May 19, 2016 County Commission Executive Session: Settlement?

County Attorney Chris Capps is holding an executive session with his clients (county commission) today at 4:15.


Best bet is that the major topic is a proposed settlement of the Sheriff's salary suit against the county.


After the trial of this matter, Brittain told Capps and the other attorneys hired to represent the county to file an appeal. That appeal has not been heard.


Because this is not a meeting open to the public, the commissioners can not deliberate, take a vote, or make a decision to accept or reject a settlement while in executive session.


If commissioners want to make a decision about a settlement, yes or no, they must come out into the "sunshine" of an open meeting.

July 8, 2015 Brittain Proposes 20-cent Property Tax Hike to County Budget Committee

All the talk about conservatism in county government was just that---talk, meaningless babble.


At yesterday's budget meeting, County Mayor Bill Brittain pulled out the old shell game--moving taxpayer/public money from one pile to another and then from another to another.


Since this shell game and exercise in money-shifting accomplished nothing, Brittain then proposed a 20-cent property tax "solution." A10-cent hike for the General Fund (sheriff, courts, mayor's office, county clerk, Cherokee Park, etc) and a 10-cent hike for the Highway/Road Department (paving projects).


And even that huge 20-cent property tax hike didn't take care of the Brittain spending budget, so Brittain also proposed that the county appropriate the spending of $447,000 from the county fund balance (savings/reserves). Sort of like a person getting a hefty salary increase and then still having to dip into their savings account to meet their proposed spending plan.


Brittain then distracted commissioners with some "pick your poison" options for the Highway Department---instead of a 10-cent property tax hike for the Highway Department, he said commissioners could enact a $22 increase in the wheel tax OR they could do a 3-cent property tax increase and a $16 wheel tax increase,


Brittain saved any mention of the school budget to the end of his presentation. The school budget is primarily a function of State BEP money and local money which can not decrease from year to year.


To his credit, Stancil Ford asked Brittain about the state BEP money. Brittain stated that the schools are getting 2 million in new state BEP money for the next budget year.


Then the discussion turned to local money for the schools. Last year, the schools received $25,736.740 in local money. That amount can not decrease, but there is no requirement that it increase. Despite the county's and the taxpayers' economic situation and despite the fact that the schools are getting a 2 million boost in state money, Brittain proposed that the local money for schools be increased by $515,987 to $26,252,727.


Ford pointed out to commissioners that the local money did not have to increase. With the schools already set to get 2 million more from the state, the local money budgeted for education could stay the same as last year ($25,736.740) and the $515,987 could be moved to the county general fund or highway department.

It was an amazing presentation from the conservative Mayor of Hamblen County who handed out his budget changes and sweeping "spend and tax" proposal(s) at the beginning of the meeting, leaving commissioners little time to read and study the different scenarios. Of course, making budget changes and tossing out multiple proposals at the last minute gives a distinct advantage to the Mayor in that most commissioners are not prepared to ask questions right after they get a new 19-page document outlining convoluted revenue and spending changes.


Just like Washington DC, the game is the same in Morristown and Hamblen County, Tennessee.


Grow government. Hide the ball. Make a few token budget "cuts"--"cuts" that are not really cuts but are simply reductions in the previously proposed increases. Then increase taxes and spend other people's money to grow the little kingdoms at the courthouse and at the city center.


Hire and make jobs for relatives and friends. One-bid contracts. Boards that provide zero oversight so that $225,000 can be stolen (Solid Waste Board).  And while salaries and benefits are the largest component of the county and school budgets, don't provide a list of employees by name and position with 4-year historical data on hourly rates or salary.


And then let the chest-thumping begin as all proclaim themselves the most conservative people on the planet. 

June 16, 2015 Solid Waste Board Receives Three Proposals for Auditing Services--Current Auditor Craine-Thompson-Jones Doesn't Submit a Proposal

The Hamblen County/Morristown Solid Waste Board received auditing proposals from three auditing firms on June 15, 2015. Two were Knoxville firms and one was from Johnson City.


Longtime local Solid Waste auditor Craine-Thompson-Jones did not submit a proposal.


SWB Chairman Tony Cox discussed reviewing SWB professional contracts (auditing, legal, and engineering) at an Executive Committee meeting back in February 2015. Executive Committee members appointed by Cox are Cox, Keith Jackson, and ex officio (non-voting member) County Mayor Bill Brittain. 


