RMC files suit against City of Anniston, Judge halts cities action to remove RMC Chairman

A Calhoun County judge  Friday temporarily blocked the Anniston City Council's moves to oust the chairman of Regional Medical Center's board of directors.

Calhoun County Circuit Judge John Thomason issued a temporary restraining order blocking the city's removal Wednesday of RMC board chairman Greg Kernion, and preventing the city's appointments of Paula Watkins and City Manager Brian Johnson to the board. Thomason's order had been sought by the hospital board earlier Friday in a lawsuit against the city.

The RMC board's suit said the City Council’s removal of Kernion was illegal, as were the appointments of Watkins to replace him and of Johnson to a board vacancy earlier in September. The lawsuit also requests an injunction prohibiting the city from taking any further action to remove Kernion from his seat on the board.  A hearing set for Oct. 10 will allow the city to argue against the restraining order.

The suit alleges the city's removal of Kernion and the appointments were illegal acts that did not comply with the city ordinances that relate to Regional Medical Center. The suit also alleges that the city does not have the legal authority to remove the board's chairman. It alleges that such an act can be done only through the impeachment process under the Alabama Constitution.

The council removed Kernion from the board Wednesday, a day after Kernion and the board barred Johnson from attending its called meeting.

The council had appointed Johnson to the board Sept. 22 in what it said was an attempt to foster greater communication between itself and the board. The city has been trying to obtain information on the hospital's operations for several weeks. However, the board has yet to comply, according to city officials. The council appointed Watkins to the board Wednesday to fill out the remainder of Kernion's term.  The council removed Kernion by resolution citing alleged violations of two city ordinances. One ordinance created the RMC board in 1974 while the other created an accountability policy for residents the council appoints to boards, commission and authorities.

The lawsuit alleges, however, that the city's ordinance creating an accountability policy is an unlawful and unconstitutional attempt to exert control over directors of independent boards, such as RMC's board, by undermining their independence.

Violations listed in the resolution include that the RMC board on Sept. 5, without the council's consent, submitted a notice to the Alabama State Health Planning and Development Agency of its intent to transfer 15 psychiatric beds from RMC to RMC Jacksonville. The resolution states Kernion implemented an illegal strategy to avoid the city's consent restriction by merging RMC with RMC Jacksonville on Sept. 22 — doing so without notice to the city, the Alabama Department of Health or the Alabama State Health Planning and Development Agency.

The resolution also states that Kernion, in his capacity as chairman, took illegal steps to exclude Johnson from participating in a board meeting, though he had been lawfully appointed to that body.