the city and your department to unnecessary scrutiny and negative publicity” that amounted to a “failure in personal conduct” unbecoming of a city staff member. She went on to notify Minor of her termination effective immediately.
“This was a very unfortunate circumstance,” she added, “and one from which we can learn.”
According to the city’s personnel office, Minor was making $41,142 a year when she was dismissed.
Not to belabor the point. . .
Minor was one of a dozen city employees who were jettisoned while still in the initial, probationary phase of their tenures. Unlike the former animal services worker, some of these probationary employees saw little in their dismissal letters to elucidate why they were out of a job.
There was no specific explanation, for instance, stated in the dismissal notice that Tierra Stark received on May 5, 2025 when she was dropped from her post a part-time pet care specialist in animal services. Stark had joined the department’s staff on April 8, 2025 with an hourly salary of $19.78.
The city’s police department, likewise, proffered “just the facts” when it dismissed telecommunicator Sharise Greene on October 31, 2025, and when it bid farewell to police officers Robert Little and John-Paul Darling on December 2 or December 16 of the same year. According to the city’s personnel office, Greene was hired on September 2, 2025 with a yearly salary of $43,201.60 while Little was brought in on June 18, 2025 at $55,411.20 a year. Darling, for his part, had joined the police force on December 9, 2024 and was making $58,510.40 when he was let go.
On April 9, 2025, Xavier Yellock received a similarly unelaborated notice about his dismissal as an equipment operator with the public works department. Hired on August 19, 2024, Yellock was making $39,187.20 when he was let go.
Meanwhile, the city’s planning department simply alluded to a 60-day review when it fired transportation planner Kylie Tannenbaum on November 21, 2025. Hired on September 22 of the same year, Tannenbaum was making $59,009.60 when she received her dismissal notice, which she reportedly refused to sign to acknowledge receipt.
Other, longer-serving staff members received little more than bare-bones policy citations when they were cut loose by the city.
On November 18, 2024, Christopher Waller was discharged from his post as a fire captain due to unspecified violations of the city’s drug and alcohol policy, the fire department’s rules of conduct, and the department’s driver’s license requirements. A member of Burlington’s city staff since August 15, 2005, the 19-year city employee was making $77,250.68 when he was terminated.
Meanwhile, on December 13, 2024, the fire department terminated Steven Dale Gammon from his post as a firefighter for an unspecified breach of the agency’s rules of conduct. Hired on February 19, 2024, Gammon had been on unpaid leave since November 26. His salary at the time of his dismissal was $43,682.60, according to the city’s personnel office.
The fire department didn’t cite any particular policy when it released Pam Cobb from a position as a part-time administrator that she had held since January 14, 2019. Cobb was making $16.53 an hour when she was dismissed on November 18, 2025.
Most of life is just showing up
Other city departments were a tad more generous with the details when they ordered their staff members to turn in their key fobs.
Burlington’s fire department, for instance, cited “absences from the fire academy” when it gave the proverbial axe to firefighter-in-training Kenneth Strout on August 25, 2025. Strout had been brought in as a trainee on August 2 with an annual salary of $42,598.40.
On August 19, 2024, the public works department sacked Caleb Danniel Garrison from his post as an equipment services technician for his “time and attendance record” and his “failure to follow call-in-procedures” when absent. Hired on July 22 of the same year he was fired, Garrison had been on staff for less than a month before his dismissal. His annual salary was $35,447.20, according to the city’s personnel office.
“Time and attendance” were also implicated in the dismissal of Alonzo Harris, who joined the city’s water resources department as a maintenance worker on January 8, 2024. Harris’ employment came to an end on October 24, 2024 when he was making a salary of $34,008 a year.
Another case of spotty attendance was Jamal Herbin, who had joined water resources as a sewer equipment operator on January 21, 2025. Herbin was dismissed on April 22 of the same year due, in part, to his frequent absences without leave.
“You also have had a persistent issue with tardiness which affects work operations and the schedules of your coworkers,” Herbin’s dismissal notice went on to assert. “Lastly, you failed to follow proper call-out procedures, leaving management to wonder whether you will come in to work or not.”