SWB member Doe Jarvis proposed soliciting qualifications from auditing firms at the May 2015 SWB meeting and pointedly criticized the local auditors for failing to catch the theft of over $220,000 by SWB Director Ronnie Brady.  Click here and here.


You can see the opening of proposals here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjegRxPjkAI


By newspaper notice last night, it was stated that the Audit Committee will review the proposals tomorrow at the SWB Office on Sublett Road at 10 AM and make a recommendation to the full board at the SWB meeting on Friday, June 19, at 9 AM at the Health Department building.

May 17, 2015 Solid Waste Board Votes To Look at Changing Auditors

The agenda was very light at the Hamblen County/Morristown Solid Waste Board meeting on Friday, May 15.


Chairman Tony Cox, who is also Morristown City Administrator, was not present. Longtime SWB member Bill Blackburn presided.


About the only non-routine action was a motion made by Doe Jarvis, who is also a Hamblen County Commissioner, to send out a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for auditing services.


Jarvis stated: "I personally am not satisfied with the audits we received. I wasn't on the board at the time, but I know that we went ... three years, four years, with an issue that wasn't picked up.


[Jarvis was apparently referring to the three or four years that former landfill director Ronnie Brady was writing himself an extra $192,000.00 in payroll checks over and above his approximately $80,000.00 annual salary.]  Click here and here.


During discussion, Jarvis commented: " I think we need new auditors because they [current auditors Craine-Thompson-Jones] didn't pick up what they should have picked up, in my opinion."


The vote was unanimous to issue an RFQ seeking qualifications from auditing firms interested in performing the SWB audit.


Larry Clark, administrative services director for the City of Morristown, was present and commented that it might be hard to issue an RFQ, get proposals back, and select a new firm within the timeframe (June 30, 2015)  given by the Comptroller for having an audit contract in place.


Jarvis' response: "Why can we not ask for forgiveness versus permission on something like that? We do it on everything else."


Jarvis added: "I think it's absolutely ridiculous that our auditor is still doing our books or still doing our audit. Our former auditor should not be doing that work."


NOTE: In a February 6, 2015, meeting of the SWB Executive Committee (Tony Cox, Bill Brittain, and Keith Jackson), Tony Cox stated that the SWB may want to look at its outside contracts (auditor, engineer, and attorney) and determine whether the SWB is happy or if it is time to go back and start "looking."

April 14, 2015 Dr. Parks, Susan Widener, and Nancy Phillips Resign from MH Humane Society Board

[Due to editing/posting problems, the layout of this post may have excessive spacing. I will fix it later when time allows]


The Morristown-Hamblen Humane Society met last Monday in a hastily called special meeting in an attempt by several members and one faction of the Board to oust the following five Board members: Mary Ann Toffoletto, Susan Allen, Dr. Michael Bratton, Judy Stockard, and Bette Crawford. See prior post here.


The vote was 109-91 to keep those members on the Board.

At last night's meeting, the first held following that vote, President Daniel Parks, Vice-president Susan Widener, and Board member Nancy Phillips resigned right after the meeting began. Parks and Widener were present. Phillips was not there. Parks gave a brief statement and then handed in his resignation along with that of Widener and Phillips, effective "immediately." Widener and he then left the meeting.

The Board was obviously surprised but immediately named Dr. Michael Bratton to preside over the meeting and everything proceeded.












The Board received the recommendation from the committee that interviewed candidates for the Shelter Director position.












Stan Eversole was nominated for the position. Mr. Eversole told the Board that he was extremely honored but would not be able to take the position as he had recently received a threatening note that seemed directed not only at him but at his children.  The note and the threat were reported to the HC Sheriff's Department.












County Mayor Bill Brittain, who was a member of the Director selection committee, was asked by other committee members if he had told anyone about the selection of Eversole. Brittain stated that he had told Dr. Daniel Parks and Nancy Phillips. At the end of the meeting, Brittain asked to make a statement. He said that all he did was answer the question honestly and no one should read anything else into that.












The committee agreed to meet again and present another name for the Director position.









In other action, the Board formally voted to notify city councilman/realtor Paul LeBel that they will not pursue the purchase of a building on South Liberty Hill Road for which some former Board members, acting through Perry Hall, had initiated and supported some form of option to purchase agreement.












