noe4accountability

January 28, 2012 CFA (Citizens for Accountability) Pushes To Protect Voters and the Integrity of the 2001 City Referendum on MUC

2012-01-28T12:57:00.010-04:00

The letter is in the mail...Click on the image to enlarge, read, copy...

Morristown-Hamblen Citizens for Accountability recently sent letters to Morristown voters with history, background, and current information on the effort by five Morristown City Councilmembers (Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks) to overturn the votes of the 3,202 people (72%) who voted for a series of changes to the Morristown Utilities Commission in a 2001 referendum.

The Five have set in motion their plan to do an end-run around the MUC appointment process that 3,202 voters put in place with their votes FOR the 2001 MUC referendum question!

These Five have decided that they don't like the MUC appointment process that was among the MUC changes put in place by 3,202 VOTERS in 2001. So...the Five have decided that THEY will overturn the voter-approved MUC appointment process all by themselves---without going back to the people in a referendum to see if the PEOPLE want to leave the current appointment process in place or want to make a change.

The Five apparently don't care about the integrity of the referendum as the voice of the people. The Five think that they are justified in overturning the votes of the PEOPLE and changing the MUC selection process to what they want because...well...just because they can and they want to...

And because George McGuffin is sitting on the sidelines and oh-so-quietly cheering them on.

January 23, 2012 Bluff City Traffic Cameras Bring in More Money Than Property Taxes

2012-01-23T06:35:00.004-04:00

Very interesting article here about money and traffic/speed cameras in Bluff City, TN.

No mention of safety. No mention of a reduction in property taxes as a result of the huge windfall of new money from the traffic cameras.

January 20, 2012 DEA Agent Accidentally Shoots Himself in the Leg: Video Goes Viral

2012-01-20T22:22:00.052-04:00

A DEA agent lecturing community youth accidentally shot himself in the leg (above).

With self-control and presence of mind, he hung in there and attempted to turn the accident into a teachable moment about gun safety.

With YouTube, this portion of the 2004 lecture has been seen by thousands.

[A federal court recently rejected the agent's claims that his privacy had been invaded by the release of the video.]

January 18, 2012 David Wild and MUC Manager Jody Wigington Show Up To See City Council Reject Wild's Appointment to MUC Board

2012-01-18T15:00:00.002-04:00

The LeBel Five will not compromise. David Wild, Mayor Thomas' eleventh nomination to the Morristown Utilities Commission Board of Commissioners, went down in flames yesterday. [Click on video]

Without discussion, the LeBel Five (Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks) set the fire and voted to reject Wild's appointment to MUC.

Mayor Danny Thomas and Councilman Gene Brooks supported Wild.

Wild came to the council meeting with MUC manager Jody Wigington to see his rejection. Pictured above are Jody Wigington in the suit and tie and David Wild in the blue sweater. "News"paper reporter Bob Moore is pictured in the background.

Wild knew his nomination would be rejected and really didn't care. Wigington knew and wanted Wild to be rejected because Wigington supports the "overall game plan" of the LeBel Five.

What is the game plan? An end-run around the votes of the 3,202 people who set up the current appointment process as part of the 2001 MUC REFERENDUM.

Goerge McGuffin, who considers it vitally important that he keep the MUC seat that he has had for 34 years already, is the coach. LeBel is the quarterback. Senter, Garrett, Bivens, and Jinks are the offensive line. The coach and quarterback have called for an end-run around the voice of the people.

The goal is to keep Coach McGuff in charge of MUC and that will be done by overturning the votes of the 3,202 people who set up the current appointment process as part of changes approved in the 2001 MUC REFERENDUM. The votes of 3,202 people are viewed as a necessary casualty in this struggle to hold on to power.

This diagram of the end-run:

1. The LeBel Five ask the Tennessee General Assembly to let the LeBel Five change the MUC Private Act and overturn the current appointment process that was set up by the people in the 2001 MUC REFERENDUM. (DONE)

2. The LeBel Five get Rep. Don Miller and Sen. Steve Southerland to sponsor the changes to the MUC Private Act in the General Assembly, allowing the LeBel Five to change and overturn the appointment process that was set up by the people in the 2001 MUC REFERENDUM. (DONE)

3. The LeBel Five get the Tennessee General Assembly to go along, thus helping and allowing the LeBel Five to change and overturn the votes of the 3,202 voters who supported changes to MUC, including the current appointment process, in the 2001 MUC REFERENDUM. (IN PROGRESS)

If they can get the General Assembly to go along and allow the FIVE to overturn the REFERENDUM, the LeBel Five can then quickly appoint their one and only acceptable person--Coach George McGuffin--to MUC for another 5-year term.

While the goal is to keep McGuffin on MUC, the bigger issue is the raw power grab that is exhibited by overturning a REFERENDUM. What's next? What other Referenda are they willing to overturn when they suddenly decide that they don't agree with what the people voted FOR?

If personalities and politics and raw power are set aside, how can anyone stand up and say that it is moral and right and just for five people to overturn the results of a REFERENDUM just because THESE FIVE suddenly decide in 2011/2012 that they (and their Coach) don't like the MUC appointment process that was approved by 72% of the voters in the 2001 MUC REFERENDUM?

More to come...

January 17, 2012 Special Judge in Baumgartner's Misconduct Hearing Urges Knoxville Legal Community To Report Misconduct

2012-01-17T06:13:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday, Special Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood denied the request by the Knox District Attorney's Office to immediately appeal Blackwood's ruling that the four Christian-Newsom torture-murder defendants must be retried due to "structural flaws" in the initial trials presided over by former Knox Criminal Judge Richard Baumgartner.

Baumgartner, who finally resigned from office and is now drawing a handsome $4900/mo pension from the State of Tennessee, was found to have been taking various drugs and engaging in other misconduct during the Christian-Newsom and other trials.

Blackwood chastised members of the DA's office and others who apparently knew that Judge Baumgartner appeared impaired in the courtroom but who did not report it and thus let the trials--that will now have to be re-done--continue.

Blackwood sent a message to the entire legal community: "There is a canon of both the (state) Board of Professional Responsibility as well as a canon of judicial ethics that it is a mandatory duty to report a lawyer or judge whenever their fitness is called into question."

[Blackwood didn't mention that he himself failed to read the entire TBI file before agreeing to the plea deal that granted Baumgartner "diversion." ]

The News- Sentinel article is here.

A previous post and other links are here.

January 16, 2012 McGuffin: Ready To Beat Down #11 To Keep the "McGuffin Seat" on MUC

2012-01-16T06:07:00.030-04:00

In late December, the Morristown Utilities Commission did the vetting and picked its ELEVENTH list of nominees for a seat on the MUC Board: George McGuffin (who has already served on the Board for 34+ years and who desperately wants to stay on that Board), David Wild, and Chris Horne.

On January 17 Mayor Danny Thomas will submit one of those names to the Morristown City Council for approval or disapproval.

If history repeats itself, the Mayor's nomination of either David Wild or Chris Horne will be voted down by these five councilmembers: Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks.

Wild or Horne will then join the list of TEN persons (Mike Minnich, Glenn Thompson, Carroll Fowler, Wally Long, John Allen, Mike Davidson, Bruce Sluder, Jerry Isaacs, Gene Lynch, and Steve Henrikson) that The Five have rejected over the past seven or so months.

But McGuff and The Five view all this as just a temporary setback. The Five are moving to change state law just for McGuff so they can put him back in right away instead of serially rejecting other MUC-recommended candidates.

McGuff and The Five don't care that the people set up the current appointment process and that MUC ran pricey paid political ads to get the people's (72%) support for this and all the MUC changes in the 2001 Referendum.

It's kind of funny to imagine how all this plays out in jokes on the golf course, at the Club, and at the elite parties.

Hey, David (Wild), do you really think you can get LeBel and Bivens and Senter and Jinks and Garrett to vote for you? Have you had "the talk" with Bivens to let him know that you're just a strawman nominee who's not really interested in taking Daddy McGuff's seat---so it's OK to vote against you?

Hey, Chris (Horne), we admire you for letting your name be put out there for the LeBel Five to reject. After you "lose one for the McGipper," your name can be added to the Guinness Book of World Records under "most MUC rejectees ever."

Hey, George, remember those cute political ads that MUC ran in the "news" paper back in 2001 to get people to vote for MUC changes? Guess you're pretty happy that you have the clout to get your council buddies to cancel out those 3,202 votes without blinking an eye!

Of course, some people wouldn't dare kid George about his obsession with holding onto the MUC seat, but they just might have some thoughts like...

Can you believe that McGuff is so obsessive/compulsive that he won't let go of his MUC seat after 3-1/2 decades and just move on?

Taking over the sewer and having control of all utilities in Morristown must be really important to Daddy McGuff and a lot of others. All that power and you don't even have to run for election!

Wow! Daddy McGuff, Momma McGuff, and Frank McGuff took Frank's loss to newcomer Danny Thomas in the Mayor's race so hard that Daddy McGuff now has his buddies on City Council trying to change the law just for him so Daddy McGuff can stay on the Morristown Utilities Commission.

Yes, it looks like money and power can make an individual and elected officials arrogant enough as to be willing to overturn the votes of 3,202 people in a referendum.

January 11, 2012 Former Knox Judge Richard Baumgartner: Public Misconduct, Diversion, State Pension of $4900/month

2012-01-11T08:00:00.002-04:00

The fallout from drug use by former Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner continues as many of the criminal cases over which he presided while using drugs are challenged.

Citing Judge Baumgartner's impairment, retrials have already been granted to the four defendants convicted in the 2007 torture-murder deaths of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom.

A TBI probe into alleged drug use by Baumgartner began over a year ago. Al Schmutzer, a former East Tennessee DA, was eventually appointed as special prosecutor.

A plea deal was announced on March 10, 2011. Baumgartner pled guilty but was granted judicial diversion by Special Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood. With diversion, the sentence was suspended and Baumgartner was placed on probation for two years. If Baumgartner remains clean during the probation period, his record will then be wiped clean. Click here.

The diversion and the ability to wipe the slate clean cleared the way for him to draw a state pension. On March 11, 2011, one day after the plea deal was entered, Baumgartner began drawing a state pension of $4,900/month.

Judge Blackwood, who admitted that he did not read the entire TBI file at the time he graned diversion, granted new trials to the four individuals who were convicted in the Christian-Newsom torture-murder deaths. Click here and here.

The Board of Professional Responsibility disbarred Baumgartner. The BPR file is here..

The redacted TBI file is here.

As all try to distance themselves from this travesty, Schmutzer claims that he was stunned by the diversion. Click here.

A defense attorney who is trying to get a retrial for his client, a convicted child-rapist, has asked the Knox District Attorney's office to step aside since employees of the DA's office were interviewed during the Baumgartner investigation and some may have/should have known of Baumgartner's impairment. Click here.

One certainty at this point is that more convictions will be appealed and more "what did you know and when did you know it" questions will be asked.

January 5, 2012 Daily Bread

2012-01-05T07:13:00.001-04:00

Sue and Hobe Williams operate the Daily Bread Community Kitchen on Cumberland Street. They were honored for their work by the Morristown City Council in November. Click here for the video of that award.

Here is a video taken at the Daily Bread on December 17. Outside entertainment included music by individuals or groups and Santa sitting in a big chair under a tent----while inside a daily meal was being served, children were allowed to pick out gifts, and food bags were distributed.

January 2, 2012 Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T06:20:00.000-04:00

Happy New Year! 2012!

Another year passes...and 2012 is here. Best wishes to all for a healthy and happy new year!

December 25, 2011 Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:22:00.000-04:00

Wishing you Peace and Joy at Christmas and throughout the New Year!

free digital photos hinnamsaisuy

Among my many favorite Christmas songs are Carol of the Bells and Do You Hear What I Hear.

These Christmas songs--and perhaps your favorites as well--can be found here. Do You Hear What I Hear is #20. Carol of the Bells is #8 and #9.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! .

December 21, 2011 Tenth Verse: MUC Submits Three Candidates to Mayor, Mayor Nominates One, Council Rejects

2011-12-21T06:53:00.002-04:00

For the TENTH time, the Morristown Utilities Commission submitted three names to Mayor Thomas for appointment to the MUC Board. [George McGuffin, Steve Henrikson, and David Wild]

For the TENTH time, Mayor Thomas selected and nominated one of those individuals for appointment to the MUC Board. [Steve Henrikson]

For the TENTH time, council rejected the Mayor's appointment.

As soon as Mayor Thomas nominated Steve Henrikson to the Morristown Utilities Commission, Councilmember LeBel moved to reject the nomination.

The five members of the McGuffin-or-bust group (Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks) then voted to reject Steve Henrikson's appointment. Mayor Thomas and Gene Brooks voted for Henrikson.

Henrikson now joins the group of ten people proposed by MUC, nominated by the Mayor, and rejected by city council.

December 20, 2011 MUC meeting (Video Added)

2011-12-20T15:52:00.003-04:00

Maybe the tenth list will make it to the Mayor before 5 pm.

UPDATE 4:28 pm

The nominees have been sent to the Mayor:
George McGuffin
Steve Henrikson
David Wild

We may get a tenth vote today.

Click here for the December 21 post for council's rejection of a TENTH nominee with video.

December 19, 2011 Morristown Utilities Commission Delays Nomination Process

2011-12-19T06:08:00.002-04:00

In the continuing Morristown Utilities Commission (MUC) saga, MUC has chosen to wait until 4:00 PM on Tuesday, December 20, [one hour before the City Council meets on that same day] to meet and come up with a TENTH list of three names for a seat on the MUC Commission.

MUC's TENTH list will then go to Mayor Thomas who selects one name and presents that name to the full council for approval or disapproval. On NINE previous occasions, Mayor Thomas' selection has been quickly rejected/ disapproved by council.

Since MUC knows full well that the City Council meets at 5 PM on December 20th, the date and time of the MUC meeting is no accident. Morristown Utility Commissioners know that if they vote on a list of three candidates at 4 PM, it may be hard to get the list typed up and to Mayor Thomas before council's 5 PM meeting on that same day.

It looks like MUC is hoping that their last-minute vote on a list of three candidates for the MUC Board will make it difficult or impossible for the Mayor to make a nomination on December 20th--thus sparing a TENTH person from quick and automatic rejection/disapproval by the McGuffin-or-Bust group (Paul LeBel, Bob Garrett, Kay Senter, Claude Jinks, and Chris Bivens) at least until January's council meeting.

Just to make sure that no one else gets the "McGuffin" seat, the McGuffin-or-Bust group are planning to change the MUC appointment procedures and have asked local Rep. Don Miller and local Sen. Steve Southerland for help in getting the state legislature to make it where a vote of these FIVE councilmembers can change the current appointment process that was set up by the people in a 2001 REFERENDUM.

It appears that Miller and Southerland have agreed to help the McGuffin-or-Bust group circumvent and cancel out the votes of the 3,202 people (72% of those casting ballots) who put the current appointment process in place with their votes FOR changes to the MUC Private Act in the 2001 referendum.

What's going on?
Who is standing up TODAY for the 3,202 voters (72% of ballots) who cast their ballots for changes at MUC, including the current appointment process, in the 2001 MUC REFERENDUM?

Who is standing up TODAY to preserve the integrity of the 2001 MUC REFERENDUM and to make sure that any change to what the overwhelming majority of voters approved in 2001 is only made by a REFERENDUM in 2012?

You often hear people say my one vote doesn't count. Others say it doesn't matter what/who I vote for, they (politicians) are going to do whatever they want to do.

The McGuffin-or-Bust group and George McGuffin have no regard or respect for the 3,202 individuals who voted FOR changes to the MUC Private Act in 2001, including the current MUC appointment process.

The McGuffin-or-Bust group and George McGuffin are willing to cancel not just one vote but 3,202 votes to keep McGuffin in control of MUC.

The McGuffin-or-Bust group and George McGuffin are clearly going to do whatever it takes to keep George McGuffin in control at MUC.

Why doesn't Council just let changes go to a referendum like they did in 2001 and let this be handled the right way--by the people?

December 16, 2011 Councilmember Claude Jinks Publicly States that Council Has "Great Hopes" of Transferring City Sewer To Morristown Utilities Commission

2011-12-16T06:54:00.004-04:00

The City Finance Committee met two days ago. In the short video above, Councilmember Claude Jinks asks City Administrator Tony Cox if Cox still plans to add a new City Hall position with the hiring of a new "public works" director. Tony says he's still working on selecting someone for that position.

At about the 20 second mark, Claude says that he was wondering whether the position would still be needed since City Council has "great hopes" to transfer the City sewer to the Morristown Utility Commission (MUC) next year.

Councilmember Kay Senter makes no comment. She adjourns the meeting and leaves.

What is Claude talking about? When and where did councilmembers discuss this transfer of the city sewer to MUC?

Apparently, the sewer transfer is part of the LeBel Five's agenda for MUC, but they have kept the public focus, instead, on their crusade to keep George McGuffin on the MUC Board.

Publicly, the LeBel Five have voted against NINE different people recommended by MUC and nominated for appointment to the MUC Board by Mayor Thomas.

Publicly, the LeBel Five have discussed and voted to ask Rep. Don Miller and Sen. Steve Southerland to get the state legislature to authorize the LeBel FIVE to change the appointment process in the MUC Private Act--a move by FIVE people to circumvent and cancel out the votes of the 3,202 people (72% of the voters) who put the current appointment process in place in a 2001 Referendum.

What the LeBel Five have not done publicly is discuss their plan to transfer control of the sewer to MUC and MUC Chairman George McGuffin.

While the public discussion about the MUC Private Act has been on changing the MUC appointment process to make sure that George McGuffin stays on the Board, the LeBel Five apparently have had private discussions about transferring the sewer to MUC and put that change in the legislation that they asked Rep. Miller and Sen. Southerland to carry for them.

Miller and Southerland have agreed to carry the LeBel Five's legislation. Since the LeBel Five included the sewer transfer with the change to the appointment process, Miller and Southerland will be assisting the LeBel Five in making both changes without a referendum.

The sewer transfer is a major change to the City's longtime policy and practice. Why didn't the LeBel Five discuss this publicly when voting on MUC Private Act changes at the two council meetings in November? Why didn't the paper mention that the sewer transfer was part of the LeBel Five's changes to the MUC Private Act?

It is extremely ironic that the first really public mention of the sewer transfer comes from Councilmember Claude Jinks in an off-hand remark at the end of a Finance Committee meeting.

The LeBel Five refuse to allow the people to decide if changes should be made to what the people voted for in 2001 and on the sewer transfer. Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks.

Two officials support the people's right to vote on changes to the Private Act. Mayor Danny Thomas and Councilmember Gene Brooks.

And politicians wonder why people don't vote and say it doesn't matter what I say or how I vote, they (politicians) are going to do whatever they want to?

The Morristown/LeBel Five/MUC/McGuffin/Sewer actions are just one example of why people are so cynical.

The "news"paper was not at the Finance meeting.

**The Finance Committee also discussed and took a vote recommending that the full council adopt a policy that will reduce the number of (non-law enforcement) take-home vehicles.

December 11, 2011 Thom Robinson Resigns as CEO of the Morristown Chamber of Commerce

2011-12-11T07:05:00.002-04:00

The Morristown Chamber of Commerce announed the resignation of Thom Robinson, Chamber CEO, on Friday afternoon, December 9. [See earlier post here.]

Robinson was also secretary for the Industrial Development Board of the City of Morristown.

The local "news"paper reports the resignation in today's December 11 online and hard copy editions.

[Click here for the online article but don't expect the link to work for very long since the "news"paper usually disables its links shortly after the article appears.]

December 10, 2011 Former Assistant District Attorney General Doug Godbee Will Not Get Pretrial Diversion

2011-12-10T02:32:00.064-04:00

It appears that former Assistant District Attorney Doug Godbee will not get pretrial diversion on charges of official misconduct. A special prosecutor from the Ninth Judicial District recently refused to recommend pretrial diversion for Godbee.

Pretrial diversion would have allowed Godbee to avoid a trial, be put on probation, and keep a clean record if he stayed out of further trouble during the probationary period.

Godbee, an Asst. DA in the Third Judicial District for more than 20 years, was arrested on May 2, 2011, after a Hawkins County grand jury indicted him, finding that Godbee attempted "to solicit sexual favors and in some instances (received) sexual favors from female defendants whose cases he was prosecuting," In return for "sexual favors," Godbee offered "reductions in charges and/or punishment"

The News-Sentinel story is here. A previous noe4accountability blog post with links to many news articles recounting the Godbee saga is here.

Godbee's case is being handled in Jefferson County Criminal Court.

December 9, 2011 Chamber Changes Coming?