Herbin’s final salary with the city was $39,187.20.
An even more glaring example of absenteeism seems to have ended the brief career of Justin P. Walczak, who joined Burlington’s transportation department as a traffic signal systems technician on March 4, 2024. On July 24 of the same year, Walczak got a greenlight from his boss to find a new job due to his “time and attendance record,” his “lack of interest” in learning “required job functions,” and “the events of Tuesday, July 23, 2024.”
Walczak’s dismissal notice goes on to recall that the former staff member had vanished from a work site an hour early “without communicating or receiving permission.” Later that day, he reportedly came back to work after closing time and cleared out his desk.
“Lastly,” the notice sums up, “you did not report to work today for the planned discussion at 7:00 a.m. about these concerns.”
At the time of his termination, Walczak was making $50,003.20 a year.
On October 23, 2025, the transportation department fired Jerry Smith from his own post as a traffic signal systems technician, which he had held since February 21, 2022. Smith’s dismissal letter faults him for “claiming sick leave under false pretense” and allowing an outside job to conflict with his duties as a city staff member. Smith was reportedly making $45,136 when he received his dismissal notice, which he refused to sign to acknowledge receipt.
Debbie Thomas, the city’s human resources director, tried to strike a more auspicious note when she issued a dismissal letter to Stephanie Francis on December 16, 2024. An HR specialist who had joined the city’s personnel office on March 18, 2024, Francis was informed in the politest way possible that Thomas would no longer be needing her services.
“I believe my expectations . . . are high, and you have tried,” Thomas declared. “[But] I do not see that improvement in your performance, while admirable, has been made to the level that our organization deserves.”
Thomas gave Francis until February 14, 2025 to clear out her desk. Her salary, at that point, stood at $50,003.20.
Other Disciplinary Actions
In addition to these 20 terminations, the city of Burlington has taken other, less conclusive actions against 11 employees since July 1, 2024:
- On July 17, 2024, the city’s police department placed police officer Griffin Ellis on a two-day suspension. An employee of the department since July 1, 2021, Ellis makes an annual salary of $63,252.80;
- On July 19, 2024, the police department suspended police sergeant Steven Floyd for two days. Hired on February 1, 2017, Floyd’s current salary is $84,240 a year;
- On December 17, 2024, the police department suspended telecommunicator Tessa Pinto for three days. Pinto, who has been at switchboard since August 22, 2022, makes $45,926.40 a year;
- On January 10, 2025, the police department issued a five-day suspension to Ashley Grant, who currently makes $54,080 a year in her role as a lead telecommunicator. According to the city’s personnel office, Grant’s tenure began on the same day she was suspended;
- On May 19, 2025, the water resources department demoted David Anika from a Utility Worker II to a Utility Worker I. Hired on November 1, 2021, Anika was also docked 49 cents an hour and currently makes $39,187.20 a year;
- On May 23, 2025, the police department suspended master police officer Steven Reed for 10 days. Hired on March 26, 2007, Reed makes $85,800 a year;
- On June 4, 2025, the police department placed lieutenant Andrew Gerringer on a three-day suspension. Hired on August 14, 2006, Gerringer now has an annual salary of $110,614.40;
- On July 15, 2025, the fire department placed firefighter Dallas Myers on a two-day suspension. A city employee since November 13, 2023, Myers makes $46,824.44 a year;
- On August 1, 2025, the police department suspended sergeant Cody Westmoreland for five days. Hired on December 1, 2014, Westmoreland makes $99,652.80 a year;
- On October 24, 2025, the public works department demoted William Breze from Maintenance Worker II to Equipment Operator I. Hired on September 16, 2024, Breeze also received a 48 cent pay cut and now makes $39,166.40 a year;
- On November 14, 2025, the animal services department suspended Jennifer Wilson for five days. Hired on April 6, 2015, Wilson presently earns $49,275.20 in her post as an animal services officer.
[See full list summarized below.]