Voting on new by-laws and the annual May meeting were discussed.


UPDATE: After the meeting adjourned, Sonya Shipley, County Mayor Bill Brittain's appointee to the Board, resigned.

April 7, 2015 MH Humane Society Votes 109-91 To Keep Five Board Members

The Morristown-Hamblen Humane Society met yesterday at 7 PM.
The large upstairs courtroom was full and members were in the "jury box" and in the halls.


The Humane Society has a 13 member Board of Directors, most of whom were recently elected by the membership in October 2014. Click here.


Last night's meeting was a special called meeting for the purpose of removing five of the 13 Board members.


The five proposed for removal were Bette Crawford, Judy Stockard, Mary Ann Toffoletto, Susan Allen, and Dr. Michael Bratton.


These five were part of the seven-member majority who voted on March 9, 2015, to terminate Shelter Director Robyn Robinson and shelter employees Andrea Brooks and Michaela McDonald for falsifying time cards. During the March meeting, time cards were reviewed and Director Robinson was questioned about the accuracy of the cards, her signing off on the cards, and whether employees were being paid by the Humane Society while performing personal volunteer work for other organizations.


At the end of the March 9th meeting, the Board voted 7-6 to terminate Robinson, Brooks, and McDonald.


Crawford, Stockard, Toffoletto, Allen, and Bratton voted for termination along with City Mayor Danny Thomas and Thomas' appointee Wayne NeSmith.  The six voting not to terminate were Dr. Daniel Parks, former county commissioner Nancy Phillips. Susan Widener, Kim Hall, County Mayor Bill Brittain, and Brittain's appointee Sonya Shipley.


A couple of weeks later, a special meeting was requested to remove Crawford, Stockard, Toffoletto, Allen, and Bratton for actions "severely detrimental to the integrity and function of the MHHS Board of Directors." [Mayor Thomas and his designee Wayne Nesmith could not be removed from the Board because they, like Mayor Brittain and Shipley, are not elected members.]


The special meeting took place last night, and the vote was 190-91 to keep the five on the Board.


The next meeting of the Humane Society is slated for next Monday, April 13.

October 7, 2014 No Motion and No Vote at County Commission Public Services Committee on Humane Society Contract

Some background regarding the MH Humane Society:


1) The city and county provide the majority of funding for the MH Humane Society--just over $130,000 from each government


2) The Humane Society was asleep at the wheel for the past several years during which their non-profit status was lost and only recently re-established, approximately $50,000 was lost through alleged embezzlement by an employee, insurance coverage was not maintained and a large payout to an employee who was purportedly injured on the job had to be made from operating funds, a new "Director" (with close connections to former county commissioner/current Humane Society member Larry Baker) was quickly hired with poor results as an employee and disastrous results as the public face of the Humane Society; a new election for board members was totally botched and new ballots were sent out recently; and it goes on and on.


A few months ago, County Mayor Bill Brittain along with County Attorney Chris Capps and County Commissioner Doe Jarvis met with City Mayor Danny Thomas, City Administrator Tony Cox, and City Attorney Dick Jessee to iron out a contract with the Humane Society.


This contract was brought to the county commission in August by Mayor Brittain. At that meeting, Mayor Brittain and Attorney Capps proposed one change to the contract. The contract was approved with the change and the Humane Society was given until November 1 to approve the contract.

Shortly after presenting and getting approval by commission of a proposed City/County/Humane Society contract, Mayor Brittain--who is a member of the Humane Society Board--began working with the Humane Society on a contract that is different in many respects from the one that he brought to county commission in August and asked commissioners to approve.


Yesterday, Mayor Brittain sought approval from the Public Services Committee of his 2nd Humane Society contract.


There were comments and extended discussion at and after the meeting about the Humane Society and the current situation.


The frustration of commissioners is evident.


When Public Services Chairman Herbert Harville asked if there was a motion to approve Brittain's newest Humane Society contract, there was silence. Finally, Harville declared that there was no motion and he moved on to the next item.


When all this mess started out, it seemed like it was primarily a financial/bookkeeping issue and that the treasurer should step down and there should be additional oversight of the Humane Society finances.