2011-12-09T09:05:00.005-04:00

There is a rumor going around that a major personnel change--perhaps a retirement/resignation--may soon be announced by the Morristown Chamber of Commerce. If this is true, it may come out as soon as today.

[UPDATE 12/11/11: The Chamber announced the resignation of Thom Robinson on Friday afternoon, a few hours after the above post. Robinson was Chamber CEO and secretary to the Industrial Development Board. All this is reported in the December 11 online and hard copy editions of the local "news"paper. Click here to link to the online article but don't expect the link to work very long--for some reason the local "news"paper disables links shortly after the article appears.]

December 8, 2011 LeBel Five Reject Mayor Thomas' Ninth MUC Nominee Gene Lynch

2011-12-08T22:54:00.004-04:00

Paul LeBel made the motion to reject Gene Lynch. Bob Garrett seconded the motion. The remaining members of the LeBel Five (Kay Senter, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks) then voted for the rejection.

In just a few short minutes, Paul LeBel and sidekicks rejected the ninth person (Gene Lynch) submitted by the Mayor for appointment to the Morristown Utilities Commission.

Nine times Mayor Thomas has selected a person as his nominee for the MUC, and nine times LeBel and sidekicks have said NOOOOO.

LeBel. Angry. Bob Garrett. Bitter. Senter, Bivens, Jinks--gladly serving ONE person (George McGuffin) who has a burning desire to stay on the MUC Board and rejecting EVERY other person.

For those keeping score, these are the NINE people rejected so far: Mike Minnich, Glenn Thompson, Carroll Fowler, Wally Long, John Allen, Mike Davidson, Bruce Sluder, Jerry Isaacs, and now Gene Lynch.

December 7, 1941 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor

2011-12-07T07:52:00.002-04:00

On Sunday, December 7th, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

By planning his attack on a Sunday, the Japanese commander hoped to catch the entire fleet in port.

The first strike began with 183 fighters and torpedo bombers striking at Pearl Harbor and other targets. A second strike was launched at 0715 hours.

The News-Sentinel has a wonderful article here.

We should honor and remember all who currently serve or have served the United States of America in the armed forces at home and abroad.

The gifts of freedom and liberty that the Founding Fathers established have been preserved through the years by the devotion and sacrifice of many.

My father served in World War II. He died over six years ago. To me, he was the greatest member of the Greatest Generation.

December 4, 2011 Sheriff Terminates Lynn Wolfe; Wolfe Files Grievance with Civil Service Board

2011-12-04T14:12:00.007-04:00

Lynn Wolfe, former Hamblen County Chief Detective (under Sheriff Otto Purkey) and later jailer Lynn Wolfe (under Otto Purkey and under Sheriff Esco Jarnagin), is making news again.

Wolfe, who had been working as a corrections officer at the jail, was terminated and has filed a grievance with the Civil Service Board to be heard in early January 2012

Most local people know of the Wolfe saga. Wolfe worked at the HCSD. In 1998, newly-elected Sheriff Otto Purkey, a relative of Wolfe, promoted Wolfe to Chief Detective.

In December 2000, Wolfe wrecked a county cruiser in a one-vehicle wreck. Wolfe blamed the wreck on winter weather. Blood alcohol levels, however, were reportedly more than twice the legal limit. Wolfe pleaded guilty to the DWI and resigned after negotiating a nice severance package with his relative County Mayor David Purkey.
A few years later, Wolfe was hired back as a corrections officer by relative Otto Purkey. When current Sheriff Esco Jarnagin defeated Otto in 2006, Wolfe was kept on as a corrections officer but was never promoted to patrol/road work despite Wolfe's burning desire to get back behind the wheel of a county vehicle.

Eventually, Wolfe sued Jarnagin. Click here. Jarnagin eventually prevailed and let Wolfe continue to work in the jail, but refused to put Wolfe behind the wheel of a county cruiser.

WHAT ABOUT THE COUNTY'S LAWSUIT AGAINST WOLFE AND WOLFE'S DEBT TO THE COUNTY?
After the 2000 wreck, the County sued Wolfe. County attorney Rusty Cantwell and Wolfe's attorney worked out an agreement where the cruiser was valued at $6,250 and Wolfe was to "work off" the $6,250 debt by "working" for the county at $6/hour.

So where and how did Wolfe end up "working off" his debt? Well, Wolfe was assigned to work for the county maintenance department that just happened to be headed by his father Harold Wolfe.

In claiming that he had "worked off" the debt, Lynn took some timesheets, signed his name on each line, listed a bunch of dates, but did not show even one hour worked on any date listed. Wolfe's timeless timesheets were signed by Gary Templin, who was an assistant to Lynn's father Harold, as proof of hours worked to pay the debt.

Only in the world of Hamblen County Government could timesheets with not one hour of time on them be used as proof of payment of a $6K+ debt. All the timesheets show is that Lynn signed them, put some dates down, and got his father's assistant to sign off on it, with no questions asked.

Then Lynn turned in his timeless timesheets to County Mayor David Purkey, another relative, with no questions asked!

It sort of looked like Lynn knew all along that he could turn in blank timesheets--to his relatives--and get away with it--no questions asked.

Click here to see the "time"sheets and a summary of what went on.

November 30, 2011 MUC: Ninth List of Commissioner Candidates--George McGuffin, Steve Henrikson, Gene Lynch

2011-11-30T06:30:00.025-04:00

The Morristown Utility Commission (MUC) met yesterday and came up with its NINTH list of candidates for the MUC commission seat currently held by George McGuffin.

McGuffin is absolutely, positively determined to get re-appointed--even if it means asking the state legislature to overturn the 2001 CITY REFERENDUM in which the VOTERS approved the current appointment process as part of changes made to the MUC Private Act.

It is McGuffin's quest to retain his seat for another five years that recently prompted the LeBel Five (Councilmembers Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks) to try an end-run around the 2001 REFERENDUM.

The LeBel Five voted on November 15 to ask State Representative Don Miller and State Senator Steve Southerland to carry legislation changing the MUC appointment process that was put in place by the VOTERS in the 2001 REFERENDUM.

In the video, McGuffin is chairing the MUC meeting and is at the head of the table.

The NINTH slate of candidates for the Mayor's consideration are: George McGuffin, Steve Henrikson, and Gene Lynch.

From the list submitted by MUC, Mayor Thomas will select one name to present to the City Council for approval or disapproval on December 6. Councilmembers Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, and Chris Bivens have thus far rejected all EIGHT of the Mayor's previous nominees.

Councilmember Claude Jinks voted for the Mayor's first recommendation (Mike Minnich) and then quickly joined with the LeBel group to reject the next seven people. Claude's daughter-in-law Jackie Jinks works at MUC. Councilmember Bob Garrett worked at MUC for decades.

The individuals who have been disapproved by LeBel and Company: Mike Minnich, Glenn Thompson, Carroll Fowler, Wally Long, John Allen, Mike Davidson, Bruce Sluder, and Jerry Isaacs.

LeBel and Company have declared that it doesn't matter whose name is submitted by the Mayor---only George McGuffin will get their vote of approval.

Over the past several months, George could have graciously stepped aside at any time so a new commissioner could be appointed. Instead, George has kept pushing and allowing his name to be included on each MUC list.

Now, the LeBel Five have decided that THEY know what appointment process is best. The LeBel Five have decided that the current process that was put in place BY THE VOTERS should be overturned BY THE LEBEL FIVE with the assistance of Miller and Southerland. Why? So George McGuffin can continue his reign on the MUC Board.

NOTE: Jack Kennerly, who was on the previous list presented to the Mayor by MUC, was not included this time. Councilman Gene Brooks questioned Jerry Isaacs' and Kennerly's eligibility at the Nov. 15 council meeting, noting that Isaacs already serves on the Board of the Morristown Housing Authority and that Kennerly serves on the Morristown Planning Commission. City Attorney Dick Jessee responded that in his opinion joint service on the Morristown Housing Authority and MUC does not violate the MUC Private Act but joint service on the Morristown Planning Commission and MUC would be a "closer call." Click here for the post and video segment on the Nov. 15 meeting. Jessee is also the MUC attorney. Apparently, Jessee put on his MUC attorney hat before yesterday's MUC meeting and advised the MUC Commissioners, including brother-in-law George McGuffin, that Kennerly is ineligible to serve on the MUC Board and, thus, shouldn't have been nominated by MUC the first time and shouldn't be put back on the new list.

Click here for the exchange between Brooks and Jessee as Brooks asks whether Jessee is wearing his "City Attorney" hat or his "MUC Attorney" hat when Jessee offers opinions on Isaacs and Kennerly and actions taken by his client MUC.

November 24, 2011 HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

2011-11-24T08:45:00.005-04:00

November 21, 2011 Sue and Hobe Williams Honored for Work at Daily Bread

2011-11-21T06:40:00.001-04:00

Sue and Hobe Williams were honored at the November 1 meeting of the City Council for their devotion and many years of work with the Daily Bread.

Under the guidance of Sue and Hobe and with the help of a large number of volunteers, the Daily Bread community kitchen has served meals to those in need for 17 years .

November 16, 2011 MUC Board Appointment: LeBel Five Give "Thumbs Down" to Jerry Isaacs

2011-11-16T07:43:00.009-04:00

The LeBel Five (Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks) did it again.

Yesterday, they rejected the Mayor's EIGHTH appointment to the MUC (Morristown Utilities Commission).

As soon as the Mayor nominated Jerry Isaacs, LeBel quickly moved to disapprove the appointment.

The vote to disapprove was 5-2 with the LeBel Five giving Isaacs the boot. Mayor Thomas and Gene Brooks supported Isaacs.

The Mayor has put forward EIGHT different names of candidates sent to him by MUC, and LeBel and company have shot down all EIGHT.

Gene Brooks raised questions about whether three of the candidates that MUC has sent to the Mayor have actually met the requirement set out in MUC's Private Act that an appointee can not currently hold a city office.

City Attorney Dick Jessee offered his opinion that Isaacs, who was appointed to the Morristown Housing Authority Board in 2009 by the previous Mayor, is "probably" OK.

When Brooks mentioned that another of the current names on the MUC list is Jack Kennerly and that Kennerly is on the Morristown Planning Commission, Jessee seemed surprised and said that would be a "closer" call.

Jessee did not comment on John Allen whose name was sent to the Mayor several weeks ago my MUC and whose nomination by the Mayor, like that of Isaacs, was shot down by the LeBel Five. Allen serves on the Housing Board of Adjustments and Appeals.

Brooks wanted an opinion on whether MUC was sending names to the Mayor of persons who were not eligible to serve on the MUC Board.

Brooks then asked whether Jessee is wearing his "City attorney" hat or his "Morristown Utilities Commission attorney" hat when Jessee offers opinions on the actions of MUC.

Brooks didn't even bring up the question of whether Jessee might also be wearing his "brother-in-law of MUC chairman George McGuffin" hat.

Jessee didn't say which hat he was wearing.

More to come in a separate post.

November 14, 2011 MUS: McGuffin, Isaacs, and Kennerly Nominated

2011-11-14T21:40:00.004-04:00

The Morristown Utilities Commission Board, minus Chairman George McGuffin, met this morning.

In a brief meeting, the MUC Board voted to send the names of Jerry Isaacs, Jack Kennerly, and George McGuffin to Mayor Danny Thomas for his selection of one name to submit to the council for approval or disapproval.

Thus far, the City Council has rejected all seven of the Mayor's nominees: Mike Minnich, Glenn Thompson, Carroll Fowler, Wally Long, John Allen, Mike Davidson, and Bruce Sluder.

Vice Chairman Harold Nichols presided yesterday and commented at one point that he was about to run out of names.

MUC Manager Jody Wigington read off the long list of rejectees, and no one even bothered to ask why councilmembers were rejecting local CPAs, engineers, plant managers, and sucessful businessmen.

No one had to ask. The reason for the rejections is all too clear. The only person is the city of Morristown who is acceptable to Council's Lebel Five (Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Claude Jinks, and Chris Bivens) is George McGuffin.

Anyone else, no matter who it is, no matter how accomplished he or she is, is dead in the water.

Pictured (l-r): MUC Members Lynn Elkins; Max Biery; Gene Jolley; Harold Nichols; MUC General Manager Jody Wigington; MUC Asst. General Manager/CFO Clark Rucker; Tribune Reporter.

November 11, 2011 Veterans Day

2011-11-11T19:52:00.000-04:00

In honor and in remembrance of all who have served the United States of America in the armed forces at home and abroad...

In honor of all who currently serve the United States of America in the armed forces at home and abroad...

In remembrance of all who, in service to the United States of America, gave the last full measure of devotion...

The American Soldier

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who gives us freedom.

November 7, 2011 Former Asst. District Atty. Doug Godbee Seeks Diversion in "Sex for Leniency" Scheme

2011-11-07T23:55:00.002-04:00

Former Hawkins County Assistant District Attorney Doug Godbee has asked Judge Duane Slone to grant him pretrial diversion.

Godbee, charged with soliciting sexual favors from female defendants in return for leniency, wants to avoid a trial, move straight to probation, and have his record wiped clean if there are no new charges during the probation period.

The most recent charges are not the first time that Godbee has run afoul of the law. In 2006, Godbee resigned as Hawkins County prosecutor amid allegations by a female defendant of improper sexual conduct. He was later re-hired by District Attorney Berkeley Bell.

There are more legal proceedings ahead as a result of Godbee's conduct. Several women who claim to have been victims of Godbee's "pleas" for sex have filed civil suits against the State of Tennessee in the Tennessee Claims Commission alleging negligent supervision of Godbee.

For more articles, click here, here, here, and here.

November 2, 2011 Bruce Sluder's Nomination to MUC Board Shot Down by LeBel Five

2011-11-02T08:37:00.003-03:00

Mayor Thomas had barely finished his nomination of Bruce Sluder to the MUC (Morristown Utilities Commission) Board when Paul LeBel made a motion to disapprove.

LeBel, Senter, Bivens, and Garrett then promptly sent Bruce Sluder to the ever-growing MUC dustbin. [Councilman Claude Jinks, a member of the LeBel Five on this issue, was absent due to a fall earlier in the day.

Mayor Thomas and Councilman Brooks supported Sluder.

Sluder becomes the seventh person to be nominated by Mayor Thomas (from a list that MUC provides to the Mayor) and the seventh to be summarily rejected by city councilman/county commissioner Paul LeBel and sidekicks.

Why the serial rejections of local CPAs, presidents of companies, engineers, and businessmen whose names have been sent to the Mayor and Council by the Morristown Utilities Commission? They aren't George McGuffin.

October 28, 2011 MUS Sends Three Names to Mayor (7th Time)

2011-10-28T06:40:00.029-03:00

The Morristown Utility Commission met yesterday. One item on the agenda was to nominate (for the seventh time!) a slate of three candidates to fill the expired term of Morristown Utility Commissioner George McGuffin.

This time around MUC nominated George McGuffin, Bruce Sluder, and Jerry Isaacs. This seventh slate of three will be presented to Mayor Danny Thomas who will then select and present one name to the City Council for approval of disapproval.

The Council thus far has rejected all six MUC nominees selected by the Mayor. Rejected so far have been local businessmen, a CPA, an engineer, and presidents of local companies: Mike Minnich, Glenn Thompson, Carroll Fowler, Wally Long, John Allen, and Mike Davidson.

What is wrong with these people serving on the MUC Board? Why are they automatically rejected by the LeBel Five? They are NOT George McGuffin.

Although McGuffin's term expired on July 31, 2011, he continues to sit on the Commission and chair the meetings as a "holdover."

McGuffin is seen in the video (above) sitting at the head of the table chairing the meeting. McGuffin's brother-in-law is Dick Jessee. Jessee was at the MUC meeting wearing his MUC attorney hat.

On November 1st when City Council considers Mayor Thomas's MUC nomination, Jessee will be at the City Council meeting wearing his City of Morristown attorney hat.

ASIDE: Jessee's law partner Herbert Bacon was nominated to serve on the MUC Board in 2000 and continued to serve until 2005 when he was forced to resign after the state attorney general opined that Bacon was ineligible to serve on the MUC Board because he was a General Sessions Judge.

The LeBel Five (Paul LeBel, Bob Garrett, Kay Senter, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks) have made it clear that they will vote against anyone whom Mayor Thomas nominates to replace George McGuffin on the MUC Board.

And the LeBel Five will continue to vote "no" on every mayoral nomination while they ask Rep. Don Miller and State Sen. Steve Southerland to get the state legislature to allow the MUC private act to be changed by a vote of the LeBel Five.

They LeBel gang wants to change the law to completely eliminate the mayor's involvement in the nomination process. Then the LeBel Five will nominate and vote to allow the 34-year McGuffin/MUC dynasty to continue.

October 19, 2011 LeBel Five Reject MUS Nominee Mike Davidson of JTEKT

2011-10-19T08:52:00.003-03:00

At yesterday's council meeting, the LeBel Five said Mike Davidson, President of JTEKT Automotive, is not good enough to serve on the Morristown Utility System (MUS) Board of Commissioners.

The Lebel Five are Paul LeBel, Bob Garrett, Kay Senter, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks.

Davidson is the sixth mayoral nominee to be rejected by a group on council that thinks that there is no one in Morristown--except George McGuffin--who is qualified and able to sit in what has been the McGuffin seat on the MUS Board for over 30 years.

SIDENOTE: Yesterday, Gene Brooks accidentally voted with the LeBel Five against Davidson---just like Bob Garrett accidentally voted with Mayor Thomas on a MUS appointment weeks ago.

Gene Brooks supported Davidson and made a motion to approve Davidson. Brooks' motion died for lack of a second. When LeBel made the motion to reject Davidson, Brooks pulled a "Bob Garrett" and accidentally voted YES on LeBel's motion to reject Davidson.

As Garrett and Brooks have discovered, the vote on a negative motion is sometimes hard to handle. Since LeBel's motion was to reject the nominee, councilmembers who wanted to "reject" Davidson had to cast a YES vote on the reject motion.

It's the difference between asking "do you NOT want Mike Davidson" instead of asking "do you want Mike Davidson?"

LeBel and Senter also did a nice tag-team production whining and demanding that the Mayor act as their social secretary notifying them about upcoming meetings, but that is for another post.

The Mayor handled it well. He told the two-some--who were the ringleaders in the local "Occupy the Mayor's Office" movement--that he no longer had much access to the Mayor's Office. Thomas then asked the City Administrator to provide meeting information to LeBel, Senter, and all councilmembers which is what should happen anyway.

October 11, 2011 MUS Submits McGuffin, Davidson, and Sluder to Mayor Thomas for Selection of One as Nominee for MUS Board

2011-10-11T17:56:00.004-03:00

The MUS (Morristown Utility Systems) Board of Commissioners met this morning in an "emergency" meeting to pick a slate of three names to submit to Morristown Mayor Danny Thomas to fill the expired term of George McGuffin.

Acting according to the MUS Private Act, Thomas will submit one of the three MUS-provided names to the full council for approval or disapproval at the next meeting of City Council on October 18th.

At today's MUS meeting, Max Biery suggested George McGuffin, Mike Davidson, and John Stroud. Gene Jolley mentioned Alan Silver in place of John Stroud. Lynn Elkins then put Bruce Sluder's name in the mix, and Harold Nichols quickly voiced his support for Sluder.

Elkins made a motion to submit the names of George McGuffin, Mike Davidson, and Bruce Sluder to Mayor Thomas, and the vote by the MUS Board was unanimous.

At the October 18th council meeting, Mayor Thomas will nominate one (of the MUS three) to council approval or disapproval. All FIVE previous mayoral nominees---Mike Minnich, Glenn Thompson, Carroll Fowler, Wally Long, John Allen--have been rejected by council. Why? None of them were George McGuffin.

So, unless George McGuffin voluntarily bows out and releases the LeBel Five to vote for someone else, we may be looking at the SIXTH rejection of a good and highly qualified person simply because that person is not George McGuffin and, therefore, is unacceptable to the LeBel Five.

MUS Chairman George McGuffin did not come to today's MUS meeting. Harold Nichols presided.

October 5, 2011 Engineer/Businessman John R. Allen Rejected for MUS Board by the LeBel Five (VIDEO)

2011-10-05T07:09:00.004-03:00

John R. Allen, a local engineer and businessman, was nominated for the MUS (Morristown Utility System) Board by Mayor Danny Thomas at yesterday's city council meeting. His was one of three names submitted to Mayor Thomas by the MUS Board.

Gene Brooks made a motion to approve Allen. His motion failed to get a second. Mayor Thomas, as chairman of council meetings, can not make or second a motion.

Kay Senter then made a motion to not approve Allen. Paul LeBel seconded the motion.

Allen's nomination was then quickly voted down by the LeBel Five (Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks). Mayor Thomas and Gene Brooks supported Allen.

