Boss Hutchings and ‘Mean Girls’ Rule an Unhappy Roost
Tax Collector Runs Unopposed, To the Regret of Many
Fortunately for her, Diane Hutchings is running unopposed for tax collector this year, because current and former staffers are leaking the kind of unsavory details about their workplace that would turbo-charge any election challenge.
“Reserved 1” parking space, just steps from the Clay County administration building, is assigned to the tax collector. But county employees say Hutchings has rarely used the space for the past few years.
Nonetheless, Hutchings frequent absences are seen by many of her staff as a welcome respite. More than a dozen past and present Tax Collector staffers interviewed for this story say Hutchings has created a toxic workplace. They say they are devastated and angry after losing jobs and pensions, or they fear losing them now.
Hutchings chose not to respond to a request for an interview or to answer questions from Clay News & Views to meet the publishing deadline.
What’s Past Is Prologue
While Clay County elections may appear civil and commonplace, some county folks would be flummoxed to know that behind the scenes, those elections too often resemble a marathon of Cheaters and The Jerry Springer Show on schedule III steroids. The tax collector’s race of 2020 was one of those.
In the past, some constitutional officials, including the former supervisor of elections and tax assessor, supported a trusted employee to run for their seat when they decided to leave office. Former officials said this ensured a continuity of service and protected long-time employees’ jobs and pensions.
After 18 years in public works and 20 years as tax collector, Jimmy Weeks followed suit and chose Holly Coyle, his assistant tax collector, to run for his elected office. Weeks was a revered figure in Clay County. Pollsters told Clay News & Views (CN&V) that Weeks polled higher than any other elected official in county history.
“We worked hard, but we were like family,” a former employee reminisced. “If anyone was sick, grieving, or in need, Jimmy Weeks knew about it and gathered us together to try to make things better.”
In a social media post, Coyle said that Weeks’ only request was that she run a positive and “clean race.”
Hutchings was county commissioner at the time, but as her time was sundowning because of term limits, she filed to run for Tax Collector. But she had some baggage that might have been damaging if made public.
Her then-job as an investment advisor at a local credit union was on shaky ground at best, said colleagues and people who worked in her campaign, especially after a retired Clay County elected official accused her of “improper investments recommendations,” “failure to perform adequate due diligence,” “unsuitability of investments” and “continuing fraud.” That retired elected official asked that his name not be used in order to insulate his family.
Hutchings, while a commissioner, talked him into letting her invest his retirement money. He said he had no idea Hutchings didn’t attend college, even though she proudly displayed a certificate from Wharton College that turned out to be a one-week business course paid for by a former employer.
When someone is about to be sued in court, it is often preceded by a statement of claim from the opposing lawyer. According to the statement of claim and an email exchange, the retiree was not “a sophisticated investor” and made it clear at the first meeting with Hutchings that he wanted low-risk investments. Hutchings assured him she “could meet his goals and provide investments that fit his needs.”
Instead, according to the claims statement, Hutchings invested in “high-risk, complicated, and fraudulent investments” that paid her high commission rates. The retired official said he lost most of his investments, more than $400,000. Because Hutchings was shielded by the credit union from lawsuits, the former official was seeking restitution with the credit union’s giant financial parent company for “failing to properly supervise Ms. Hutchings.”
In response, the parent company’s Chicago attorneys admitted no wrongdoing on the part of Hutchings or the credit union. They wrote that she was an experienced investor who “began her banking career in 1980.”
According to her birthdate, testimony from friends, and high school classmates, in 1980 Hutchings was a 19-year-old barmaid at the Spindrifter Lounge in Orange Park.
The Election
While all this was happening, Hutchings began a vicious attack against Coyle.
Coyle dropped out of the race and vowed to stay silent, continue to do her job, and stay neutral during the election process.
After Coyle left the race, employees and Weeks feared for employees’ jobs if Hutchings won. To protect these jobs, former Commissioner Ronnie Robinson decided to run against Hutchings.
Finally, after a series of events, Coyle chose to speak out.
In a letter posted to Facebook, Coyle noted that Hutchings mislead voters, was publicly dishonest, and breached protocol in the TC’s office.
Coyle said when she ran for tax collector, Hutchings made false accusations about her and “began her campaign to tarnish not only my personal reputation, but my professional one as well. I couldn’t see putting my husband and only son through it.”
The assistant tax collector wrote that after she withdrew from the race, Hutchings asked her to lunch and, what was already known to be Hutchings signature move, she began to sob.
“She asked for my forgiveness for the things she had done and said about me.” Coyle said in a Facebook post. “I forgave her.”
When Coyle asked about her position, Hutchings said she had not promised the position to anyone “because that would be illegal.” Coyle told her she needed 14 months to get her pension.
“Well, I guess I could give you that.” Coyle said Hutchings told her.
According to Coyle’s post, two people in the tax collector’s office notified her that another employee “enthusiastically” announced that Hutchings had promised to appoint her assistant tax collector if she was elected. Several other women in the office and some who helped in her campaign told CN&V that Hutchings likewise promised positions to them if she won.
Coyle said Hutchings visited the Park Avenue tax collector’s office at a time when Weeks was out of town and the office manager was on leave. Hutchings asked to speak with each employee “behind closed doors.” The assistant tax collector said Hutchings had been in public office long enough to know her actions were not proper protocol.
In the post, Coyle also wrote that she had worked for the Board of County Commissioners when Hutchings was a commissioner and witnessed numerous unethical behaviors by Hutchings, including Hutchings using “her position and influence to halt code enforcement proceeding against her son.”