As more information has emerged and as I have attended Humane Society "board" meetings and have stepped in to foster animals as well, it is evident that the problems go way beyond just treasurer/bookkeeping issues.


The Humane Society was started decades ago by dedicated individuals who worked with care and concern for the animals uppermost. Some of those individuals are still on the Board and are good people who didn't intend for this mess to happen. They assumed and trusted that everything was being done correctly, but they didn't verify.


The mess did happen, and it hasn't been cleaned up. In fact, it has been made worse by the hiring of the current "director" months ago with continuing problems with shelter operations and then improper attempts by the existing Board to influence an election for board members by sending out a ballot declaring that certain candidates on the ballot were ineligible to serve on the board.


After several of these individuals provided proof of their Humane Society membership and eligibility, the votes from the first election were never counted and a new ballot prepared. The new ballots are to be counted on October 9.


In all of this, Diane Fox, current Humane Society secretary, showed the most common sense at the September 23 meeting of the Humane Society Board.


When the contract that County Mayor Bill Brittain, City Mayor Danny Thomas, and Humane Society Attorney Scott Reams had drafted was presented to the Board, Fox voted "no."


Her reasoning and her statement was that any contract decision should be made by the Humane Society Board which would be elected and known by October 9.  Common sense.


 It appears that there is common sense on the part of commissioners as well to wait for the election results on the Humane Society Board. And with the City as a party to the contract, why are all these contracts being drafted by certain officials and attorneys but no contract has been presented to or even discussed at a City Council meeting or work session?

September 2, 2012 City Finance Committee Discusses Whitesburg Sewer Contract One-Hour Before Scheduled Vote

City Council Finance Committee: There is nothing like looking at a contract one hour before the main meeting where you have it on the agenda for a vote--- and being told about five minutes before the main meeting that there is one "little" problem with a paragraph in the contract that might just be "unconstitutional."

That is just part of the discussion on August 21 at a City Finance Committee meeting where the city-county Whitesburg Sewer Project Agreement was discussed.

Paul LeBel, who is sitting between County Mayor Bill Brittain and City Councilperson Kay Senter, gets to vote twice on the contract. He voted for the contract as a county commissioner on August 23

and will get to vote on the contract as a city councilperson.

Although Tony Cox and Bill Brittain wanted the city council to go ahead and vote on the Agreement on August 21, the council unanimously voted to postpone consideration of the contract to its September 4 meeting.

August 16, 2012 Whitesburg City-County Sewer Contract Goes Through County Finance Committee

On Monday, the Hamblen County Finance Committee approved a city-county contract on the proposed extension of the city sewer to 20+ customers in Whitesburg.

The contract provides that the county will build sewer lines and provide sewer taps and pumps for low-income grant-eligible individuals through grant funds and county matching funds. At the end of construction, almost everything will be transferred to city ownership and operation.  [The pumps for each house will apparently be owned by and the responsibility of the customer.]

Despite the City sewer being in a financial mess and under a multi-year commissioner's order, the City is discounting its "outside" tap fee from $5000 to $2500 by contract. By contract, the County is guaranteeing the use of county funds to pay the City a minimum sewer fee if the number of customers hooked up drops below 9.

Questions about the county guaranteeing payment of minimum sewer fees to the city were asked of Mayor Brittain but not specifically answered. City Finance Director Larry Clark was present and discussed financial aspects of the sewer extension.

Part I (Brittain explains the history of the CDBG grant, the budget, the original gravity design, the change to a pump design, and the county guarantee to pay sewer fees if fewer than nine customers pay their sewer bill.  Brittain: Russellville-Whitesburg Utility District can cut off water to Rv-Wb water customers who don't pay Morristown's sewer bill but the utility district has not done so in the past. Everybody in the grant area understands the total costs. Commissioner Howard Shipley mentions that sewer crossed a constituent's property and he was able to hook up free of charge but with huge and ever-increasing city sewer rates that individual doesn't recommend that anyone hook up.)



Part II (Costs. Pumps. Original Budget $485,000. 75%-25% match. Total now is $426,000.  Brittain: You could pass a resolution encouraging Rv-Wb Utility District to cut off water to those Wb grant customers who don't pay the City's sewer fee. Brittain: I appoint Rv-Wb Board. I can appoint only those who agree to cut off the water if the sewer bill is not paid. Commissioner Larry Carter: If they don't pay it, is it legal for us to pay the bill? Brittain: There is...a statute...I was looking at it this morning...(but) I don't know if it addresses the guarantee. It addresses cities and counties working together. City Finance Director Larry Clark: Nine customers required to cover city costs/depreciation.)