The quick rejection was delayed slightly by difficulties with the automated voting machines as everyone had to vote "abstain" on Brooks's motion in order to clear the machines for the vote on rejection of Allen.

Allen thus goes down as the FIFTH person to be told by LeBel and Company that he is just not good enough to sit on the MUS Board--not good enough to take the "McGuffin" seat.

Brooks asks at one point why these people are being sent up/for rejection. Councilmember Senter says that this is the "process." Councilmember Garrett says this is "democracy."

For the previous rejections, click here, here, here, and here.

October 2, 2011 MUS Commissioners Nominate Three, Including Their Own George McGuffin, for a 5-year Term on the MUS Board

2011-10-02T19:14:00.010-03:00

The MUS Board of Commissioners (George McGuffin, Harold Nichols, Gene Jolley, Lynn Elkins, Max Biery) met on September 29, 2011. The Board wasted no time in nominating three individuals for the seat currently held by longtime MUS Board member George McGuffin.

The three persons nominated by the MUS Board are: George McGuffin, Mike Davidson, and John Allen.

Max Biery made the motion, and in less than two minutes the three were selected by acclamation. Click on the video. [MUS has rescinded its previous "no-taping" edict, unofficially allowing its 9/20/11 meeting to be taped and voting "officially" at its 9/29/11 meeting to allow taping of its meetings with a few restrictions.]

At City Council's October 4 meeting, Mayor Danny Thomas will submit one of the three names to City Council for Council's approval or disapproval--just as Thomas has done on FOUR previous occasions.

Thus far, the LeBel/McGuffin group has rejected all FOUR of the Mayor's previous selections.

With several councilmembers in his pocket or in the pocket of his friends, McGuffin has successfully blocked the appointment thus far of mayoral nominees Mike Minnich, Glenn Thompson, Carroll Fowler, and Wally Long.

Based on the track record of the LeBel Five (Paul LeBel, Claude Jinks, Bob Garrett, Kay Senter, and Chris Bivens), the Mayor's nomination of anyone except George McGuffin at the October 4 meeting of the City Council will be shot down quickly with the LeBel Five insisting that no one within the city limits can take George's place on the MUS Board.

Paul LeBel, who is also a county commissioner, supported George McGuffin's son Frank in Frank's race against Mayor Danny Thomas in May 2011. LeBel has never gotten over Danny Thomas's convincing victory over Frank McGuffin, dislikes Mayor Thomas, and has voted FOUR times to reject all FOUR of Mayor Thomas's previous nominees.

LeBel is determined to oppose almost any idea, suggestion, or innovation by the man (Danny Thomas) who defeated LeBel's personal choice for mayor (Frank McGuffin).

LeBel has even resorted to sending out letters to councilmembers --outside of a public meeting--to get councilmembers to sign on to Paul's two-prong plan (1) to take away the City Mayor's cell phone and (2) to "timeshare" the City Mayor's office, purportedly so Paul and buddies can talk with their "constituents" in the Mayor's office at the City Center instead of in the nearby conference room or in council chambers.

NOTE: LeBel managed a 24-vote victory over Charles Cook in the May 2011 four-man race for the at-large city council seat. LeBel is also a county commissioner, having been first elected to the county commission in a close race in 2006. During the past 5 years on county commission, LeBel has NEVER tried to "timeshare" any county office, has NEVER asked to use any space at the courthouse to meet with constituents, and has NEVER attempted to take away the County Mayor's cell phone.

Claude Jinks, whose daughter-in-law Jackie Jinks works at MUS, has voted three times to reject the mayor's nomination of anyone "other than George."

Bob Garrett, who worked at MUS for over 40 years and supported George's son Frank in Frank's unsuccessful May 2011 mayoral race against Danny Thomas, has voted four times to reject each of Mayor Thomas's four previous nominees. Garrett is in his first term on council with a term that expires in May 2013.

Kay Senter is another who has voted four times to reject Mayor Thomas's nominee.  Senter, who has been on council for years and years, will be up for re-election in May 2013 if she chooses to run again.

Chris Bivens, who rode the anti-incumbent tide to a victory over longtime councilmember William "Doc" Rooney, abstained once and then joined the LeBel Five, voting three times to reject the Mayor's nominee.

These are the five councilmembers who have banded together to let everyone in Morristown and across the state know that there is no one in the city limits of Morristown who can serve the next five-year term on the MUS Board of Commissioners except George McGuffin.

The LeBel Five are being encouraged to hold firm and keep rejecting anyone other than George until January 2012 at which time the LeBel Five/George McGuffin intend to ask State Senator Steve Southerland and State Representative Don Miller to change the law so that the LeBel Five can officially put George McGuffin back on the MUS Board instead of simply blocking the Mayor's nomination of CPAs, business owners, and plant managers.

MUS is just another board where one appointment turns into another and another--until for all practical purposes it is a lifetime appointment with no one else getting a chance to serve until the appointed/anointed one steps aside or passes on.

September 23, 2011 Brooks and Thomas Discuss LeBel's Letter Proposing Council's Take Over of the Mayor's Office and Seizure of the Mayor's Cell Phone

2011-09-23T07:40:00.075-03:00

The final agenda item at this past Tuesday's council meeting was the Paul LeBel "letter."

The letter, proposing that the Mayor's small office at the City Center become a timeshare space for all councilmembers and that the Mayor's cell phone be taken away, can be seen here.

LeBel sent his letter out several weeks ago and got four councilmembers to sign on to the changes outside of a public meeting. LeBel never brought his letter or its proposals to council for public discussion or for a public vote.

As soon as LeBel had four signatures on his letter (LeBel, Bob Garrett, Kay Senter, and Chris Bivens), LeBel quickly made out a schedule for timesharing the Mayor's office and had city staff type it up and send it out. Click here to see the schedule.

Gene Brooks made it clear that he didn't like LeBel using a letter that was sent and signed outside of a public meeting to change longtime policy and practice. Brooks added that LeBel didn't discuss any timeshare schedule with Brooks. LeBel just put Brooks name on a schedule and sent it out and posted it on the city's website.

Brooks added that he would not have agreed to be listed and that he does not want to be part of taking over or using the Mayor's office and, if that is done, he would give his timeshare to the Mayor.

Mayor Danny Thomas added that he has no problem in leaving the Mayor's office and working elsewhere when a councilmember wants to meet with a constituent in the small Mayor's office even though it might be an inconvenience.

But Thomas added that if a councilmember signs on to a scheduled period of time in the Mayor's office, then that councilmember should show up and be there.

This remark was directed at LeBel who set himself first (of course) to occupy the Mayor's office. But when his scheduled time came, LeBel came in 3 hours late and then only stayed for one hour of his "scheduled" five-hour stint in the Mayor's office. Click here.

Thomas also said that if council wants the cell phone that Thomas was given by the City when he took office, then there should be a public vote.

The usually combative LeBel was silent and made no motion to follow through with officially taking the phone away through a public vote at Tuesday's meeting.

Neither LeBel nor any of the signers of the LeBel letter participated in the public discussion of the office/cell phone issues at Tuesday's public meeting. Neither LeBel nor any of the signers of the LeBel letter made a motion to put approval of the office/cell phone issues to a vote at Tuesday's public meeting.

September 21, 2011 Council Again Says NOOOObody But Frank's Daddy George McGuffin Can Have the "McGuffin" Seat on MUS (VIDEO)

2011-09-21T07:39:00.003-03:00

Yesterday the MUS Board of Commissioners sent a FOURTH list of three nominees to Mayor Danny Thomas for the Board seat that expired on July 31, 2011. The three were George McGuffin, Wally Long, and Mike Davidson.

For the FOURTH time, the Mayor picked one of the names (Wallace "Wally" Long) and presented that name to Council.

Mayor Thomas barely got the name of his FOURTH nominee out when Paul LeBel immediately moved to reject the nomination and Bob Garrett, who worked for MUS/George McGuffin for decades, quickly seconded.

Five councilmembers then voted "YES" on LeBel's motion to reject Wally Long: Paul LeBel, Bob Garrett, Kay Senter, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks.

Two voted "NO" on LeBel's motion to reject Long: Gene Brooks and Mayor Thomas.

Now FOUR citizens that were considered and nominated for the MUS Board have failed to gain the approval of the group on council that wants George McGuffin to get yet another 5-year term to add to the 34+ years that he has already been on this Board.

The four that LeBel and followers have decided thus far are not acceptable as MUS Board members(despite their nomination by MUS and selection by the Mayor) are: Mike Minnich, Glenn Thompson, Carroll Fowler, and now Wally Long.

For LeBel, Garrett, and followers only one person in the City of Morristown can hold what these councilmembers apparently think has become the "McGuffin" MUS seat. That one person is...George McGuffin.

September 20, 2011 King Paul (LeBel) and the Mayor's Office, Mayor's Cell Phone, and MUS/McGuffin (George and Frank)

2011-09-17T09:15:00.544-03:00

Councilmember LeBel, aka "King Paul," sent out a letter just over two weeks ago to fellow councilmembers encouraging them to sign on to his plan to take away the Mayor's cell phone and convert the longtime office of the Morristown Mayor at the City Center into a "timeshare" room where (supposedly) councilmembers like LeBel would meet with constituents. Click on LeBel's letter.

After getting three other councilmembers to sign his letter (Prince Bob Garrett, Prince Chris Bivens, and Princess Kay Senter), King Paul had city staff prepare an "Office Schedule" showing the days and hours that each councilmember could occupy the small office that had served as the Mayor's Office for previous mayors over a period of many years.

Paul's schedule for everyone is here.

Naturally, King Paul scheduled himself first for a grand appearance to meet with his subjects/ constituents from 7 am-12 noon on Monday, September 12.

Surprisingly (or not), King Paul was not there at the appointed time. I was at the City Center from 7:30-8:30 waiting for his majesty's arrival in order to discuss city business. The King was a no-show.

I heard through the grapevine that King Paul finally showed up at 10 am, stayed about an hour, and then left his "City Council" office to get to his "County Commission" Committee meetings which started at 11:20 at the Health Department.

Why wasn't Paul at council meetings expressing concern about the "Mayor's office" when Sami Barile was sitting in the "Mayor's office" or when his one-time/former special buddy Gary Johnson was sitting in the "Mayor's office"?

Fiscal responsibility is great, but why is Paul so worried about saving money on a single cell phone while going totally silent about Princess Kay's huge use of taxpayer dollars for travel? Click here.

What makes King Paul obsess about the Mayor's office and the Mayor's cell phone and the Mayor's nomination for the MUS Board?

LeBel can't accepted that his buddy Frank McGuffin wasn't elected Mayor in May 2011. LeBel and the other councilmembers wouldn't be saying a thing about the Mayor's office or the Mayor's cell phone or the way MUS appointments are made if Frank McGuffin were Mayor.

Paul is simply trying to get revenge for Frank McGuffin's mayoral defeat by opposing and nagging at the person who defeated Frank --Mayor Danny Thomas.

Using the Mayor's office and cell phone as attack points, King Paul is the pointman in keeping Daddy George McGuffin in a lifetime position on the Morristown Utility Board. Thus far, LeBel has made sure that every single person (Mike Minnich, Glenn Thompson, Carroll Fowler) that Mayor Thomas has nominated to replace George on the MUS Board has been rejected by council. Click here.

King Paul and the "only George" group plan to continue to block ALL mayoral nominations of anyone except George McGuffin until 2012 when they will then ask local legislators Sen. Steve Southerland and Rep. Don Miller to help change the current law that worked just fine with the "only George" group----right up until Mayor Thomas was elected.

What about Bob Garrett and Kay Senter, co-leaders in the "only George" group?

Councilmember Bob Garrett was elected in 2009 and supported Frank McGuffin for Mayor in 2011 after working for Daddy George McGuffin at MUS for decades.

In 2009 and 2010 Sami Barile was Mayor. Councilmember Garrett never said anything about Mayor Barile keeping a cell phone, never tried to share/use Mayor Barile's office, and never tried to change the MUS Private Act to get rid of the process of Mayoral nomination (from a list of three names submitted by MUS) followed by council approval or disapproval.

Fast forward to 2011. Danny Thomas defeats Frank McGuffin for Mayor. Garrett signs on to take the Mayor's cell phone, share/use the Mayor's office, and is ready to change the MUS Private Act to get rid of the the Mayoral nomination process followed by council approval or disapproval.

Kay Senter has been on council for decades and was fine with a Mayor's office and cell phone during that time.

Fast forward to 2011. Danny Thomas defeats Frank McGuffin for Mayor. Kay suddenly signs on to take away the Mayor's cell phone, share/use the Mayor's office, and change the MUS Private Act to get rid of the Mayoral nomination process followed by council approval or disapproval.

Playing games to get revenge for Frank McGuffin's defeat?
Fiddling while Morristown continues to burn financially?
Childish, petty politics at its worst.

September 16, 2011 Attorney General Opines that McGuffin Is a Holdover

2011-09-16T07:20:00.006-03:00

State Senator Steve Southerland recently requested an opinion from State Attorney General Robert Cooper as to the status of George McGuffin on the Morristown Utility Board of Commissioners.

Cooper's opinion is that McGuffin, who has served on the Board for over 34 years and whose most recent five-year term has already expired, remains on the Board, acting as a "holdover," until a successor is approved by the Morristown City Council.

The full opinion is here.

Thus far three individuals have been nominated by the Mayor to succeed McGuffin. A core group of councilmembers who think George McGuffin (pictured below) is the ONLY person who can serve in this position has blocked all three of the Mayor's nominees from serving on the Utility Board.

To keep anyone from taking "the McGuffin seat," councilmembers did not approve Mike Minnich and voted to disapprove Glenn Thompson and Carroll Fowler as noted here, here, and here.

At this point, most of the "only George" councilmembers have indicated that they will continue to block the appointment of anyone except McGuffin to the Morristown Utility Commission until January 2012 when the state legislature goes back into session.

In January 2012, they would ask State Sen. Steve Southerland and Rep. Don Miller to change the Private Act governing the MUC so that they can "officially" put George back in instead of blocking the nomination of anyone and everyone else.

George is not the manager of the utility. Jody Wigington is.

Why are certain councilmembers, led by King Paul LeBel along with Prince Bob Garrett and Princess Kay Senter, going berserk and crying that the "sky is falling" at the thought of someone other than McGuffin serving as a utility commissioner?

Is George McGuffin, one of five Utility Commissioners, indispensable or just powerful and power-hungry?

Is the management and staff of the Morristown Utility System--the people who run the place--so weak that George McGuffin must be on the Board in order to keep the utility going? No.

What happens when McGuffin, at some point, is unable to serve or resigns? Does the utility collapse? No.

Why won't George step aside, let someone else serve, and contribute to the community outside of this particular Board? Does McGuffin think he is indispensable?

What is the real reason that McGuffin is so desperate to hang on to this position?

Follow the money/power trail...Wheels within wheels.

September 9, 2011 Paul LeBel Sets Up "Office Schedule" for Mayor and Councilmembers

2011-09-10T00:37:00.002-03:00

Folks, Paul LeBel has not only taken over the City Center, he has now set up an "office schedule" for the Mayor and his fellow councilmembers to follow. [Click on the schedule to enlarge it for easy reading!]

So come on and bring your neighbors and friends to the City Center at 7 AM on Monday morning, September 12, to meet the one, the only, P. LeBel sitting at the City Center in what has been the Mayor's office for years and years for five hours to see his constituents.

Yes, just four months after being elected to the City Council by a slim 24-vote margin, P. LeBel has crowned himself King. Prince Bob, Prince Chris, and Princess Kay are dutifully doing the King's bidding while Prince Claude, as usual, can't decide what to do, but he talks a good game.

Because LeBel, King of City Council, is also on the Hamblen County Commission, Monday, September 12, is going to be a tough day for him. Wearing his city council hat, LeBel is scheduled to be at the City Center from 7AM-12 Noon to meet constituents. But LeBel will have to leave the City Center a bit early and throw on his county commission hat if he intends to get to the county commission committee meetings on time at 11:30 AM.

Run, Paul, run. And keep talking fiscal responsibility while you sit by and watch the lovely Princess Kay spend $1000s of taxpayer dollars on travel while other councilmembers spend nothing or next to nothing on travel. Click here. Where's that resolution to stop excessive travel by "certain" councilmembers?

September 9, 2011 CFA Posts Video of September 6th City Council Meeting

2011-09-09T01:46:00.001-03:00

Citizens for Accountability just posted the entire video of the September 6 Morristown City Council meeting.
It's broken down in segments for easy viewing.

Click here to go to the CFA website.

September 7, 2011 Carroll Fowler's Nomination to MUS Board Rejected by City Council

2011-09-07T06:48:00.075-03:00

The video (below) tells the tale. Yesterday, the "only George (McGuffin)" group on City Council rejected Mayor Thomas's nomination of Carroll Fowler to the MUS Board of Commissioners.

Paul LeBel made the motion to reject Fowler. Sidekick Bob Garrett, former MUS employee, seconded the motion.

Voting "Yes" on the Motion To Reject Fowler: Paul LeBel, Claude Jinks, Chris Bivens, and Kay Senter.

Voting "No" on the Motion To Reject Fowler: Bob Garrett and Mayor Danny Thomas. [When the vote flashed on the screen, it was obvious that Garrett was confused when he voted "No." Garrett had seconded LeBel's motion to reject Fowler and meant to vote "Yes" with LeBel in favor of rejecting Fowler.]

Abstaining: Gene Brooks.

This is the third MUS Commissioner nominee that the Council has rejected.

The MUS Board sends the names of three qualified individuals to the Mayor. The Mayor then selects and nominates one of those individuals to the full Council for approval. With yesterday's vote, the City Council has now rejected three different Mayoral nominees (Mike Minnich, Glenn Thompson, and Carroll Fowler) on three different occasions. Click here and here.

And what's wrong with Minnich, Thompson, and Fowler? They are not George McGuffin!

SIDENOTE: The McGuffin flash mob at yesterday's meeting was smaller than the contingents that showed up at the two previous meetings where votes were taken. George McGuffin was there yesterday. MUS General Manager Jody Wigington was there. John Stroud was there. David Wild was there sitting near County Commissioner Doe Jarvis. Doe was treasurer of fellow County Commissioner Paul LeBel's campaign for City Council, is LeBel's sidekick on county commission, and has begun attending city council meetings to watch and cheer his special friend on.

NEXT: The MUS Board of Commissioners will meet again and send the Mayor another set of three names of individuals that the Board deems to be qualified to serve on the MUS Board.

September 6, 2011 Realtor/City Councilmember LeBel Wants To Use City Mayor's Office on a "Timeshare" Basis and Take Mayor's Phone

2011-09-06T05:05:00.005-03:00

Paul LeBel, city councilmember and county commissioner, is proposing a "timeshare" arrangement under which all city councilmembers, "including the Mayor," would share what has been the City Mayor's office for years and years in the City Center.

[Click on LeBel's letter at left to enlarge and read]

Wearing his city councilmember hat, LeBel says he wants to meet at the City Center with his city constituents one-half day each week. That's a nice idea, and there is an easy solution for LeBel or any councilmember who has decided that he or she wants "timeshare" office space at the City Center.

All councilmembers know that there is a conference room near the City Council Chambers. This room, which has been called the "Mayor's" conference room for years and years, could be renamed the "City Council" conference room and could become the perfect place for LeBel and all city councilmembers to spend lots of time at the City Center with their constituents or doing research.

And after City Councilmember LeBel works out office hours and the location of his timeshare office at the City Center, maybe County Commissioner LeBel will decide (after five years as a commissioner) that office hours and a timeshare office at the County Courthouse are important to enable him to serve his (commission) constituents in the same way that he wants to serve his (council) constituents.

[It is my understanding, after talking with some county officials, that while City Councilmember Paul LeBel is pushing for "timeshare" office space and office hours at the City Center to meet with his (city council) constituents, County Commissioner Paul LeBel has never sent a similar letter to his fellow county commissioners trying to use any room at the County Courthouse on a "timeshare" basis to meet with his (commission) constituents.]

Finally, LeBel's letter says that he wants to make sure that no councilmember, "including the Mayor," has arbitrarily been provided with a city cell phone. LeBel doesn't name any councilmember who was arbitrarily provided with a phone. LeBel's proposal appears primarily or solely directed at taking back a city phone that was apparently provided to Mayor Danny Thomas after Thomas was elected in May 2011.

Perhaps LeBel needs to do some research on the phone issue as it relates to the City Mayor. Among his duties, the City Mayor has specific authority to summon the police or others to aid in quelling or preventing a riot or similar emergency. Therefore, there is a public safety reason for the City Mayor, whoever may hold the office, to be provided with a cell phone for quick contact anywhere and anytime.