Hutchings responded calling Coyle’s statements “fabrications.”
Robinson lost to Hutchings by 5,676 votes, while 2,530 choose not to vote in that particular race. “I didn’t work as hard as I should have for the employees,” Robinson told CN&V.
More than five months after Hutchings took over as tax collector, the retired former official’s legal action against her came to an end. The parent company of the credit union agreed to settle for a mere $5,000, minus attorney’s fees.
“I paid for Diane Hutching home in Margaret’s Walk when she bought it,” the retiree said. “And I sure contributed to her new home on the St. Johns River.”
She Takes Office
When Hutchings won, Coyle found a new job and left the tax collector’s office.
On Tuesday, January 5, 2021, Hutchings was sworn in. The next day, staffers said, a long-time employee’s position was “eliminated” because Hutchings assumed she was the one who had notified Coyle of the Park Avenue incident. The assumption was wrong.
The new tax collector made good on campaign promises. She hired new people, reassigned and fired others, and elevated a small group of women to integral positions who had supported her behind-the-scenes. Staffers still call this group “The Mean Girls.”
While Weeks typically returned budget money back to the county, Hutchings went on a spending extravaganza, employees said.
Hutchings awarded a one-year contract to a human resources company for $2,000 a month, even though the office had its own human resource manager. When asked about the duplication, a member of the staff told CN&V that Hutchings said the contract was a “backup.” But individuals in Human Resources said it appeared the company knew little about working with a municipality or other aspects of the job.
Records show the president of the human resources company contributed to Hutchings’ campaign. The company was Applied Business Solution. The president and contributor was Blake Odom.
The main branch of the TC’s office in Green Cove Springs had a large sturdy desk that was an institution unto itself, having served generations of Clay tax collectors. Hutchings’ first move was to redecorate her office and remove the historic desk. Invoices show she purchased an ornate desk and a bookcase from Osprey, Florida, for $2,725. She also hired movers to bring the desk to her office, sent a full-time employee on the clock to travel to South Florida to oversee the move and paid for his expenses.
Staffers said the furniture barely fit in the door to her new office, and movers had to move the furniture out and back in when new carpeting was installed.
By Appointment Only
Hutchings came to office during the COVID pandemic and implemented a reservations-only policy for all services at the Tax Collector’s office.
“We received lots of negative comments on social media about appointments only,” an employee said. “People said they were not allowed inside our office without an appointment, yet they stood outside and saw us sitting doing nothing. And it was true.”
After the negative comments, Hutchings decided to cover the plexiglass partition windows surrounding the customer service clerk positions in the large main office in the administration building. She spent $1,450 to use an image of herself and name to cover the windows.
According to personnel, Hutchings told them that if citizens came in without an appointment to make them wait.
“She said she wanted to ‘train’ customers to make reservations,” one staffer said. “We felt bad, especially making elderly people wait while we hid behind Ms. Hutchings’ picture with no work to do. She still wants people to make appointments now.”
The customer service area of the Tax Collector’s office was large and well suited to social distancing practices. Still, Hutchings had a full L-shaped wall built to separate the Division of Motor Vehicles and the entrance to her office and those of some of the “Mean Girls” from the tax collectors space. The wall cost $33,460 to build.
‘Dropping Like Flies’
According to public records, 28 people left their jobs between the day Hutchings took charge and the end of 2023. Six people were fired and one died. Of the 21 people who were listed as having resigned, CN&V was able to speak with eight. Four of them said Hutchings made it very difficult for them to stay. Two said they felt they would be replaced or fired and had to leave to look for other employment. Two others said they just couldn’t work for Hutchings.
Two were forced out after becoming ill. Employees said Hutchings tried to stop the use of insurance for one of the ill employees. Records show that Hutchings tried unsuccessfully to block unemployment compensation benefits for the other.
“Employees were dropping like flies.” one former staffer said. “Morale was at an all-time low.”
“She always said, ‘God put it on my heart’ to do whatever she wanted to do.” an employee quipped. “I don’t think God wanted her to spend taxpayer money like crazy or cause people to worry about their jobs or lose their livelihood.”
Staffers said Hutchings advised them they could not “hang out” together after work or talk with each other in the parking lot before and after work.
“Some of us who were close and got together before tried to keep visiting.” said a former staffer. “But we knew people would lose their jobs if we met, so it became hard to see our friends.”
Teddilee Carter
According to emails obtained from the TC’s office, an employee named Teddilee Carter sent emails to every employee in the TC’s office and told them about a “devastating” experience where Hutchings lied and “misled” her. Carter had moved to Keystone Heights from another state.
While she had several full-time offers to work in other county offices in Clay and Bradford County, she chose the Tax Collector’s Office because Hutchings promised her a full-time job in the Keystone Heights office as soon as the current full-time employee retired. The full-time employee was fired, and Hutchings gave the job to someone else.
When, according to public records, Hutchings tried and failed to have the email deleted—it’s a public record—Hutchings emailed everyone that it was unfortunate they had received “a message with this tone.” Hutchings said she had filled the position according to seniority. She also said two women in her office helped secure a Bradford County job for Carter, but staffers said this was untrue.
There are lots of prayers rising from some former and present employees in the tax collector’s office. Those prayers are not for four more years of Hutchings, but for a challenger to enter the race and unseat her.
Kudos to you ClayViews for covering this absolutely disgusting example of a public servant. Hutchins should be ashamed at her actions, but she won't be.
Praying she is removed and everyone that she has affected gets justice for what she put then thru.
It is about time for the Clay County taxpayers to take back their tax collection office. The time is now!