UPDATE — Tyson and Patton have moved to withdraw the lawsuit filed over the CEO’s hiring for technical reasons and said more action may be forthcoming.

Central Alabama Water’s general manager and assistant general managers have been placed on paid administrative leave after the state’s largest water utility hired a chief executive officer Thursday during a contentious board meeting.

Two members of the board over CAW are asking a judge to bar the appointment of Jeffrey Thompson. Meanwhile, Thompson released a statement Friday saying the utility’s operational continuity is secure.

“Central Alabama Water has a depth of talented professionals on its team, and I am very confident in their abilities,” the statement reads. “They have many years of experience and extensive knowledge of how our system functions.”

The five managers placed on leave constituted CAW’s senior leadership team before the CEO’s hiring. A state law that mandated installation of a new board earlier this year also required that board to hire a CEO. All the managers have employment contracts with the utility. The four assistant managers’ contracts began in May, when the previous board authorized them at its last meeting.

CAW settled a lawsuit in October related to termination of an employment contract with an attorney that the previous board authorized at the same time. The assistant managers’ contracts state the board will be responsible for the managers’ attorneys’ fees should it litigate to terminate the agreements.

The salary in Thompson’s contract is $446,118 — the same as General Manager Mac Underwood’s. As part of efforts to develop a 2026 budget that adequately funds operations and capital projects without raising customer rates, the preliminary budget would eliminate employee raises and leave open positions vacant.

Board members Sheila Tyson and Jarvis Patton Sr. voted against hiring Thompson and filed the lawsuit after an opaque search process that yielded only one resume for review by the full seven-member board.

The candidate was selected by a committee of three board members. One member of that committee, board Vice Chairman Phillip Wiedmeyer, voted “present” on Thompson’s hiring and said he had concerns about the search process. Four other board members voted in favor of the hire, which passed 4-2.

Thompson previously worked as an assistant general manager for Birmingham Water Works and signed an agreement with the board at the time that stated he would not be eligible for rehire.

The issue of placing senior managers on paid leave did not come up in Thursday’s meeting, but rumors about the move began shortly thereafter. Wiedmeyer said then that he had heard those rumors but didn’t know whether they were true. He was able to confirm on Friday that the managers had been placed on leave.

The state law that restructured the water board gives the CEO “full authority to manage the operations of the regional board,” subject only to policy directives and other governance decisions adopted by the board. The law also requires the CEO to recommend to the board candidates to serve in executive positions.

Directors Allege They Were Prevented From Participating in CEO Selection

Since the CEO search began in July, Patton and Tyson have raised concerns about a lack of transparency in the process and about being excluded from discussions. Their lawsuit, filed Thursday in Jefferson County Circuit Court, alleges fellow board members failed to follow proper procedures for selecting a CEO and denied them access to material information concerning the executive search, preventing them from upholding their fiduciary duties as directors.

“Why is it that we didn’t have anything to do with any of the processes and procedures, and processes and procedures were not even followed?” Patton asked board Chair Tommy Hudson, speaking for himself and Tyson during Thursday’s meeting and requesting that the vote on a CEO be delayed. “We haven’t followed the rules, but you’re moving forward with it.”

The lawsuit asks the judge for preliminary injunctive relief and/or a temporary restraining order preventing the CEO’s appointment. Thompson’s contract is dated Nov. 20, and he began work that day.

The case was assigned to Circuit Court Judge Frederic Bolling.