August 30, 2011 What a Waste! (Pun Intended)

2011-08-30T21:35:00.065-03:00

If you are on the City of Morristown sewer, you are facing or have already noticed another increase in your sewer rate. Let's look at one area where the experienced leadership in Morristown City Government has contributed to this mess....

As far back as 2005, the City knew that there were serious odor problems along the Witt sewer line. The City did nothing.

With an arrogant "I'm untouchable" attitude, several of the elected and appointed officials in City government just ignore or plow over people and then say "sue me if you don't like it."

The Witt/Roe Junction residents took the City's "sue me" attitude at face value. They never wanted to sue the City. In fact, they asked politely and repeatedly for the City to fix the Witt sewer line and stop the overflows so there wouldn't be an expensive lawsuit. The residents' requests fell on deaf ears.

Only after they were repeatedly ignored by council did the Witt/Roe Junction residents obtain legal counsel and file suit against Koch Foods in 2007 and later against the City of Morristown.

Their attorneys were able to take on City Hall and achieve what the Mayor, City Council, and City Administrators never expected. The residents won. The Witt sewer line will be repaired. The odors will stop.

As of early May 2011, the City was ordered to pay $8,500 to two of the residents.

The City was fined $105,000.

The City was ordered to pay attorney fees of the Witt residents' lawyers totalling around $489,674.00.

Plus the City was ordered to pay the litigation costs of the Plaintiffs close to $56,629.00.

[The City is going on and fixing the sewer line as ordered, but it has decided to spend more money and appeal several issues, such as attorney fees]

The above costs do NOT include the attorney fees that the City has had to pay to its own attorneys.

Originally the City's attorneys were provided by TML (Tennessee Municipal League). Later, the "free" TML legal services were exhausted months ago, however, and the City has now been paying the TML attorney bills, its own attorney's (Dick Jessee) bills, and its other legal expenses.

The City ignored a festering problem and it took an expensive lawsuit plus an Order from a Federal Judge to force the City to make the $1,600,000+ in repairs that should have been made years ago and could have been made years ago for far less.

What a waste of time and taxpayer money. That's a lot of money to spend just to delay making repairs that were inevitable all along.

And what about the Lakemoore residents who have been ignored by Council for decades despite horrific odors in that area?

If odors and repeated sewage overflows had occurred in the Country Club area, would those citizens' complaints have been ignored by councilmembers? NO. Would Country Club residents have to get a lawyer to sue the City to get serious health and environmental concerns taken care of?

August 29, 2001 Ohio Congressman Has Police Confiscate Small Cameras at Public Event

2011-08-29T21:00:00.003-03:00

It looks like the Morristown Utility System Board of Commissioners is not alone in trying to keep its meetings from being videotaped. See yesterday's post here.

Knoxville blogger Michael Silence reports here about "camera police" at a Congressman's town hall meeting in Cincinnati.

Aides to U. S. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, had the police confiscate small cameras that were being used to tape a town hall meeting held by Chabot. The cameras, which were allegedly operated by Democrat activists, were taken up "to protect the privacy of constituents."

Media cameras were not confiscated "because they can be expected to respect people's privacy."

The aide who had the cameras confiscated later said no cameras would be seized at Chabot's next town hall meeting.

The link to the report is here.

On the local government scene, the "news"paper has started videotaping city council meetings. It sure would be interesting if the local "news"paper tried to spread a little more Sunshine by attending and taping the next meeting of the MUS Board in September.

Wonder if Gene Jolley, George McGuffin, Harold Nichols, Lynn Elkins, and Max Biery would tell managing editor John Gullion to put his camera up?

And just why is the MUS Board concerned about citizens videotaping the actions and deliberations of a public board in a public meeting?

August 28, 2011 MUS Board Puts Carroll Fowler on the List of Candidates for MUS Commissioner. Refuses To Allow Meeting To Be Videotaped.

2011-08-28T16:52:00.004-03:00

The MUS Board of Commissioners met Thursday, August 25, at the MUS Office on Main Street.

One agenda item was the submission of another list of three names to Morristown Mayor Danny Thomas from which Thomas will again (third time) nominate one to council for a position on the MUS Board of Commissioners.

MUS is sending the names of George McGuffin, Wally Long, and Carroll Fowler to the Mayor for consideration this time.

[George, Wally, and Glenn Thompson were on the last list. Mayor Thomas nominated Thompson but council voted "NO." See video here. George and Wally are back on the list, and Carroll Fowler has been added.]

The MUS Board would not allow the meeting to be videotaped with a very small hand-held flip camera. No reason was given.

Board members are George McGuffin, Harold Nichols, Gene Jolley, Lynn Elkins, and Max Biery. Gene Jolley was the most vocal opponent of allowing the meeting to be filmed.

City Councilman Bob Garrett, a former and longtime employee of MUS, attended. Garrett, an MUS retiree, is a leader and voting member of council's "only George" club.

MUS Attorney Dick Jessee, who is also attorney for the City of Morristown, was present. Jessee is George McGuffin's brother-in-law.

August 21, 2011 Gene Brooks Exposes Bob Moore's Millennium Square Reporting. Brooks Prevented an Illegal Bidding that Could Have Cost the City $1.3+ Million

2011-08-21T21:05:00.003-03:00

Since taking office in May 2009, Morristown Councilmember Gene Brooks has endured constant attacks from local "news"paper reporter Bob Moore. On Tuesday, August 16, Brooks apparently had had enough and decided to set the record straight on at least one matter-the Downtown Millennium Square project.

[In a nutshell, the Millennium project is where the City took Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) grant funds of roughly $1.3+ Million that had been intended for street, lighting, and drainage improvements around the Morristown College area with a greenways trailhead and parking at Kyle Park and moved that money to the downtown Millennium Square Partners group for the construction of a privately-owned retail shell and storefront. To get TDOT to go along with this, the City/Millennium group decided that the roof of the retail space would be called a "greenways trailhead" and have 22 or 23 parking spaces leased to the City. Click on the label Millennium Square at right for past blog posts on this topic.]

Brooks was responding to a July "news"paper article where Bob Moore allowed David Wild, one of the principals in Wild Building Contractors and a partner in the Millennium group, to attack Brooks and all the others who saw illegalities and violations of federal law in the Millennium deal.

Moore quotes David Wild as saying: "If it had not been for the unwarranted involvement of two or three individuals, this project would have already been finished...."

Translation: "I hate those people who raised valid legal questions about our nifty sweetheart deal. Councilmembers who try to protect City grant funds and make sure that everything is done legally don't have any right to do that."

David Wild was reacting--not too kindly--to the fact that Brooks had pointed out the core conflicts of interest in the Wild/ Millennium Square/Brewer, Ingram & Fuller connections to TDOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

David and Tim Wild wanted to wear Millennium Square Partners hats to get the $1.3 Million taxpayer-funded TDOT grant to build their MainStreet retail storefront/rooftop "trailhead' parking. Then David and Tim Wild wanted to put on their Wild Building Contractors hats to submit a bid and collect all the money for building their own Main Street storefront/rooftop "trailhead" parking.

Brooks got the big guns riled up. Brooks was attacked and made out to be the bad guy who was messing everything up. Todd Morgan with the City wrote to TDOT. Dan Brewer with the project architects Brewer, Ingram & Fuller wrote a letter to Todd that also went to TDOT. Knoxville attorney Robert Noell with Woolf-McClane represented Wild Building Contractors and tried to refute Brooks' allegations in a lengthy letter to TDOT, claiming that there were no conflicts.

After all the dust had settled, TDOT found that Brooks's core allegations of conflicts of interest were, in fact, correct. TDOT disqualified Wild Building Contractors (David and Tim Wild) from bidding on the Millennium Square Partners (David and Tim Wild and others) Downtown project.

In the video (above) Gene refers to Bob Moore's July 2011 article where Moore stated--falsely--that Wild had submitted the low bid on the project. MOORE: "Wild Building Contractors submitted the low bid earlier this year, approximately $600,000 less than the second-place bidder."

Brooks points out in the video that Bob either made this up or was given false information. Wild never submitted the low bid on the project. Wild never submitted a bid at all because Brooks was able to prevent them from illegally bidding on the project.

Brooks's remarks end by making the public and the other councilmembers aware that had Wild been allowed to submit a bid and, by chance, had Wild gotten the contract, then TDOT could have made the City pay back ALL the grant funds that had been received for allowing an illegal bid and award.

In the City's current financial mess, the City could not have absorbed a $1.3 Million dollar hit for improperly handling grant funds.

Gene Brooks was not only right, but he showed great courage in standing up to months and months of criticism by very powerful people in order to ensure that an illegal bid was not submitted and that the City did not end up having to pay back $1.3 Million dollars of grant money.

1. The "news"paper has yet to correct Bob's front-page error on the Millennium project. [Usually, the paper runs a correction on Page 2 after incorrect statements have been made and pointed out.]

2. The "news"paper has yet to report anything about Gene Brooks's statement at the council meeting about Moore's biased--and even false--reporting on the Millennium deal.

3. The "news"paper has yet to report that Brooks's actions not only stopped an illegal bidding but saved the City $1.3 Million +.

So what did Moore do after Brooks's statement? After the meeting, Bob Moore headed straight for Brooks. Moore did not say that he would check the article again for accuracy and correct any errors. Moore did not mention his incessant attacks on Brooks over the past 2+ years. Moore did not apologize to Brooks for the reporting error.

Instead, Moore first asked who Brooks's lawyer is---because Brooks had said he would be glad to meet Moore to discuss Millennium but that Brooks would bring his lawyer to this meeting. Then Moore started asking Brooks about the Hearts of Christ Ministry which Brooks supports and with which Brooks's wife and sister-in-law are involved.

August 17, 2011 MUS Appointment (VIDEO): CPA Glenn Thompson Voted Down by City Council

2011-08-17T15:00:00.008-03:00

George and Judy McGuffin showed up at yesterday's council meeting with the McGuffin flash mob (employees, friends, and business associates). The flash mob appeared to ensure that certain councilmen (Jinks and Bivens) voted against CPA Glenn Thompson's appointment to the Morristown Utility System (MUS) Board of Commissioners to replace George McGuffin.

The McGuffins want to prevent anyone--other than George McGuffin--from being appointed to the MUS Board. Yesterday, they were successful---for the second time.

Yessterday, Mayor Thomas renewed his nomination of Glenn Thompson to the MUS Board. Councilman Bob Garrett, a former employee of MUS, made a motion to reject Thompson. Voting To Reject Thompson: LeBel, sidekick Garrett, Senter, Jinks, and Bivens. Voting For Thompson: Brooks and Thomas.

The "only-George" group, led by LeBel, sidekick Garrett, and Kay Senter, and joined by recruits Jinks and Bivens is bent on preventing the appointment of anyone other than George McGuffin to the MUS Board.

Now, some of the members of the "only George" group are toying with the idea of changing the City's Private Act on MUS. They want to alter the current process of Mayor's nomination (from a list submitted to him by MUS) and council's approval or disapproval.

Why does this group suddenly think that the current process of Mayor's nomination/council's approval needs to be changed? Because they think that the only acceptable nominee that has been or will ever be sent to Mayor Thomas by MUS is George McGuffin and they are ticked off that Mayor Thomas has chosen other individuals.

Back in July, the Mayor nominated Mike Minnich who was on the MUS list. He fell one vote short of election when Bivens abstained. Click here for that vote.

On August 2, the Mayor nominated Glenn Thompson, a local CPA, who was on the MUS list. No vote was taken on Thompson on August 2. Click here. Yesterday, Thompson came up for a vote and was voted down.

These five councilmembers apparently think that men such as Mike Minnich and Glenn Thompson are not good enough to serve on the MUS Board. No one is good enough for these five except George McGuffin. The MUS Board must submit another list of three names to the Mayor within 14 days.

Some people have jokingly said that the next list of three will be George McGuffin, Frank McGuffin, and Patrick McGuffin.

[George McGuffin has already served on MUS for 30+ years. The five councilmembers apparently think McGuffin should have a lifetime appointment ---five years at a time].

It really looks like Warren Buffett or Bill Gates would be rejected by these five if the right calls were made by the right people--and the McGuffin flash mob showed up.

Sadly, Mr. McGuffin won't step aside graciously and acknowledge the great honor of having been allowed to serve for 30+ years on the Morristown Utility System Board.

Instead, McGuffin continues to pressure councilmembers and has his money/power friends inundate councilmembers with calls and appearances at council meetings as he desperately tries to get another 5-year appointment to keep anyone else from taking the "McGuffin" seat.

Money and power have a lot of influence. Money and power can change votes.

Very few people have the integrity and strength to withstand social, economic, and political pressure and remain true to their core beliefs when it is so comfortable--and often very rewarding--to go along with the money and power group.

August 17, 2011 LeBel, Garrett, Senter, and Bivens Pass Resolution To Stop Use of City Staff and City Resources for Department Evaluations by Mayor Thomas's Top Down Committee

2011-08-17T09:17:00.003-03:00

Prior to yesterday's city council meeting, I posted the resolution that some councilmembers had requested in an attempt to prevent Mayor Danny Thomas's top down committee from using any city resources or staff time to evaluate city departments. Click here.

At yesterday's 5:00 meeting, Councilman LeBel took ownership of the resolution and Councilwoman Kay Senter voiced her firm support. The resolution passed 4-3 (LeBel, sidekick Garrett, Senter and Bivens: YES. Thomas, Brooks, and Jinks: NO)

When asked by Councilman Brooks if there were any problems with this type of restrictive resolution aimed at the Mayor, City Attorney Dick Jessee replied that the resolution was on a "fine line," but that it probably could withstand a legal challenge as drafted.

Before the vote was taken, Mayor Thomas stated that the top-down committee was inactive.

L-R: Gene Brooks, Bob Garrett, Claude Jinks, Mayor Danny Thomas, Chris Bivens, Paul LeBel, Kay Senter

August 16, 2011 Unnamed Councilmembers Try To Limit Mayor's Committee

2011-08-16T16:24:00.034-03:00

Some City Councilmembers are sponsoring the resolution at left in an attempt to curtail Mayor Thomas's Committee that was formed to perform a top-down evaluation of city departments, looking for efficiencies and cost savings.

Click on the image to enlarge and read.

These councilmembers want to put a leash on Mayor Thomas and his plans to send the City, which has been plagued by years of fiscal mismanagement, on a different path.

The resolution states in part that "...City resources, including staff time, shall not be expended in furtherance of the Mayor's Committee in performing a top down evaluation of the City's departments, pending further official action of the City Council."

If they get away with this, next from this unnamed group will be a resolution stating that Councilmember Gene Brooks can not ask for documents and can not ask questions in council meetings.

NOTE: While I support Mayor Thomas's attempt to review and evaluate the city departments, I think that the Committee is likely subject to the open meetings act, and I have told him this. And even if one could argue that the committee is not subject to the open meetings act, it is still wise to announce and open the committee meetings to the public that foots the bills.

August 12, 2011 State Attorney General (TN) on Traffic Camera Changes

2011-08-12T08:48:00.003-03:00

Tennessee State Attorney General Robert Cooper has issued an opinion on the new state legislation regarding traffic enforcement cameras and the effect of the legislation on contracts between cities and red light camera companies.

Click here for Morristown's rushed renewal of its contract with RedFlex on June 7 in an attempt to beat the July 1 effective date of the new laws.

Click here for a brief discussion by Legislative Reporter Tom Humphrey.

Click here for the full opinion.

Click here for Sen. Stacey Campfield's blog with a link to an article about Oak Ridge and red light cameras and safety.

Click here for recent action by Los Angeles removing red light cameras due to problems in collecting on the citations.

August 4, 2011 "News"paper Puts Massey's Resignation Online 8 Hours After Blog Post

2011-08-04T07:35:00.004-03:00

Yesterday morning, I mentioned Tommy Massey's resignation from Hamblen County Commission, 14th district. Click here. Massey had resigned several days before that, but the paper wasn't reporting it.

A little over 8 hours after my post went up, the Trib put out a short report in its online edition! Click here and you might catch the Trib's 5:39 PM article before they disable the link.

And today, you can look for this days old local "news" in the "news" section of the print edition.

Oddity: While the "news"paper wasn't able to run a "news" article about the resignation yesterday, it was able to run a paid public notice from the County about the resignation in the Classified section.

August 3, 2011 Commissioner Tommy Massey Resigns (14th District)

2011-08-03T10:03:00.003-03:00

Commissioner Tommy Massey has resigned from the Hamblen County Commission. Massey represented the 14th district (Manley School voting precinct).

Massey's resignation letter was turned in several days ago but hasn't been mentioned publicly---probably so certain commissioners could get the replacement vote lined up before news of the vacancy was released by the "news"paper.

[I was elected as 14th district commissioner in 2002 and served until 2006 when I chose not to run for re-election. Click here. Massey ran unopposed in 2006 and was re-elected in a close race against Larry Carter in 2010.]

August 3, 2011 Mayor Nominates Glenn Thompson for Morristown Utility Commission Seat: Council Takes No Action

2011-08-03T09:32:00.003-03:00

At yesterday's city council meeting, Mayor Danny Thomas submitted his nomination of Glenn Thompson to the Morristown Utility Commission Board to the City Council.

Thompson is a local CPA with the firm of Craine, Thompson & Jones.

Thomas asked for a motion to approve the nomination. There was none.

Thomas asked for a motion to disapprove the nomination. There was none.

At the previous meeting of council on July 19, Thomas had nominated Mike Minnich for this same position. While no motion was made, a vote on Minnich was taken and resulted in 3 FOR (Brooks, Jinks, and Thomas); 3 AGAINST (Garrett, LeBel, Senter); and 1 ABSTENTION (Bivens). Click here for the video of the vote.

The nomination by the Mayor is for the seat currently held by George McGuffin in what has turned out to be something akin to a lifetime appointment. McGuffin has been on the Board for over 30 years.

Just prior to the meeting, Attorney Ron Perkins, standing in for City Attorney Dick Jessee, provided the Council with a summary of the procedures for filling the position as outlined in the Private Act that established the Morristown Utility Commission. [Dick Jessee is the brother-in-law of George McGuffin.]

The important parts of the summary at this point:

A) The Mayor selects his nominee for the Morristown Utility Commission (MUC) from a list of three names provided to him by MUC. A majority vote of Council is required to elect the Mayor's nominee. Should Council fail to approve or disapprove a nominee within 30 days following notice to Council of the Mayor's nomination, the nominee is deemed to have been elected.

B) If a nominee is disapproved by Council or fails to receive a vote of approval by a majority of Council, the nomination procedure is repeated, except the Commission has 14 days from notice of the disapproval to submit the names of three more nominees--which list may include the two not previously selected by the Mayor.

There were numerous discussions taking place after the meeting regarding the effect of the lack of a vote on Thompson's nomination.

[Former Councilmember Frank McGuffin, son of George McGuffin, came to yesterday's meeting. Frank was also at the last meeting along with his father George and McGuffin supporters.]

You can bet there will again be visits and phone calls to the Mayor and councilmembers during the next two weeks--just like there were in the lead-up to the meeting on the Minnich appointment and in the lead-up to yesterday's meeting on the Thompson appointment.

This time the situation is clearer.

If the Council continues to take no action to approve or disapprove Thompson, he will be deemed elected after 30 days. If Garrett, LeBel, and Senter want to continue to keep anyone else from ever taking the "McGuffin" seat, then they will have to take timely action to get a vote that gets Thompson out of the picture.

In one of the post-meeting discussions with other councilmembers and Attorney Ron Perkins, Kay Senter said she hoped there would be a consensus by the time of the next vote since, in her opinion, no one would want to take a position by "default," i.e. without a vote.

The Mayor has made the nomination. The election by "default" that Kay spoke of only comes about if Council fails to vote the nominee up or down within 30 days.

The ball is in the Council's court, but there are plenty of powerful coaches out there.

July 24, 2011 Joke--From Sen. Stacey Campfield's blog

2011-07-24T23:49:00.000-03:00

Sen. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville, formerly Rep. Stacey Campfield, has spoken at local anti-illegal immigration events in Morristown.

He has a blog, and this week he had a really good post/joke on government bidding. For your entertainment, click here:

http://lastcar.blogspot.com/2011/07/joke-of-week-building-fence.html

His serious posts make for interesting reading, too!

July 20, 2011 Council Meeting Starting Time Changed to 5:00 PM!!

2011-07-20T15:00:00.003-03:00

There was some especially good news at yesterday's meeting of the Morristown City Council. Meetings in the future will take place at 5:00 PM instead of 4:00 PM.

The later starting time is a plus for citizens who are still at work at 4:00 PM. The vote to change the time was 5-2 with Gene Brooks, Bob Garrett, Chris Bivens, Paul LeBel, and Kay Senter voting YES and Claude Jinks and Mayor Danny Thomas voting NO. [Mayor Thomas voted YES on this measure two weeks ago, but voted NO today on second reading.]

The 5:00 starting time was proposed by Gene Brooks in 2009 but failed when only Brooks and Kay Senter voted YES. With three new members on the council after the May 2011 election, the vote was very different this time.

Oddity: Bob Garrett voted NO on changing the meeting time back in 2009, but voted YES in 2011. Click here.

July 19, 2011 Council Rejects Mayor's Appointment of Mike Minnich to the MUS Board of Commissioners

2011-07-19T22:54:00.005-03:00

A routine appointment to fill a vacancy on the Morristown Utility System Board of Commissioners? Nope. Bizarre? Absolutely!

Click on the video above to see the City Council vote on Mayor Danny Thomas's appointment of Mike Minnich to the MUS Board of Commissioners. [The appointment begins at 00:25.]

Bob Garrett decides he wants to talk about George McGuffin before he votes. Mayor Thomas points out that this is a mayoral appointment submitted for Council's approval or disapproval and calls for the vote.

When the vote is taken on the Minnich appointment, it is YES: Gene Brooks, Claude Jinks, and Danny Thomas. NO: Bob Garrett, Paul LeBel, and Kay Senter. ABSTAIN: Chris Bivens. With the Bivens abstention, Minnich didn't receive the required four council votes.

Bob then wants to talk again about George McGuffin. Thomas states that Garrett is out of order, gavels Garrett down, and threatens to have him removed. Paul LeBel, Garrett's sidekick, steps in to take up for Bob.

According to City attorney Dick Jessee, who is George McGuffin's brother-in-law, MUS must submit another list of three names from which Mayor Thomas will again select a nominee and put that name out for an up or down vote. [The new list of 3 nominees may include the two not already voted on]

Bizarre! Watch the video again.

July 10, 2011 Morristown City Council Votes on Moving Meeting Times from 4 PM to 5 PM

2011-07-10T21:32:00.002-03:00

There was an interesting and encouraging twist at the end of last week's City Council meeting.

Right before adjournment, Councilmember Paul LeBel moved to add an item to the agenda to move the council meeting time from 4 PM to 5 PM.

LeBel's motion to add this item to the agenda passed 5-0 (YES: Garrett, Bivens, LeBel, Senter, and Thomas; ABSENT: Gene Brooks, who was sick; and Claude Jinks, who had been hospitalized for heart problems.)

After getting the item on the agenda, LeBel then made his actual motion to change the council meeting time from 4 PM to 5 PM on first reading and to hold a public hearing and second reading on July 19, 2011. Bob Garrett seconded the motion. After a brief discussion, the motion passed 5-0.

[SIDENOTE: Bob Garrett voted against this same time change in November 2009 when it was brought to the floor by motion of Gene Brooks and second by Kay Senter.]

This is a positive move by the Mayor and councilmembers to have meetings at a time when more people can, and hopefully will, attend.

July 4, 2011 Independence Day

2011-07-04T09:25:00.001-03:00

The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.

Hostilities between the British and the American colonists had already begun over a year before when the "shot heard round the world" was fired at the beginning of the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.

Paul Revere's famous "midnight ride" to warn his fellow patriots that the British were coming is commemorated in the following poem.

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--

One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay

The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,

And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.
Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,

And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,

Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.
Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,

In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,

And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent

On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,

Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.

And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.

Scurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;

That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,

And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,

That rises after the sun goes down.
It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,

And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.
It was two by the village clock,

When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze

Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,

Pierced by a British musket ball.
You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,

From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,

And only pausing to fire and load.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;=
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---

A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,

Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

June 8, 2011 Morristown Extends Red Light Camera Contract

2011-06-08T10:05:00.002-03:00

The red light camera contract with RedFlex was extended yesterday in a 5-2 vote. Councilmembers Brooks and Bivens voted NO. Bob Garrett, Claude Jinks, Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, and Mayor Danny Thomas voted YES.

The contract was approved prior to the public comment portion of the meeting and without any prior notice in the paper of the upcoming vote.

Councilmembers themselves only became aware of the proposed contract extension late last week when they received the agenda and information packets.

The contract apparently gives the City more of the money that is collected, moves the WalMart light to 25E at Cherokee Park, and allows the City to add more lights in the future.

The City voted on the renewal yesterday with the stated purpose of avoiding the implementation of the new state law (July 1, 2011) which, among other things, requires traffic studies prior to putting up new lights.

In a cash-strapped city that has been dubbed guilty of self-inflicted financial "malfeasance" by a federal judge, the vote was not surprising.

June 6, 2011 Administrator Tony Cox Surprises Council and Puts Red Light Camera Contract on Tomorrow's Agenda

2011-06-06T07:01:00.004-03:00

The City of Morristown's current red light camera contract with RedFlex ends in August 2011.

Without holding a work session on the issue or giving the council at least 10 days notice, City Administrator Tony Cox has put changes and extension of the RedFlex contract on the Council's agenda for a vote tomorrow.

[If the City is looking for more money, changes allowing installation of more lights and giving more of the red light revenue to Morristown and less to RedFlex will certainly do that]

The issue here is more of adequate time to review contracts and major contract changes. This is not an emergency situation. Will councilmembers rubberstamp this contract or decide that it's good business practice and common sense to have at least 10 days to review and ask questions about a major contract revision and extension prior to voting on it---not to mention allowing the public to have some input?

Cox is apparently trying to get the RedFlex contract changed before red light legislation passed by the State Legislature takes effect on July 1, 2011. Even if Tony is trying to "beat" the changes in state law, he could have put this item on work session tomorrow and then for a vote on June 21 instead of pushing for a vote tomorrow!

Tony gave the council only about four days notice (two of those days being Saturday and Sunday). If Tony gave notice to the press, I didn't see anything in Friday or Sunday's paper. As far as letting the public know about this agenda item, the city council's agenda (as of last night) was not posted on the city's website. Maybe it will be posted after this blog entry goes up. Maybe it's not in the same place as it used to be when it was on the front page of the website right above the "calendar of events."

UPDATE: I have been told that the agenda is on the city's website, not where it used to be, and that you have to know where it is and how to get to it. Not sure why the change was made, but I am sure that the change has made it harder for people who used to see the "agenda" link right on the front page as they now try to figure out where the agenda is.

Contrast this hurried/little or no discussion situation with the hours that Tony has spent in work sessions with council on signs, mattresses on the sides of the road, and a bust of Mama Bird Johnson to be erected at the new airport terminal.

Even those councilmembers who support the red light/speeding cameras should be willing to postpone this vote.

This is the time for the new Mayor and old and new councilmembers to step up and insist on having an absolute minimum of ten days in which to review a contract or extension of an existing contract--especially when it involves a contract that has raised considerable controversy in Morristown, across the state, and across the nation.

Click here to see my previous post on a recent Florida ruling on red light cameras and the different treatment of violators ticketed by cameras (small fine and no points on the driving license) and violators ticketed by the police (larger fine and points on the driving license).

June 4, 2011 Red Light Cameras Unconstitutional?

2011-06-04T08:11:00.064-03:00

Many questions have been raised about the constitutionality of red light cameras.

Fort Lauderdale (Florida) Judge Fred Berman has cited constitutional issues in his recent ruling that police can no longer issue red light tickets as long as cameras are operating.

Berman's ruling maintains that it is not fair that red light runners caught by police face a stiff fine and points on their license, compared to those nabbed by the cameras, who face a smaller fine and no points.

"This violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution, as well as the Florida Constitution," the judge wrote.

Click here for the video news report.

According to a Fort Lauderdale attorney with the "Ticket Clinic," red light tickets issued by police will be challenged in Fort Lauderdale and perhaps beyond with citation to Judge Berman's opinion.

The Florida attorney general will become involved: "In our view, Judge Berman did not apply the appropriate standard of review. From here, we will be weighing all of our options to challenge his ruling, including an appeal to the Circuit Court."

Click here for the Florida story and links to previous reports by the Florida news channel.

Thanks to Michael Silence who reports on the story here with comments from Knoxville PD department spokesman Darrell DeBusk and to Taxing Tennessee which has the story and a link to Silence's post.

June 3, 2011 Councilman Chris Bivens Works on City Budget and Saves the City Taxpayers $120,000

2011-06-03T08:50:00.005-03:00

In a previous post, I mentioned the LeBel-Senter discussion on May 31 about council's $15,000 travel budget for 2012. LeBel wanted to see that item eliminated. Senter wanted to keep it.

[Kay Senter has been a prolific traveler in the past on the city taxpayer's dime and may want to dip into that line item beginning in July 2011 due to her upcoming coronation as president of TML (Tennessee Municipal League)]

After the LeBel-Senter traveltalk, newly-elected Councilman Chris Bivens showed that he has jumped into his new job with hands-on budget research. For 2012, City Administrator Tony Cox had included purchase of a new articulating loader for the City--a $140,000 piece of equipment.

Bivens saved the City taxpayers $120,000 by going and looking at the current loader and talking to one or more of the city's mechanics. Bivens found out that the current loader is in excellent shape and would be "just like new" with a new engine at $10,000 or so.

Council discussed the matter and decided that they could get the new engine and even throw in a new $10,000 transmission and for $20,000---instead of $140,000--the City would have an excellent piece of equipment!

Bivens thought most other new equipment purchases were OK although there was some small discussion of purchasing new computers for Parks and Rec and eliminating one piece of equipment.

After Bivens came up with the $120,000 in savings, no one criticized Bivens for "micromanaging" the city's budget. Now if every councilmember would get in there--like councilmember Bivens did--and come up with similar savings. Of course, you can't find savings if you don't look and ask questions, and most councilmembers have not even tried to find savings in this year's budget.

June 1, 2011 City Councilmembers LeBel and Senter at Odds over Council "Travel" and "Slush Fund"

2011-06-01T08:34:00.001-03:00

Yesterday, city council met in a brief special called meeting to address three items after which there was a short budget workshop.

SPECIAL CALLED MEETING
In the special called meeting, the City Council voted to appeal U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie Greer's decision in the Patricia Stephens, et al v. City of Morristown case to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The City will incur still more legal expenses in appealing the Judge's decision, but at least one goal is apparently to get the appeals court to eliminate or reduce the attorney fees that the City has to pay to the Plaintiff's attorney Gary Davis. See Judge Greer's decision on attorney fees here.

In action related to Judge Greer's order that the City rehab the Witt sewer line, the council voted to obtain two easements in South Hamblen County. One easement (Wallace Properties) will be obtained by agreement. The other (Kenneth McClanahan) will be taken by eminent domain if an agreement is not reached in the next few days.

BUDGET WORKSHOP
In the budget workshop, there was heated discussion over two items in the city council's budget. Paul LeBel questioned the council's proposed travel budget of $15,000. [Update: The proposed travel budget for 2012 is $15,000 up from $8,000 in estimated travel expenses for 2011 and up from $2,909 that was actual travel spending in 2010]  LeBel said that, as a businessman, he travels on 'his own dime." He also pointed out that county commissioners do not have a travel budget. [LeBel serves on the county commission AND city council.]

When he mentioned that Councilmember Kay Senter has spent $22,000 on travel in the last four years, the temperature in the room began to rise. Kay countered that she and Claude Jinks had discovered a pipe bursting technology on one of their travels and had brought news of this technology to the City's engineering department saving the City lots of money.

LeBel stated that if the engineering department didn't know about this important engineering technology on its own then the City needs new engineers.

Kay then got to the real reason that the travel budget is so high and why it is so important to her. She said that she is in line, as current vice-president, to become president of the Tennessee Municipal League Board in the coming year.

[LeBel may not have known about Kay's TML position, but in the last couple of years, she has mentioned her soon-to-be-coronation as president of the TML Board a number of times. She has also noted on a number of occasions that her city taxpayer-paid travel has helped her to meet with leaders of other cities and work her way into her current position of leadership in TML.  Becoming president of TML is extremely important and significant for Kay.]

LeBel said that's great, but he still encouraged council to travel on its own dime.  The conversation went back-and-forth for several minutes with Mayor Danny Thomas criticizing LeBel for bringing Senter's name into the mix.

Somehow, you have to wonder about the importance of the Tennessee Municipal League being headed by a councilmember from Morristown who sat by while Morristown's finances burned, money was illegally shifted, taxes were raised, garbage fees were started, sweetheart contracts were approved, and on and on.

But nevermind all that, Kay Senter can put down that she is the first or nearly first head of TML from the eastern area of the state!

Maybe instead of lots of "travel" with TML and other groups, councilmembers should have been tending to the City of Morristown's finances instead of rubber-stamping whatever was proposed.

LeBel also caused consternation when he mentioned the city council's $100,000 "slush fund." "Slush fund" is LeBel's wording and just happens to echo my characterization of this line item which was added to the City's budget by Tony Cox last year.

Kay immediately defended the $100,000 "grants and subsidies" line item but admitted that maybe it should be called "contingency" instead. She said it helps council make "tough" decisions in the budget year when new items come up.

What is really does is make what should be tough decisions on extra spending easier for council. Instead of having to make a decision to go back and pull from its fund balance to authorize additional mid-year spending, City Administrator Tony Cox comes to council and says that buying this or that is no problem because you can take it from your "grants and subsidies" line item.  Every time Tony came to council last year and said that the extra spending was "no problem," council went along. No tough decisions there.

LeBel might have succeeded on one item. There will be an examination of the Mayor's Diversity Task Force line item. The Diversity Task Force was created under former Mayor Sami Barile.

More later on how Councilman Chris Bivens saved the City $120,000 just by checking out Administrator Cox's proposed equipment purchases.

May 30, 2011 MEMORIAL DAY

2011-05-30T14:14:00.002-03:00

Photo: free-stock-photos.com

TAPS at Arlington Cemetery:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38wx8C7VmB4&feature=related

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War.

Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, but it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day.

Memorial Day was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May.

A resolution establishing a "National Moment of Remembrance" was passed in 2000 which asks that all Americans at 3:00 PM local time "voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps'."

May 16, 2011 Judge Greer's 5/10/11 Order "reluctantly" Grants Additional Time for Witt Sewer Work and Notes that City's Actions "to get its financial house in order" Were the Result of its own "malfeasance"

2011-05-16T06:21:00.002-03:00

Judge Greer's Order of May 10, 2011, (below) denies the City's requests regarding civil penalties previously imposed against the City and "reluctantly" grants the City's request for additional time to complete the rehabilitation of the Witt Sewer Line, a problem known by the City for approximately six years or more. In granting additional time for rehab of the sewer line, Judge Greer sets out specific benchmarks that the City must meet. Judge Greer also notes that the City's financial problems with illegal fund transfers, etc. were the result of the City's own malfeasance. The Order is printed below with omission of citations [].

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT GREENEVILLE

PATRICIA STEPHENS, ET AL.

v. CITY OF MORRISTOWN, TENNESSEE

ORDER

On April 28, 2011, this Court held a hearing on a portion of defendant’s motion to alter or amend the judgment, []. The defendant moved this Court to alter or amend its Orders,[], and its Judgment, [], in four ways. These include: (1) adopt a new schedule for carrying out the rehabilitation of the Witt Sewer Line in accord with the defendant’s newly proposed schedule; (2) grant the defendant 45 days to install odor filters on the manholes along the gravity line between the Witt 2 and Witt 3 pump stations; (3) reduce the amount of civil penalties imposed to no greater than those imposed on Koch Foods, a former codefendant; and (4) allow the civil penalties imposed to be waived upon the defendant meeting Court-established benchmarks for completing the rehabilitation of the Witt Sewer line.

This Court decided issues two through four in an Order filed on April 25, 2011, [Doc. 328]. Basically, issue two was moot because the City installed the filters, albeit late. As to issues three and four, this Court denied the defendant’s motion. Also, regarding issues three and four, the defendant asked at the April 28, 2011 hearing that the Court reconsider its decision. This oral motion to reconsider and issue one will be addressed in turn after setting forth a brief summary of the facts and the standards of review. For the reasons set forth below, the defendant’s oral motion to reconsider is DENIED and the motion to alter or amend the Order, [], and Judgment, [], is reluctantly GRANTED.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Many of the facts are set forth in this Court’s April 25, 2011 Order, [], and they will not be restated here. The City introduced additional evidence at the April 28, 2011 hearing as to efforts taken by the City to secure funding for rehabilitation of the Witt sewer line.

Again, the City’s financial condition is important in analyzing the issue of whether to alter or amend the judgment as to civil penalties and the rehabilitation of the Witt sewer line. Several letters submitted by the City show that Anthony W. Cox, the City Administrator, and Lamar Dunn, an engineer working with the City, have been communicating with the State Comptroller’s Office and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (“TDEC”) on satisfying the Comptroller’s conditions and TDEC’s requirements for securing the SRF loan, which will fund the rehabilitation of the line.

There was evidence and testimony that the City had included the funding for the rehabilitation of the line in its fiscal year 2011 budget; however, Mr. Cox explained that the budget reflected the amount of the SRF loan which had not been secured. Evidence showed that the City tried to get permission to use other funds from another SRF loan to fund the rehabilitation of the line. Nonetheless, TDEC did not allow this. There was also evidence that the City had placed a higher priority on other projects instead of the Witt sewer line.

Perhaps the most troubling evidence presented was a letter from Mr. Dunn to Bryan Fowler, the City’s Director of Wastewater Operations, on July 30, 2009. The letter was a cover letter to Mr. Dunn’s plans and specifications for the rehabilitation of the Witt line, which the City had requested. More importantly, it states that it is Mr. Dunn’s understanding “that the City has no desire to move forward with this project at the present time.”

This evidence is most troubling because it was represented to this Court that this particular document was not produced to the plaintiffs prior to trial. Nevertheless, there is evidence presented which showed the City, after the May 2010 hearing, did seek funding and was pursuing the project. Mr. Dunn testified to a proposed schedule for rehabilitating the Witt sewer line. He proposed the following schedule:

Loan package sent to City from TDEC 04-21-11

Council action to authorize the accpetance and completion of the loan package 05-03-11 Submittal of completed loan package 05-03-11

Submittal of construction plans and specification for by TDEC 05-03-11

Approval from TDEC to advertise project for bids 45 days after receipt of plans

Receive bids 40 days after approval

Review of bids by Engineer with recommendation 10 days after of award bids

Council approval award subject to approval of TDEC first council meeting after recommendation

TDEC approval of “Authority to Award” construction 45 days after contract c o u n c i l action

Pre-Construction Conference 21 days after ATA

Contract execution for construction with Notice to Proceed 10 days after Pre-Construction Conference

Construction complete/system operational 2 3 0 d a y s after Notice to Proceed

Mr. Dunn testified that his schedule is reasonable in his opinion as an engineer with experience in this type of construction.

II. RULE 59(e) STANDARD OF REVIEW

A motion to alter or amend judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e) may be granted (1) to correct a clear error of law; (2) to account for newly discovered evidence or an intervening change in the controlling law; or (3) to otherwise prevent manifest injustice. []. A Rule 59(e) motion cannot be used to re-litigate previously decided issues, reargue a case, or raise new legal theories. []These motions “are not the proper vehicle to attempt to obtain a reversal of a judgment by offering the same arguments previously presented.” []. Furthermore, Rule 59(e) motions are “‘extraordinary in nature’” and “‘should be discouraged.’” [] As such, these motions are “granted ‘ very sparingly.’” []

III. RULE 60 STANDARD OF REVIEW

A Rule 60 motion may be filed within one year after the entry of the judgment or order or within a reasonable time, depending upon the grounds upon which relief is sought. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(c)(1). Furthermore, Rule 60 motion may be granted only for certain specified reasons and is, thus, a significantly higher standard than that for granting a Rule 59 motion. [] Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) states: On motion and just terms, the court may relieve a party or its legal representative from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for the following reasons:

(1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect;

(2) newly discovered evidence that, with reasonable diligence, could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Rule 59(b);

(3) fraud (whether previously called intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation, or misconduct by an opposing party;

(4) the judgment is void;

(5) the judgment has been satisfied, released or discharged; it is based on an earlier judgment that has been reversed or vacated; or applying it prospectively is no longer equitable; or

(6) any other reason that justifies relief.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b). Subsection (b)(6) should “apply ‘only in exceptional or extraordinary circumstances which are not addressed by the first five numbered clauses of the Rule.’” []

IV. ANALYSIS

First, this Court will address the City’s oral request that the Court reconsider its April 25, 2011 decision regarding civil penalties. The City argued that the additional evidence presented should lead the Court to alter its conclusion that the City had made no effort to secure the SRF loan other than the initial request. The reconsideration of this conclusion, the City argues, should lead the Court to also change its conclusion as to the amount of civil penalties.

It is true that the evidence presented by the City at the hearing shows more effort on the City’s behalf to secure the SRF loan. However, the efforts the City had to undertake “to get its financial house in order” were a result of its own malfeasance. The State Comptroller’s Office required the City to meet certain conditions before the City was allowed to incur any new debt as a result of an illegal transfer and other issues found in an audit of the City’s finances. The Comptroller’s Office made this clear to the defendant on May 21, 2010, just 10 days after this Court’s hearing where the City represented to the Court that the rehabilitation of the line could be completed by June 30, 2011. The fact that the City could not incur new debt was reiterated to the City on June 21, 2010. Thus, it took time to satisfy the conditions, which delayed the SRF loan, and which delayed the rehabilitation of the line.

It is clear from the record that the City was aware as early as May 21, 2010, that it could not receive the funding to rehabilitate the line. However, the City did not inform this Court of the problems in receiving the funding necessary to rehabilitate the line. In the months thereafter, the City never communicated any difficulty in receiving funding to this Court. It never communicated to this Court that it could not meet the schedule it represented to the Court at the May 11, 2010 hearing. This failure is inexcusable. The City knew that its proposed schedule could not be met and that problems with the Witt sewer line would persist until the line could be fully rehabilitated. Evidence shows that overflows have continued, endangering the environment and human health. Such a failure to inform this Court cannot be ignored. For these reasons, the oral motion to reconsider the decision regarding the issuance of civil penalties is DENIED.

Second, this Court will address the issue regarding the rehabilitation of the Witt sewer line. The City bases its motion on newly discovered evidence and to prevent manifest injustice. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 59. Alternatively, the City argues to alter or amend based on Rule 60 for the “same reasons.” []. Despite the City’s specific written argument, it is actually asking this Court to alter the injunctive relief ordered in documents 307 and 312, namely that the City must rehabilitate the Witt sewer line by June 30, 2011. “A court has continuing jurisdiction to terminate or modify an injunction.” [] Modifications or dissolution of injunctions must take place under Rule 60(b). [] Rule 60(b)(5) provides that a party may obtain relief from a court order when ‘it is no longer equitable that the judgment should have prospective application,’ not when it is no longer convenient to live with the terms of a consent decree. Accordingly, a party seeking modification of a consent decree bears the burden of establishing that a significant change in circumstances warrants revision of the decree.” Id. “Modification of a consent decree may be warranted when changed factual conditions make compliance with the decree substantially more onerous.” [].

In this case, the factual conditions suggest that a modification of the injunction is warranted. As stated above, the City presented evidence that it did make efforts to seek funding for the rehabilitation of the line after its initial request on February 15, 2010. It is also true, however, that the City knew as early as May 21, 2010, that it could not incur debt to fund the rehabilitation of the line. The City also represented to the Court at the April 28, 2011 hearing that the rehabilitation of the Witt line could not be accomplished without incurring debt in the form of the SRF loan. Due to the amount of time it took for the City to get its “financial house in order,” which the City did work actively and consistently to do, the securing of this loan was not possible. Thus, the line could not be rehabilitated by June 30, 2011. The plaintiffs do not dispute that the rehabilitation of the line by June 30, 2011 is impossible. However, they do argue for daily penalties after the June 30, 2011deadline until the line rehabilitation is complete. This Court declines to impose such penalties.

Moreover, despite the egregious error of not informing this Court of its efforts in securing the funding prior to the original Order, [ ], and Judgment, [ ], the City has apparently learned from its mistake. Since the entry of those orders, the City has consistently kept this Court informed of its progress. On May 3, 2011, the City informed the Court that it had completed all paperwork associated with the SRF Application. The package was then hand delivered to TDEC that same day. Therefore, it appears that the City is on schedule with the dates proposed in Mr. Dunn’s timeline, and it appears that it will continue to keep this Court informed of its progress on a timely basis. To be sure, however, this Court will order such updates as set forth below. In addition, the Court will order penalties if the City fails to meet periodic benchmark completions in fairness to the plaintiffs and to keep the City on track.

As such, the City is hereby ORDERED to comply with the following schedule in rehabilitating the Witt Sewer line. The City should note that this Court will likely not be forgiving as to any missed deadline, and the City must keep this Court informed of the progress. The amount of penalties for missing any deadline will not be determined at this time. Such penalties will be decided based on the benchmark missed and the specific reasons for failing to meet such benchmark.

Submittal of completed loan package May 3, 2011

Submittal of construction plans and specification for May 3, 2011 by TDEC

Approval from TDEC to advertise project for bids July 1, 2011

Receive bids August 10, 2011

Review of bids by Engineer with recommendation August 22, 2011 of award

Council approval award subject to approval of TDEC September 1, 2011

TDEC approval of “Authority to Award” construction October 17, 2011 contract

Pre-Construction Conference November 7, 2011

Contract execution for construction with Notice December 1, 2011 to Proceed

Construction complete/system operational August 1, 2012

As just stated, the City shall meet all deadlines listed above. A progress report shall be submitted to this Court within five days of each date listed. Any failure to meet the deadline will subject the City to penalties in an amount to be determined.

V. CONCLUSION

For the reasons stated above, the City’s oral motion to reconsider document 328 is DENIED. The motion to alter or amend Order number 307 and the Judgment, [], regarding rehabilitation of the Witt sewer line is GRANTED.

The Order and the Judgment shall be amended as set forth above. So ordered.

ENTER:

s/J. RONNIE GREER

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

May 10, 2011 Danny Thomas, Chris Bivens, Paul LeBel, and Claude Jinks Are Sworn In

2011-05-10T09:46:00.004-03:00

The City of Morristown has three new faces. See previous post.

Pictured at left are the new Mayor and five of the six Councilmembers: Front Row (L-R)Councilmembers Kay Senter and Claude Jinks. Back Row (L-R) Councilmember Chris Bivens, Mayor Danny Thomas, Councilmember Gene Brooks, and Councilmember Paul LeBel. Not pictured is Bob Garrett who did not attend the council meeting/swearing-in ceremony.

Danny Thomas took the oath of office as the City's new Mayor yesterday before a packed city chamber room. [Thomas defeated 8-year councilmember Frank McGuffin in the May 3 mayoral contest.]

Chris Bivens and Paul LeBel were also sworn in as new councilmembers. [Bivens handily defeated longtime councilmember Doc Rooney, and Paul LeBel won his seat with a narrow 24-vote victory in a 4-man race for the at-large seat]

Claude Jinks, who had no opposition in his council race, was the only incumbent to retain his seat on the City Council.

Before the swearing-in ceremony, the prior Mayor and Council met and certified the election results.

Retired Judge Eddie Beckner then swore in the new Mayor and Councilmembers.

Outgoing Mayor Barile graciously handed over the Mayoral office to Danny Thomas.

Outgoing councilmember Doc Rooney graciously handed over the 2nd ward council seat to his successor Chris Bivens.

Unsuccessful mayoral candidate and outgoing at-large councilmember Frank McGuffin was not present for his last meeting and did not see Paul LeBel sworn in to the at-large seat that McGuffin held for eight years.

Councilmember Bob Garrett also did not attend the meeting or the swearing-in ceremony.

City Administrator Tony Cox congratulated outgoing Mayor Barile and outgoing Councilmember Doc Rooney and gave them a token of appreciation from the City for their years of service. McGuffin wasn't there to receive Cox's congratulations or token of appreciation.

[Councilmembers Brooks, Garrett, and Senter were not up for re-election]

May 5, 2011 Morristown City Election: McGuffin and Rooney Are Out

2011-05-05T01:30:00.003-03:00

May 3, 2011, City Election.

Danny Thomas was elected Mayor over Frank McGuffin by a comfortable margin (1406-1048). [Mayor Sami Barile chose not to run for re-election]

Chris Bivens, a political newcomer, decisively defeated longtime incumbent W.J. "Doc" Rooney for the 2nd ward council seat (1541-833).

Paul LeBel, a sitting county commissioner, now holds two local elected offices. LeBel took the at-large council seat in a 4-way race. LeBel eked out a 24-vote victory over runner-up Charles Cook (840-816). Darrell Williams had 362 votes and Luke Pack had 361 votes. Frank McGuffin had held this seat for 8 years, chose to run for Mayor, and lost to Danny Thomas.

Claude Jinks had no opposition and retained his 4th ward council seat.

On Monday, May 9th, the newly-elected Mayor and Councilmembers will be sworn in at City Hall at 4:00 PM.

May 1, 2011 Judge Greer Orders City of Morristown To Pay $489,674 in Attorney Fees Plus $56,629 in Litigation Costs to the Law Firm Representing Witt Residents

2011-05-01T01:24:00.121-03:00

Background: Witt residents complained to the City about sewer odors almost from the moment that Koch Foods began operation in the East Tennessee Progress Center in 2005. The City did nothing. Complaints continued and stonewalling continued. The residents obtained the services of an environmental law firm and sued Koch Foods. The Witt residents and Koch Foods eventually reached a compromise and a Consent Decree was entered. During the Koch Foods suit, a related suit was filed against the City of Morristown over its sewer operations and the Witt sewer line. In that suit, the U.S. District Court in Greeneville assessed the City with $105,000.00 in civil penalties for violations of the Clean Water Act [Click here] and ordered the City to repair the Witt Sewer Line. A jury awarded $8,500 in damages to two of the Plaintiffs. Then less than a week ago, Federal Judge Ronnie Greer ordered that in addition to the civil penalties, the City has to pay $489,674.26 in attorney fees and $56,629.00 in costs to the law firm that represented the Witt residents. I haven't blogged in a while but several people have asked about this...here is the most recent Order with footnotes and cites eliminated [ ] to make it easier to read.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT GREENEVILLE

PATRICIA STEPHENS, ET AL. v. CITY OF MORRISTOWN, TENNESSEE

ORDER
This matter is before the Court on plaintiffs’ Supplemental Motion for an Award of Costs of Litigation, [Doc. 309]. The plaintiffs move this Court to award them $479,579.06 in fees and $102,629.00 in litigation costs against the City pursuant to Title 33 United States Code section 1365(d), the citizen suit provision of the Clean Water Act. The defendant City has replied, and the matter is ripe for review. For the reasons that follow, the motion will be GRANTED IN PART.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

To review, at the trial of this matter, which took place from November 3-25, 2009, and prior to the jury retiring to deliberate, the Court ruled that Koch Foods, LLC (“Koch Foods”) violated the compatible pollutant limits in its Industrial User Permit 1017 (“IUP”) based on the Court’s interpretation of the permit’s
unambiguous, plain language as setting a ceiling, rather than a surcharge level, for biochemical oxygen demand (“BOD”) and total suspended solids (“TSS”). The Court also ruled that plaintiffs’ state law trespass claims for the intangible odors would be dismissed.

The jury found 72 daily violations of the IUP by Koch Foods for prohibited discharges c. and d.. The jury also found that the City violated its NPDES permit by failing to enforce the [IUP] for Koch Foods or by failing to prevent prohibited discharges from Koch Foods into the Morristown Sewer System. The jury determined that this violation occurred on 72 days. The jury did not find that the City violated its NPDES permit regarding the July 19, 2007 overflow, and the jury did not find that the City violated its NPDES permit by "failing to properly maintain and operate the Witt Sewer Line, including pump stations and pipes." See Verdict Form Questions 3 and 6,

However, the Court subsequently found in its Memorandum Opinion and Order, [Doc. 304], that the evidence at trial did not raise a genuine issue of fact with respect to the July 19, 2007 overflow and that the plaintiffs were entitled to judgment as a matter of law, notwithstanding the jury’s verdict, on that issue.

As to the state law claims, the jury found liability as to three of the 39 plaintiffs on the nuisance claim, awarding a total of $8,500.00 in damages to two of them, and allocating 100 percent of the fault to the City. The jury did not find that the City of Morristown committed inverse condemnation, and it did not find that Koch Foods was negligent.

On February 17, 2010, the Court entered a Consent Decree between plaintiffs and Koch Foods. The Consent Decree reflected a compromise between the plaintiffs and Koch Foods regarding plaintiffs’ outstanding claims for injunctive relief, civil penalties, costs and fees. Then on May 11, 2010, the Court held a motion hearing on several pending motions between plaintiffs and the City. The Court also heard evidence on the issue of civil penalties against the City.

On August 31, 2010, the Court denied the City’s Rules 50(b) and 59 motion, [Doc. 306]. On February 18, 2011, this Court entered an Enforcement Order based on the City's CWA violations. In that Order, the Court ordered that the City rehabilitate the Witt Sewer line as specified by Trial Exhibit 379 by June 30, 2011; and that the City install odor filters on the manhole covers on the gravity line between Witt 2 and Witt 3 pump stations within 30 days after the entry of the Order. Then, on March 1, 2011, this Court issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order which assessed $105,000.00 in civil penalties against the City for its CWA violations, [Doc.311]. Judgment was also entered on March 1, 2011. On April 25, 2011, this Court denied the City’s Rules 59(e) and 60 motion to alter or amend the Judgment to reduce or waive the amount of civil penalties.

II. ANALYSIS

Again, the plaintiffs move this Court to award them $479,579.06 in fees and $102,629.00 in litigation costs against the City pursuant to Title 33 United States Code section 1365(d), the citizen suit provision of the Clean Water Act.3 They support these figures with many filings, the most important of which is a detailed
Declaration of Lead Counsel Gary A. Davis.4 Section 1365(d) states, in pertinent part: The court, in issuing any final order in any action brought pursuant to this section, may award costs of litigation (including reasonable attorney fees and expert witness fees) to any prevailing or substantially prevailing party, whenever the court determines such an award is appropriate. Id.

The plaintiffs argue that the amounts requested should be awarded because (1) the request is timely; (2) they are the prevailing or substantially prevailing parties; (3) the fees are reasonable and have been apportioned in an equitable manner; (4) the expert fees and other costs were reasonably incurred and are equitably apportioned; and (5) the award is appropriate. See [Doc. 310, page 2-3].

The City argues that the plaintiffs were not substantially prevailing parties, and it challenges the reasonableness and the apportionment of the fees and costs.

Specifically, the City argues that (1) the plaintiffs triple or quadruple billed; (2) the hourly fees are unreasonable; (3) the charges for meals and mileage are unreasonable; (4) all costs related to expert Roger Cameron should be denied; (5) the City should pay no more than Koch Foods; and (6) the total should be reduced by 50 percent to reflect the level of plaintiffs’ success. In sum, the City seeks to pay no more than $93,713.38 in fees and $17,629.72 in costs and argues that, in any event, it should pay no more than the $214,000.00 paid by Koch Foods in compliance with the Consent Decree.

The City argues that the plaintiffs are not substantially prevailing parties because they only prevailed on a portion of their claims. As stated above, the plaintiffs were not successful on their state law trespass and inverse condemnation claims. Only three plaintiffs were successful on their nuisance claims, and the total award was $8,500.00. Thus, the City contends that they were not prevailing parties.

When considering a petition for attorney fees, the court must first determine whether the petitioning party was the prevailing party. [ ] “In the context of § 1365(d), a plaintiff is said to have ‘prevailed’ if he has succeeded on any significant issue in the litigation, which achieves some of the benefits sought in bringing suit.” [ ]

While it is true that the plaintiffs did not succeed on most of their state law claims, they did, however, succeed on a majority of their CWA claims. More importantly, they achieved what was probably their main goal, i.e. an order to abate the nuisance. The Court ordered the City to rehabilitate the Witt Sewer Line and install odor control filters on the manhole covers. The City presented evidence that rehabilitation would cost $1.6 million dollars. In addition, the City is ordered to pay $105,000.00 in civil penalties. Finally, Koch Foods and the plaintiffs entered into an agreement regarding injunctive relief. These “victories” are more than enough to show that the plaintiffs are prevailing parties.

The City argues that the plaintiffs’ requested fees are not reasonable and that the plaintiffs triple or quadruple billed. Now that the Court has determined that plaintiffs are prevailing parties, this Court must determine what fee is reasonable. [ ] A reasonable fee is “one that is ‘adequate to attract competent counsel, but ... [does] not produce windfalls to attorneys.’” [ ] The fee applicant bears the burden of proving a reasonable fee, documenting the appropriate hours expended, and exercising appropriate “billing judgment.” [ ] The starting point is to calculate the “lodestar” amount, which is “the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate.” [ ] This resulting sum may need to be adjusted to reflect factors such as the “results obtained.” [ ].

The factors the Court must consider include: (1) the time and labor required by a given case; (2) the novelty and difficulty of the questions presented; (3) the skill needed to perform the legal service properly; (4) the preclusion of employment by the attorney due to acceptance of the case; (5) the customary fee; (6) whether
the fee is fixed or contingent; (7) time limitations imposed by the client or the circumstances; (8) the amount involved and the results obtained; (9) the experience, reputation, and ability of the attorneys; (10) the “undesirability” of the case; (11) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client; and (12) awards in similar cases. [ ] In addition, the Court should assess the “prevailing market rate in the relevant community” when determining the reasonable hourly rate. [ ]

Here, the plaintiffs argue for a rate of $300.00 per hour for Mr. Davis, $200.00 an hour for his associates, and $75.00 for his paralegal. The plaintiffs attached affidavits from practicing environmental and litigation attorneys in the area, and they state that these rates are reasonable. The City, however, argues for lower rates. It argues for a rate of $200.00 per hour for Mr. Davis and $150.00 to $165.00 an hour for his associates. The City does not address the paralegal rate. It, too, attaches affidavits of practicing attorneys. However, these attorneys do not focus on environmental law.

This Court has considered all of the factors listed above, and it concludes that the hourly rates requested by the plaintiffs are reasonable. This Court will not adjust the fees upwards or downwards based on any of the factors listed above. This case was complex, the pretrial motions were extensive, the trial was lengthy, and the post-trial motions have been numerous as well. The litigation has been on-going for over four years. The trial lasted approximately one month; there were over 50 witnesses and 210 exhibits.

Mr. Davis supports his request with time sheets generated by him and his staff from legal billing software. There is nothing in the record to indicate that he did not use reasonable billing judgment. His declaration establishes that he equitably divided the billable time and litigation expense into three reasonable categories: (1) time and expenses that applied to claims against both Morristown and Koch Foods that cannot reasonably be allocated separately; (2) time and expenses that applied principally to the Morristown case; and (3) time and expenses that applied principally to the Koch Foods case. Category three is not included in the plaintiffs’ request. Furthermore, his declaration establishes that he did not double, triple, or quadruple bill.

In addition, Mr. Davis is very experienced in his specialty practice of environmental law, and the rate for his associates adequately reflects their experience. Plaintiffs’ counsel represented numerous clients in this complex case, and the time requirements were demanding on such a small firm. Also, the firm had to advance the costs because Mr. Davis took the case on a contingency fee basis, which most attorneys, this Court opines, would not likely do with this type of case. This Court notes the City’s argument that the recovery, in its view, was only $8,500.00, but this Court has previously discussed and rejected this contention. It will not do so again. Moreover, most of the work and evidence used for the CWA claims was the same as that for the state law claims, with a few exceptions.

In sum, when considering all the factors and evidence of the record, the rates proposed by the plaintiffs are reasonable and will not be adjusted. In addition, the time expended was reasonable. These reasonable rates will be multiplied by the reasonable number of hours worked to reach the total amount of fees. Thus, the plaintiffs’ motion is GRANTED in that the City is hereby ORDERED to pay $479,579.06 in fees. See [Doc. 310-1, ¶ 22-26] for detailed breakdown of hours and rates. It is also ORDERED that the City shall pay $10,095.20 in fees, which were incurred in pursuing recovery of attorney fees. See e.g., Coulter v. State of Tenn., 805 F.2d 146, 151 (6th Cir. 1986) (stating fees incurred in pursuit of collecting attorney fees are recoverable). Accordingly, the total amount of fees the City is ORDERED to pay is $489,674.26.

The City also objects to the plaintiffs request for costs. Mr. Davis’s declaration and the information attached thereto is adequate proof of the costs incurred. The City specifically challenges three types of the claimed costs: (1) meals during trial, (2) mileage travel during trial, (3) and Roger Cameron’s expert fees. The City also makes the blanket argument that the fees should be reduced to reflect the level of plaintiffs’ success.

The Sixth Circuit has stated that a plaintiff can recover “those reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the attorney which are normally charged to a fee-paying client, in the course of providing legal services.” [ ] Meals and mileage qualify as such expenses. Therefore, they will be included in the amount of costs.

Roger Cameron’s expert fees present a different question. While expert fees are recoverable, 33 U.S.C. § 1365(d), they should be reasonable. In addition, these fees are specifically authorized by the CWA citizen suit statute. Thus, it logically follows that the expert fees must be incurred in proving a CWA violation. This Court remembers Mr. Cameron’s testimony at trial quite well. He testified extensively as to the amount of property damage sustained by each land-owning plaintiff as a result of the foul odors emitted from the sewer system. The plaintiffs are correct in that this type of testimony is related to plaintiffs’ standing under the CWA, to claims that Koch Foods had violated its permit by discharging substances that would cause a public nuisance, and to the claim that the City had failed to enforce permit provisions. The claim as to Koch Foods, however, is not relevant to the expert fees incurred as to the City. It is clear to this Court that there was much overlap in Mr. Cameron’s testimony as to the City and to Koch Foods.

Considering all of this, the particular testimony of Mr. Cameron, and the requested fee, this Court determines that the amount sought is not reasonable. Not all of Mr. Cameron’s testimony supported the CWA violations. The majority of his testimony was evidence presented to prove the state law claims. In addition, most of the work for which Mr. Cameron billed applies to the state claims and not standing or CWA violations. As such, the amount of the fee should be reduced to reflect the percentage of his testimony that applied to standing under the CWA and as to the CWA violations of the City. The costs incurred by counsel for travel and a meal for Mr. Cameron’s deposition, deposition costs, postage costs, and Mr. Cameron’s expert fee and travel for trial testimony will not be reduced because it clearly relates to all claims and cannot reasonably be separated. See [Doc. 310-7]. His expert fees, however, should be adjusted to a reasonable level.

For the reasons stated above, the plaintiffs’ motion for costs is GRANTED IN PART. It is hereby ORDERED that the City pay a total of $56,629.00.

Finally, this Court declines to grant the City’s request to reduce any award based on the “amount of success.” This Court addressed that above. Also, this Court notes that all figures reasonably apportioned the fees and costs between Koch Foods and the City as explained in Mr. Davis’s declaration. See [Doc. 310-1]. Lastly, this Court refuses to restrict the amounts to be paid by the City to the same amount paid by Koch Foods as a result of the Consent Decree. The City was determined to be more culpable by the jury. Also, the Consent Decree was a result of a negotiated settlement between the plaintiffs and Koch Foods. The City has continued to litigate matters well past the trial. Thus, the plaintiffs have continued to incur fees and costs.

V. CONCLUSION

For the reasons stated above, the plaintiffs’ motion, [Doc. 309], is GRANTED IN PART. The City is ORDERED to pay $489,674.26 in fees and $56,629.00 in costs.

ENTER:

s/J. RONNIE GREER
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

March 2, 2011 Judge Greer Assesses Civil Penalties of $105,000 Against City of Morristown

2011-03-02T07:28:00.015-04:00

Recently, the City of Morristown was ordered by Judge Ronnie Greer to rehabilitate the Witt sewer line by June 30, 2011. Patricia Stephens, et al v. City of Morristown. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville.

Judge Greer has now assessed the City of Morristown with civil penalties of $105,000 in the same federal lawsuit.

In deciding the issue of civil penalties under the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Court determined that the City will pay $1,250.00 per day for 72 violations for a total of $90,000.00 plus $15,000.00 for a particularly serious overflow on July 19, 2007. "The total civil penalties assessed is, therefore, $105,000.00."

The July 19, 2007 overflow, which was one of 14 reported between July 2005-June 2008, resulted in 10,000 gallons of raw sewage flowing from the manhole into the street and the surrounding area where a creek is located.

Considering that the penalties could have been much heavier, Morristown should be pleased.

Two of the several factors that the Court considered in its imposition of less-than-maximum daily penalties were (1) the violations involved odors and inability of the plaintiffs to fully enjoy use of their property at times rather than violations that poisoned the water and put individuals at risk; and (2) the City's sewer customers and/or taxpayers, both of whom are already feeling the effect of "tough economic times," will ultimately have to bear the cost of the civil penalties.

The Court noted that the problems began in 2005 with the opening of the Koch Foods deboning plant in the East Tennessee Progress Center and that the City failed to respond in any meaningful way to the complaints of the members of the Witt and Roe Junction communities.

The Court: "It took a lawsuit to compel action."

February 24, 2011 Millennium Project Bid Postponed To April 5, 2011

2011-02-24T06:54:00.037-04:00

Bidding on the Downtown Millennium Project has been postponed to April 5, 2011.

Click here, here, and here, for background on the many conflicts within this project.

This all started with awards to the City of $1,200,000 of federal grant money for historic preservation and well as improvement and development of the Morristown College site. Click here.

Four and one-half years later, historic preservation and improvements to Morristown College were left behind.

The City transferred the entire $1,200,000 of federal grant money to the Millennium Partners for improvements to their Main Street property--including "approximately" 22 rooftop parking spaces (atop the private retail shells below) that make the project eligible for grant funds since the City is going to consider this as parking for a "greenways trailhead."

The lease for the parking deck allows the City, if it desires, to designate two of the parking spaces for "greenway purposes" and two for handicapped parking. The remaining 18 or so spaces are just standard downtown public parking.

The Millennium Partners include the City auditors (Hiram Jones, son Tom Jones, daughter Mira Craine, and son-in-law James Craine) as J&C Partners; Morristown businessmen/contractors (David Wild and Tim Wild) as D&T Partners; and Dr. Sid Boyd. Businessman Bill Young may still be a partner.

This is not the first time that the City has transferred grant funds to the Millennium Partners.

When the first Millennium building was built downtown about 9-10 years ago, the City amended a 1988 UDAG (Urban Development Action Grant) grant in order to give the Millennium group $105,816 of unused funds from that grant.

[The first Millennium building contains the offices of the City's auditors Craine, Thompson & Jones; of Wild Building Contractors, Inc.; and of Community National Bank).]

February 22, 2011 How Did Morristown College Grant Money End Up With the Millennium Group?

2011-02-22T23:55:00.014-04:00

Just how did $1.2 Million in federal grant dollars get moved from needed work at and around Morristown College to the downtown Millennium Partners retail shell space/rooftop parking project? [This is a follow-up from yesterday's post on conflicts of interest in the Millennium grant process.]

In 2005-2006, federal grant funds of $1,200,000 were received and were to be matched with local funds in a public-private partnership at Morristown College. The goal was preservation of the many historic buildings on the College property along with construction of a Community Center and pools, etc.

Ironically, Todd Morgan, who has been pushing the Millennium project, nominated Morristown College for inclusion in East Tennessee's Endangered Heritage just weeks before Morgan put a plan before the City Council to move the Morristown College grant funds to benefit the Millennium group.

Click here for a post on Morgan's nomination of Morristown College for inclusion on a list of endangered historic buildings and here for a picture of the Laura Yard Hill Administration Building and the full News-Sentinel story.

When the public-private partnership fell through, Mayor Barile signed a contract with TDOT in 2007 changing the scope of the Morristown College grant to construction of a greenway connector trail into the Morristown College site and a trailhead at the Fred Kyle Park with parking spaces.

The new scope also included a perimeter walking path around the College site and 2-1/2 miles of sidewalks with street lights and curbs on parts of Branner Street, Blair Street, Buffalo Trail, Carriger Street, Panorama Drive, E. 6th North, James Street/Daisy Street, Terrace View, and Morristown Cemetery Trail. Drainage problems would also be addressed.

The purpose of revising the plans for Morristown College, as stated by Mayor Barile in her letter to TDOT in 2007, was: "[T]o increase the safety and well-being of the people that live in this area."

After signing the 2007 contract with TDOT, the City sat on the grant and did nothing. Why? The City was broke and couldn't come up with the local match to access the $1,200,000 of federal funds. Former City Administrator Jim Crumley was hiding a financial mess, and the Mayor and Council either didn't know why the grant work was not starting or did know but were concerned that it all reflected badly on the City, Mayor, and Council. The Morristown College site continued to deteriorate.

Mayor Barile, who signed the 2007 grant contract for Morristown College and spoke of the health and safety of area residents, didn't have a clue. According to the Mayor, she didn't know until early 2010 that the City was broke. Click here for the day the Mayor and Council woke up to the financial nightmare that she and the Council have presided over.

Instead of taking care of the city's finances and using the grant funds for the preservation and improvement of the Morristown College site, Mayor Barile and Council spent time and money stamping brick designs on roadways, placing islands in the middle of East First North (that have now been removed), and wailing about "light pollution."

Morristown College was slowly falling apart. And the City's answer to the deterioration was to take the $1,200,000 of federal grant money that could have been used to preserve and improve the Morristown College site and transfer all that money to the downtown Millennium Square Partnership group, composed of local businessmen and the City's auditors.

Some of the most beautiful buildings at Morristown College have now burned. The historic area continues to deteriorate. Residents of the area have asked for help as property values decrease and concerns for safety increase. They may get the City to mow the area and do some clean-up.

But the money that was available for the Morristown College area from as far back as 2005 was transferred to downtown businessmen (Millennium Partners) for a project where the City ends up with a 25-year lease for 22 rooftop parking spaces, a bike rack, a stairway, and a sign designating the rooftop parking as a greenways "trailhead."

$1,200,000 for safety, historical preservation, parking, sidewalks, lights, and curbs, OR 22 rooftop parking spaces? The City chose 22 rooftop parking spaces.

February 21, 2011 TDOT: Wild Building Contractors Can Not Bid on Millennium Project Due to a Conflict of Interest

2011-02-21T09:05:00.042-04:00

Neil Hansen with TDOT (Tennessee Department of Transportation) apparently informed the City of Morristown on 1/26/11 that it is the position of TDOT's legal counsel that Wild Building Contractors (WBC) can not bid to perform the construction work on the Millennium Project because of a conflict of interest. [Click once or twice on the e-mail at left to enlarge and read]

Hansen summarizes TDOT's position: WBC can not act as a subconsultant to the City's Architect (BIF) and then turn around and bid on the construction contract for this same project. [Click on the above page from BIF's Letter of Intent to enlarge and read]

Click here for a previous article with links to prior posts.

City Administrator Tony Cox did not inform council of this development during his Administrator's Report at council's 2/1/11 or 2/15/11 meeting. Todd Morgan has said nothing publicly. Nothing has been reported in the "news"paper.

The City filed a response last week, attaching a letter from Wild's Attorneys (Woolf, McClane, Bright, Allen, & Carpenter, PLLC) who in turn attached a letter from the Architects Brewer, Ingram & Fuller and other exhibits.

TDOT's position should not be surprising to potential bidders on the Millennium project. In addition to the conflict cited by TDOT, these contractors see many other conflicts of interest that unfairly tilt the bidding process in favor of the Wilds who are partners in Millennium Square Partnership and who, as MSP partners, are ultimately footing the bill for the Architect's fees.

At least two contractors who paid for plans and who initially planned to bid (Ed Hale Construction of Morristown and Inland Construction) have cited conflicts of interest involving WBC/David Wild/Tim Wild as the basis for pulling out of bidding on this Project. I'm sure that these contractors and others who took out plans could provide a lot of additional information on conflicts of interest and appearances of impropriety in the pre-bid and post-award process.

Why is the Architect (BIF) trying to get Wild back on the bid list? Perhaps it is because the Wilds are partners in the Millennium Square group that is paying the City to cover the Architect's fees on the project.

Now it is a waiting game to see if the City, BIF, and Wild can convince TDOT to reverse itself and decide that (1) when BIF asked Wild to prepare cost estimates, this was not a conflict of interest and (2) when BIF prepared its Letter of Intent and said that Wild was a proposed Consultant for Estimating, this was an "error," and (3) when Wild prepared estimates and/or helped with design suggestions, there was not a conflict because WBC never had a contract with BIF and never was a "paid" consultant on the project.

What could happen if Wild insists on bidding? There are several possibilities. A prospective bidder could seek an injuction to stop or delay the bidding pending a determination by a court of the legality of Wild's participation in the bidding. If the bidding proceeds and the construction contract is awarded to WBC, this could result in a lawsuit by an unsuccessful bidder.

From the City's perspective, the worst possibility would be that Wild or even someone else gets the construction contract and there is a later finding of bid and/or post-award irregularities that could result in the City being required to reimburse TDOT for all state and federal funds expended on this project.

With the City's current financial mess, it certainly couldn't afford to pay back $1,400,000 + or - in grant funds. Right now, the City is not even certain that it will be able to buy a garbage truck by year's end.

A $1,400,000 + or - money trail leads to a lot of conflicts and a lot of switching money around.

The "Millennium money" was originally intended for Morristown College, not once, but TWICE!

Tomorrow, I will post on what the money was initially supposed to be used for and how financial mismanagement at City Hall prevented the money from being used at Morristown College as originally intended and led to the transfer to the Millennium group. [UPDATE: Click here for the history of the Morristown College to Millennium money switch.]

February 4, 2011 District Attorney: TBI Investigation of David Purkey/Tennessee Highway Patrol: Reprimand of Purkey's Special Friend Trooper John R. Jones

2011-02-04T07:30:00.004-04:00

After my post of December 30, 2010, many people asked me to post the actual letter from DA Steve Bebb to Criminal Court Judge John Dugger that was mentioned. Some people claimed it didn't exist. Some said that David Purkey would never lie to the "news"paper or to the public about anything. Others said if this was really true, the "news"paper would have reported it.

Well, the letter is posted above. You can click on the image to enlarge it and read it or print it out.

What brought about the TBI investigation and the DA's letter was a 2006 election-eve Purkey campaign postcard that said it was "paid for by John R. Jones" but did not mention Purkey's involvement with the postcard.

DA Bebb's letter states that the TBI investigation of former Hamblen County Mayor David Purkey found that Purkey apparently violated the election laws of the State of Tennessee. Bebb then adds that he won't charge or prosecute Purkey because it might be costly and it might be difficult to seat a jury in Hamblen County--assuming Purkey would ask for a jury trial.

The postcard that the TBI investigated was a last-minute mailout by the Purkey campaign that did not acknowledge that Purkey was involved in the mailout or endorsed the message on the postcard. For his part, Purkey, when questioned about the postcard by local "news"paper reporter Bob Moore, denied any involvement in the mailing. [See newspaper article below and click on it to enlarge and read Purkey's comments at the end]

Despite Purkey's very public denial of any involvement with the postcard, the TBI investigation found that Purkey was indeed involved and thus committed a Class "C" misdemeanor. Strangely, the DA stated nothing about the involvement of a friend of Purkey--John R. Jones, a Tennessee State Trooper. No mention of John R. Jones and no charges against John R. Jones.

Kind of funny how the local "news"paper reports a public official's denial of any involvement with a campaign postcard that was received by many people across the county but the same "news"paper never follows up and reports that a TBI investigation found that the official WAS involved with the postcard but the DA decided to give Purkey a "pass"!

In my December 30 post, I mentioned that the person whose name was put on the postcard (John R. Jones) happens to be a "special friend" of Purkey. While the DA didn't mention Jones in the letter to Judge Dugger, the THP investigated Jones' involvement and issued a written reprimand to Jones. [Click on the reprimand above]

So...the "news"paper refused to report that DA Bebb sent a letter to Judge Dugger stating that Purkey apparently committed a crime. The "news"paper refused to report that DA Bebb was not prosecuting Purkey because of Purkey's position, the difficulty in seating a jury, and to save money. The"news"paper refused to report that the person whose name was put on the Purkey postcard was Purkey's special friend Tennessee Highway Patrolman John R. Jones.

The "news"paper did report Purkey's denial of any involvement in the last-minute postcard. Then silence. Apparently, it is "news" when the official says he isn't involved in the crime. But it isn't "news"---and it isn't reported at all---when the TBI investigation is over and it is discovered that the official was lying and covering up his involvement all along.

And now David Purkey, who violated election laws, who lied to the press and public to cover up his involvement in violating election laws, and who got a "pass" from the District Attorney, is Assistant Commissioner of Homeland Security for the State of Tennessee.

Purkey's official crime was a misdemeanor. The unofficial crime was that he lied to the press--and to the public--when he denied his involvement with his campaign postcard and even failed to admit that he knew the John R. Jones whose name was listed on the postcard.

And the cover-up continued as the investigation was ongoing. After he was caught in the violation of election law and after he had lied about his involvement with the campaign postcard, Purkey filled out a campaign financial disclosure form that said that [John] Rick Jones of Murfreesboro made a "loan" of $850 to Purkey's mayoral campaign on October 23, 2006. Now there may be a check to the Purkey campaign from John Rick(y) Jones in October 2006 but you have to ask WHY would Jones be sending a check to Purkey's mayoral campaign over two months AFTER the postcard mailout and over two months AFTER the election? Purkey didn't need any loan AFTER the election was over.

One reason Purkey may have reported the "loan" from Jones would be to avoid financial disclosure problems that could occur if he didn't report Jones' postcard/loan to the campaign. Click on the Financial Disclosure form below to enlarge.

February 3, 2011 County Commissioner Paul Lebel Running for Morristown City Council?

2011-02-03T22:45:00.003-04:00

Hamblen County Commissioner Paul Lebel may be running for the Morristown City Council at-large seat.
Lebel picked up a petition to run for the at-large seat earlier today.

There are at least three others who have picked up petitions for the at-large seat: Charles Cook, Ann Harville, and Luke Pack.

UPDATE: Another person who picked up a petition to run for this at-large seat is the incumbent Frank McGuffin. Actually, McGuffin took out TWO petitions several weeks ago. One petition was for this at-large seat AND the other was for Mayor. Since taking out both petitions, McGuffin has waffled for weeks about which seat he would run for although every indication was that he was going for Mayor.

My guess is that Frank waffled all this time because he was waiting for Lebel---or someone else whom Frank considers the right kind of person---to pick up a petition for the at-large seat. Now Frank is free to announce that he running for Mayor.

[Lebel does not have to resign from his seat on county commission in order to run in the city election.]

January 26, 2011 Millennium Square Bidding Postponed to March 8, 2011

2011-01-26T05:46:00.003-04:00

Another bidding postponement for the Millennium Square project has been announced. The new bid date is March 8, 2011.

The City of Morristown received grant funds for Morristown College in 2005. The City transferred Morristown College grant funds to the Millennium Square Partnership group in early 2010.

Millennium Partners include four members of the City's auditing firm (Hiram Jones, Tom Jones, James Craine, and Mira Craine); two members of a local construction company (David & Tim Wild); and two other individuals (Dr. Sid Boyd and Bill Young).

[Due to recent business and personal financial difficulties, it is not certain that Bill Young is still a Millennium partner]

Click here, here, here, here and here for background info on the connections.

It is a complicated situation with 2005 grant funds of anywhere from $890,000 up to $1,500,000 being shifted around and finally ending up in the hands of the Millennium partners.

Throughout the saga, Millennium Partners David and Tim Wild have worn several different "hats." They wear Millennium "owner hats." They wear Wild Building Contractors "construction hats." They wear "local match hats" as they chip in 10% of grant costs in order to get the other 90% paid for by taxpayer grant money. They apparently also wear "consultant hats" and "estimating hats."

During initial consideration of the project in early 2010, David Wild, wearing his Wild Building Contractor hat, and Tim Wild, wearing his D&T Rental hat, wrote letters to the Tennessee Department of Transporation (TDOT) endorsing the transfer of Morristown College grant money to the Millennium Square partners.

By some strange coincidence, both David and Tim failed to add a disclaimer to their letters acknowledging that they were among the Millennium partners who would benefit from the grant transfer that they glowingly endorsed.

Hiram Jones, wearing his C(raine) & J(ones) hat, also wrote a letter to TDOT in early 2010 endorsing the transfer of Morristown College grant money to Millennium Square partners.

Like the Wilds, Jones failed to add a disclaimer to his letter acknowledging that he was among the Millennium partners who would benefit from the grant transfer that he glowingly endorsed.

With the grant transfer, the Millennium group is going to chip in 10% of grant costs in order to get 90% of grant costs paid by federal/state taxpayer grant money. This nine-fold return on investment is just not enough for the Millennium group.

Millennium partners David and Tim Wild not only want their Millennium property improved largely at taxpayer expense, but they also want the taxpayer grant money that will be paid for these improvements to be paid to them while they do the work wearing their "Wild Building Contractors hat."

December 30, 2010 David Purkey Named Assistant Commissioner for Homeland Security

2010-12-30T08:10:00.219-04:00

Former Hamblen County Mayor David Purkey has been named Assistant Commissioner for Homeland Security by Governor-elect Bill Haslam. Click here.

In 2008, David pretty much left his job as Hamblen County Mayor to Commision Chair Stancil Ford and started campaigning for Haslam. David hoped to be Commissioner of Safety in Haslam's administration.

Haslam, however, tapped Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons for that position. With Purkey's appointment as Deputy Commissioner for Homeland Security, Purkey will have large amounts of taxpayer Homeland Security money at his disposal and wide access to personal information on citizens.

Hopefully, Gibbons and Haslam can keep David from putting the Homeland Security budget in the red like he put Hamblen County in the red in 2003 after 8 years as Mayor. For his multiple violations of law and general mishandling of county finances and driving the county to the brink of bankruptcy in 2003, click here, here, here, and here. Every single statement has been documented, and David has never attempted to refute any of the statements about his mishandling of county finances or putting a special friend on the county insurance plan even though he was not a county employee and not eligible for coverage.

Hopefully, Gibbons and Haslam can keep David from running around and ordering expensive shows of overwhelming force to shut down anti-illegal immigration rallies. For his use of Homeland Security, THP, and local enforcement in shutting down an anti-illegal immigration rally, click here and here.

Hopefully, Gibbons and Haslam can keep David from using Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers to assist him in violating election laws as David did in his 2006 run for County Mayor.

And, hopefully, Gibbons and Haslam can keep David from lying about his illegal actions when he gets caught violating laws or obtaining and using personal information to get political opponents directly or through their families.

He's out of Morristown/Hamblen County for now, but his use of state law enforcement and Homeland Security resources to stop an anti-illegal immigration rally in 2006, his bankrupting of the county in 2003, his accomplishment in having more audit findings than any other county in the state, his use of a Highway Patrol Trooper in 2006 to violate criminal election laws, his lying to a compliant press about his violation of criminal election laws in 2006, and his being given a pass by a district attorney for his criminal violations is a lasting, pitiful legacy to a man who plans to lead "Homeland Security" in Tennessee.

For someone who is going to be in a sensitive law enforcement position, the real kicker is Purkey's "use" of law enforcement trooper friends to violate election laws in 2006 followed by Purkey's blatant cover-up of his involvement in those violations by publicly denying any knowledge or involvement with an Election Eve postcard mailout in 2006-- a public statement that was later found to be false.

The "news"paper reported on the Election Eve postcard and published Purkey's strong denial of any involvement. The "news"paper also noted that an investigation had been ordered. Then there was total silence.

When the investigating District Attorney's letter/report was sent to Judge John Dugger in May 2007 stating that David was "apparently" involved in criminal election law violations related to the Election Eve postcard, the local "news"paper reporter (Bob Moore) ignored it. Why? The initial story was reported. Why no concluding story?

The local "news"paper reporter also ignored the fact that David had lied to Moore in 2006 when David denied any involvement or knowledge about the Election Eve postcard mailout, a postcard that said it was paid for by a John R. Jones, who, as it turned out, was David's special Highway Patrol law enforcement friend. Why? The initial statement was reported? Why no follow-up at the conclusion of the investigation?

[The District Attorney's letter/report referenced a TBI investigation and the fact that David Purkey apparently violated criminal election laws. The DA then refused to prosecute. Why? Because Purkey might demand a jury trial and this would cost some money and, heck, it might be difficult to seat a jury in Hamblen County!

Preliminary TBI reports gave the DA an early indication as to where the investigation was headed and the parties that were involved --David Purkey and his special friend Trooper John R. Jones. If the DA was going to give David and his law enforcement friend John R. Jones a pass even though all the evidence, interviews, and witnesses pointed one way, he should have stopped the investigation at the start and saved the money for prosecution of some little unknown person somewhere where seating a jury would be "easy."]

Many things can seem trivial when viewed in isolation. It's surprising that Haslam could not or did not attempt to find someone for this sensitive position who had not used law enforcement friends to help him break the law and had not then publicly lied about it.

It is David Purkey's use of law enforcement friends to assist him in breaking the law followed by his public lies to cover-up his actions and those of his THP law enforcement friends that make his selection for a sensitive position as Deputy Commissioner for Homeland Security singularly standout.

He used a Tennessee Highway Patrolmen in an election campaign in violation of criminal election laws and lied about it. What could he do or attempt to do to political opponents, their families, and their friends with his power as Deputy Commissioner of Homeland Security? Who watches the watchers?

December 29, 2010 Millennium Bidding Postponed Again

2010-12-29T12:38:00.014-04:00

The Millennium Square Project Bidding has been postponed again. The new bid date is tentatively February 1, 2011. Click here, here, and here for recent posts.

The original bid date was December 14, 2010. However, on December 10, 2010, TDOT cancelled that bid date based on questions raised by contractors and information provided to TDOT by Councilman Gene Brooks about conflicts of interest and other contract-related issues. These issues still have to be addressed.

At about the same time, the architectural firm Brewer, Ingram & Fuller set a new bid date of 1/4/11.

Now, the Architects have set yet another new bid date of February 1, 2011, ostensibly at the request of the City of Morristown in order to work out contract-related items with TDOT (Tennessee Department of Transportation) and "others."

The conflicts and webs of relationships in this project are about as extensive as they can be. The Millennium Square owners are Tim and David Wild, James and Mira Craine, Tom Jones, Hiram Jones, Sid Boyd, and Bill Young.

In addition, the Craines and the Joneses are principals in the city's auditing firm Craine, Thompson & Jones. The Wilds are also principals in Wild Building Contractors. Millennium Square Partners/Craine Thompson & Jones/Wild Building Contractors are tightly knit.

Now the Craines and Joneses and Wilds not only want the city's ($890,000-$1,200,000) grant money for improvements to their Millennium property, they also want the Wilds to be able to take off their Millennium Owner hat and put on their Wild Building Contractors hat and bid to perform the actual construction work.

[Originally Millennium Partners/Wild Building Contractors wanted Wild to be "given" the contract for the construction work without any bidding. The plan was to have Wild designated as a "sole source" provider for the construction work. That plan didn't go very far, however, because construction work of this kind is NOT any type of specialty work that only Wild can do.

Had the attempt to pursue a "sole source" designation for Wild been successful, it was designed to enable the City to "select" Wild as contractor without any competitive bidding and keep the project and all the grant money in the Millennium Partners' hands.]

Apparently getting lots of free improvements of $890,000+ or - to their property and access to public parking that the Millennium employees could use is not enough for the Craines, Joneses, and Wilds.

December 25, 2010 Merry Christmas To All

2010-12-25T11:58:00.000-04:00

December 10, 2010 Downtown Millennium (Un)Square Deal

2010-12-10T08:53:00.001-04:00

The Downtown Millennium (Un)Square Grant Deal will be coming under tighter and more intense scrutiny in the coming days.

Long ago, I posted about the obvious and multiple conflicts of interest in this set-up. Recent posts are here and here. As more people are becoming aware of the conflicts, hard questions are being asked and those involved and those who approved this (un)square deal are being asked to explain what's going on.

With the bid date of 12/14/10 fast approaching, the bidding may be postponed for completion of certain work by the Architect or his consultants. Since there are many other reasons to postpone the bidding and look closely at this deal, a postponement for any reason is a positive sign.

Stay tuned. Others are picking up on the conflicts and irregularities in the Millennium (Un)Square Deal.

December 9, 2010 Haslam Picks DA Bill Gibbons As Safety Commissioner

2010-12-09T08:43:00.000-04:00

Governor-elect Bill Haslam has selected Memphis/Shelby County DA Bill Gibbons as Commissioner of Safety.

Click here for the News-Sentinel story.

Former Hamblen County Mayor David Purkey has missed out on his dream job where he could run across the state undercover, in a limo, or with blue lights flashing and sirens screaming.

Lots of law enforcement gear and lots of personnel would have been at his disposal--from THP officers in riot gear, to THP helicopters, to rooftop snipers, to Homeland Security Command Centers.

Yep, all the gear and personnel that he assisted in calling to Hamblen County to intimidate and disrupt local citizens at an anti-illegal immigration rally in June 2006 while he observed.

Maybe the dream job is not there any more, but another opportunity will be right around the corner. Wait and see.

December 7, 2010 Alpha-Talbott Utility District Will Not Handle Morristown's New Garbage Billing

2010-12-07T12:51:00.003-04:00

The gang that can't--or won't--shoot straight (City of Morristown) just got itself into another pickle over its belated efforts to have outside water utility districts include Morristown's $10/month garbage fee on the utility's water bills to city residents.

Yesterday, the Alpha-Talbott Utility District Board met and voted NOT to include the City of Morristown's $10/month garbage fee on AT water bills that go to city residents. AT won't do Morristown's dirty work--pun intended!

[Bobby Moore, "news"paper reporter/City of Morristown PR person, had reported on December 2: "Phillip Combs, Alpha-Talbott manager, said that if other utility districts don’t experience problems, he will start billing the 42 qualifying customers..."

Somebody missed the reporting boat or things took a dramatic turn from December 2 to December 6. On December 6th--4 days after Moore's quote from Combs--the AT Board met and voted NOT to bill for Morristown's garbage. It looks like Alpha-Talbott wasn't basing its decision on what other utilities did nor was AT waiting to see if other utility districts had problems.]

Next comes Russellville-Whitesburg Utility District. The Russellville-Whitesburg Utility District Board is scheduled to vote toward the end of December on whether to include the City of Morristown's $10/month garbage fee on RV-WB water bills that go to city residents.

[RV-WB is leaning strongly toward joining AT in refusing to do Morristown's dirty work, but you never know what will happen when Morristown power players jump in and start to twist arms.]

So far, the only outside utility district that Morristown has convinced to do Morristown's garbage billing is Witt Utility District. Coincidentally, Witt recently got an extension of its water contract with Morristown.

Now---is it legal to send some city residents a garbage fee bill while other city residents are not billed?

Who let this go for nearly four months before even giving these utility districts a billing list and officially asking them to do Morristown's garbage billings?

December 7, 2010 Pearl Harbor Day

2010-12-07T09:00:00.002-04:00

To hear President Franklin D. Roosevelt address Congress after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, click here. A day which will live in infamy...

December 7, 2010 City Council Meets With Attorneys Again...Still No Public Discussion of Lowland Sewer Plant Contract and Future Costs

2010-12-07T06:15:00.006-04:00

City Administrator Tony Cox is playing it close to the vest as he works behind the scenes to save the Lowland Wastewater Plant contract. It's a $5 Million purchase, but that's just the tip of the money iceberg.

Wilbur Smith & Associates has estimated that it will take another $70 Million to complete a 5-phase construction program with force mains, gravity lines, pump stations, excavation, storm and water system repairs, etc.

So far Tony is making sure that discussions with or by City Council about the Lowland Wastewater Plant continue to take place in closed sessions with City Attorney Dick Jessee and recently-hired outside counsel Mark Mamantov of Knoxville. Tony is not scheduling any public discussions yet.

After today's 4:00 PM City Council meeting, the Mayor, councilmembers, and Tony Cox will retreat to the Mayor's conference room or will clear out the council chambers so they can hold yet another closed meeting with Jessee and Mamantov. The last announced closed meeting took place on November 16, 2010.

In my opinion, Tony is trying to get a consensus among enough councilmembers (4) to approve a few cosmetic changes to the contract--call it a "lease," add an "out" clause, and continue to pay MPLG (Mike Ball and Joe Fielden) $182,500 every year for 25 years to go along with the $750,000 already paid to Ball and Fielden.

Once the votes are in place, Tony will schedule a perfunctory public vote at a public meeting but with as little public discussion as possible.

Tony has already made the decision---or, more likely, knows that he is to carry out the decision/wish of others. Tony and others are more than happy to have the hard-pressed sewer customers of the City of Morristown pay even higher sewer fees to help pay for a dilapidated plant ($5M) and for all or part of the the additional millions ($70+ Million) needed for construction and upgrades to make this plant fully operational--even though the City has let its own sewer system go to pieces and is in the middle of a multi-million dollar repair process in that arena!

City of Morristown and Sewer: Let what you have fall apart, raise sewer rates, and throw MILLIONS of other people's money at it. And, while you're at it, buy a dilapidated plant, raise sewer rates, and throw MEGA-MILLIONS MORE of other people's money at it.

December 6, 2010 Some Attendees at the Millennium Square Project Pre-Bid Meeting

2010-12-06T08:00:00.010-04:00

Tim Wild (Millennium Square Partner and principal in Wild Building Contractors); James Craine (Millennium Square Partner and principal in the auditing firm Craine, Thompson & Jones that performs the City of Morristown annual audit). For a previous post listing all attendees who signed in, click here.

Clint Harrison (foreground) Engineer and City of Morristown consultant for sewer for Millennium Square project.

Lisa Hoskins (Brewer, Ingram & Fuller, Architects) and Todd Morgan (Program Director, City of Morristown Community Development Corporation). Ed Hale (Hale Construction) is also pictured in the background looking at Millennium plans.

December 5, 2010 How's That City of Morristown Garbage Fee Working Out For City Residents?

2010-12-05T12:06:00.053-04:00

We're going on 4 months now, and the City of Morristown continues to bill its new $10/month garbage fee to some city residents but not to others.

Failure to bill is no problem if you are one of the unbilled city residents.

Failure to bill is very unfair, however, if you are getting a bill and paying for a city service (garbage pick-up) while the City has not sent a single bill to other city residents.

Graciously, the City has said that it doesn't intend to go back and bill the "unbilled" for the four months (as of now) of free garbage service. That's certainly fair to the unbilled.

But what's fair to those who have been paying for four months already? The City needs to stop billing the City residents who have already been billed for four months of garbage pick-up until all city residents have been billed an equal number of months. That's fair and equitable to ALL city residents.

The whole garbage fee and garbage billing fiasco are classic examples of government mismanagement at its best. City leaders should have taken care of the financial mess they created without inventing a new way to take money out of the wallets of the already suffering citizenry. But that's not the way things operate in the City "Taj Mahal" Center or in most any government building.

Instead of being accountable and trying to save money, Mayor Barile and company just increased property taxes, increased sales taxes through a "pick-your-poison" sales tax referendum, put in red light cameras, illegally transferred/loaned money from one fund to the other, and then tacked on a garbage fee for a city service that had always been provided through tax payments until new City Administrator Tony Cox arrived.

Bobby Moore, who writes press releases in the "news"paper for the City of Morrist, oops, who writes "news" for the Citizen Tribune, recently ran a second article on December 2, 2010, trying to explain the City's failure to bill some city residents (those city residents who receive water from Alpha-Talbott, Witt, and Russellville-Whitesburg Utility Districts) while going on and billing others (those city residents who receive water from MUS).

In his most recent opus, Bobby explains that the City has now (November 29) sent garbage fee billing lists to the three surrounding utility districts and has asked the utilities to include Morristown's garbage fee on the utility's water bills.

Bobby adds that the utility districts "could begin collecting Morristown's...$10/month garbage fee at the end of December." Actually, it's the billings that "could" go out in December (or not) but the collection of any money by the utility districts can't take place until January 2011 at the earliest. And even that is not a sure thing.

When Bobby Moore was doing his first CMA (Cover Morristown's rear-end) article on November 18, he reported that the failure to bill all city residents stemmed from "billing difficulties" with the Utility Districts. For some reason, Bobby failed to explain then that actually the City hadn't even sent a billing list to the Utility Districts.

I guess you could term not providing a list of city residents to the utility districts and not authorizing them to include Morristown garbage bills on the utility's water bills a "billing difficulty," but those certainly aren't billing difficulties created by the districts.

On November 24, I pointed out that the "billing difficulties" with the utility districts were that the City had not authorized the utility districts to bill the fee. Click here. Now Bobby reports pretty much the same thing and adds that the City has finally given each utility a list of garbage fee customers and has asked/authorized the utility districts to send out garbage bills.

Now that the City has given the Utility Districts a billing list and the go-ahead to bill, other problems have come out. At least one utility, RV-WB, doesn't have software with the capability of handling yet another billing task for the City of Morristown. [RV-WB already bills its customers for RV-WB water and includes Morristown sewer and Morristown stormwater charges on the bills that go to Morristown residents.]

The RV-WB utility board will meet toward the end of December and vote on Morristown's request that RV-WB include yet another Morristown fee on RV-WB water bills.

Since most customers look at their water bill as a lump sum, adding the $10/month Morristown garbage fee to RV-WB water bills may inadvertently create ill-will toward RV-WB, the billing agent, instead of ill-will toward the real culprit, the City of Morristown.

Watch for that RV-WB vote. Morristown power players will be applying behind-the-scenes pressure on RV-WB to go on and handle the Morristown garbage billings and not rock the boat. We'll see if TPTB can apply enough pressure to get another utility to take flak for Morristown's financial failings and continued lack of accountability.

December 3, 2010 Millennium Project To Bid on December 14, 2010

2010-12-03T05:56:00.002-04:00

Several months ago, the City of Morristown sought and got approval to transfer around $890,000 of former Morristown College grant money to a downtown project owned by Millennium Square partnership.

The partners in Millennium Square as of August 2010 are D&T Partners (Tim Wild, David Wild); C&J Partners (James Craine, Mira Jones Craine, Hiram Jones, Tom Jones); Sidney Boyd; and Bill Young.

Millennium Square Partners will get the $890,000+ in grant funds to build a shell for their retail building on West Main Street next to their Millennium Square Building.

What does the City get? Some rooftop parking in downtown Morristown. Yep. The roof of the retail shell will have 22 parking spaces that will be available for public parking for 25 years.

A pre-bid construction meeting was held this past Tuesday at the City Center for prospective bidders. Construction bids will be received on December 14, 2010.

Because of the economic situation and the depressed construction industry, many contractors were present at the pre-bid meeting. Messer Construction, Merit Construction, Southern Constructors, Inland Construction, Burwil Construction, Wild Building Contractors, Hale Construction, Joseph Construction, D&S Builders, and Trent Excavating.

Wild Building Contractors? Yes, David and Tim Wild, who are partners in Millennium Square, are apparently planning to bid on the newest City/Millennium Square project.

Who else was present? James Craine. Craine, like David and Tim Wild, is a Millennium partner and is also a principal in the City's auditing firm Craine, Thompson & Jones.

So David and Tim Wild (Wild Building Contractors) will be bidding for the construction contract on a project where they benefit as the end owners (Millennium Square Partnership) of the finished retail shell.

Craine, Thompson & Jones, as the City's auditing firm, will audit the spending of the approimately $890,000 in grant money that benefits James & Mira Craine, Hiram Jones, and Tom Jones as end owners (Millennium Square Partnership) of the finished retail shell.

Sweet. The City gives the Wilds, Craines, and Joneses $890,000 of grant money to pay for construction of a downtown retail building for the Wilds, Craines, & Joneses. In return, the City gets some some rooftop parking for 25 years.

Oh, the City points out that it's all "grant money" and that the Millennium partners will graciously pay the city's 10% local grant match in order to get the other 90% free. That's nice. And that's a great deal for Millennium partners.

Did anyone else get offered this great deal? Did the City give any other local business people a chance to submit a proposal for building themselves a brand new store by paying just 10% and getting 90% "free"? No.

November 26, 2010 Final Judgment in Holden v. Swann: Hamblen County Ethics Committee and Its Members Violated the Tennessee Open Meetings Act

2010-11-26T05:50:00.069-04:00

The Tennessee Open Meetings Act, like the Tennessee Public Records Act, is an extremely important law for those who truly support open and accountable government.

Ironically, the Hamblen County ETHICS Committee violated this law in December 2008 and failed to even attempt to correct its violation of the law until after a citizen, Gwen Holden, filed suit on February 17, 2009. I represented Ms. Holden in this matter (Holden v. Swann, et al)

The 3-page Final Judgment in Holden v. Swann was signed on October 1, 2010, finding that the Defendants (Hamblen County Ethics Committee, Joe Swann, Stancil Ford, Bill Brittain, James Harrison, and Jack Cartwright) violated the Tennessee Open Meetings Act.

The Judgment enjoins the Defendants from future violations of the Open Meetings Act and provides that the County pay all court costs ($282.50) in the matter and pay $1500 for attorney fees and discretionary costs incurred by Ms. Holden.

You can click on each page to enlarge, read, and print it out.

Interestingly, the Hamblen County Ethics Committee was dissolved by the Hamblen County Commission on February 18, 2010, while Holden v. Swann was still pending and before any Judgment had become final in this case.

When it dissolved the Ethics Committee, the Hamblen County Commission, in a divided vote, appointed the county's attorney, Frank "Rusty" Cantwell, as the "County Ethics Officer." [Cantwell, acting as county attorney, represented the Ethics Committee and the individual defendants in Holden v. Swann, et al.]

All future Ethics Complaints against a county official or county employee will be referred to County Ethics Officer Cantwell.

Then County Ethics Officer Cantwell, who is also the county's attorney for county officials and employees, will decide what to do with any complaint against his client(s). More on this set-up later.

November 25, 2010 Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T07:13:00.000-04:00

Happy Thanksgiving!