Part III (Discussion of shale soil and Whitesburg School sewer connection.  County Commissioner/ City Councilman Paul LeBel: "I see no benefit to the City... in taking these people in." More on the "county guarantee." City Finance Director Larry Clark: Outside sewer tap fee is $5000. Depreciation. "It's not right for other ratepayers to subsidize what is being added on to the system." Contract passes with guarantee that county will pay minimum sewer bill if customers drop below nine.  A resolution proposed by Paul LeBel also passes and encourages Rv-Wb Utility District to cut off water to Rv-Wb customers who don't pay their Morristown sewer bill.)        

June 11, 2012 Hamblen County Budget Meeting with School Board

The Hamblen County Commission Budget Committee is composed of all 14 members of the full Commission. The Budget Committee has been meeting to go over the Hamblen County budget for the past several weeks. 

At its May 31 meeting, the Budget Committee voted on the Hamblen County Schools budget, recommending a 5.1% or $3,495,000 increase in school funding for FY 2013 year.  Despite the nearly $3.5 Million increase, the school system left that meeting upset because the nearly $3.5 Million increase is $272,000 shy of the increase that the school board wanted and expected.

After the May 31 committee vote on the school budget, Director of School Dale Lynch apparently met with County Mayor Bill Brittain and Finance Director Joey Barnard and appeared at the June 7 Hamblen Commission Budget Committee meeting (video above) to ask for another meeting/ work session with the Commission.

The joint meeting/work session will take place tonight at the Courthouse (Chancery Courtroom) at 6 PM.

November 26, 2010 Final Judgment in Holden v. Swann: Hamblen County Ethics Committee and Its Members Violated the Tennessee Open Meetings Act

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.

July 9, 2010 Democrat Candidates Offer Two-Year "10% Salary Rebate"

In an interesting move yesterday, the Democrat candidates for Mayor (John Litz), Sheriff (Ernie Burzell), County Clerk (Scotty Rines), and Circuit Court Clerk (Bobby Davis) held a press conference to announce that each, if elected, will turn back 10% of his salary to the county for their first two years in office. Click here.

The Democrat candidates, of course, challenged their respective opponents (Bill Brittain, Esco Jarnagin, Linda Wilder, and Teresa West) to do the same.

Maybe the Republican opponents will meet the challenge and do the Democrats one better and offer a 20% salary rebate for four years.  Maybe we will have a bidding war for public office. Low bid gets the office.

There might even be people who are qualified and who would perform the jobs for a very modest salary  plus the insurance and guaranteed retirement.

The salaries for these jobs are not peanuts and the benefits (health insurance and retirement) are great. Most people would gladly take these salaries, give back 10% or 20% or more, and be in good shape!

These are approximate yearly salaries for these positions from the 2009 audit, page 147, at the State Comptroller's website:

County Mayor: $90,000+.  [NOTE: Mayor David Purkey's salary of over $90,000 exceeds the state minimum because the current County Commission threw in an extra $7,200 for the County Mayor as a car allowance "salary" at Purkey's request.]

Sheriff: $79,000+

County Clerk: $70,000+

Circuit Court Clerk: $70,000+

June 29, 2010 Sheriff and Mayoral Debate Videos Are at Citizens for Accountability Website

Citizens for Accountability (CFA) has the video of the June 24 debate between Sheriff candidates Ernie Burzell and Esco Jarnagin available at the CFA website.

CFA also has the video of the June 24 Mayoral debate between Bill Brittain and John Litz available at the CFA website.

Click here to go directly to the debate pictures and videos.

You can view pictures from the debate or click the "play" button below each video to hear and see the actual debate with each candidate's 2-minute opening remarks, 10 questions and answers, and 5-minute closing remarks.

The videos are broken into three segments, so you can view one, two, or all three.

1. Sheriff Debate Video
2. Mayor Debate Video I
3. Mayor Debate Video II

The CFA homepage is at www.morristownhamblencfa.com

June 24, 2010 Hamblen County Mayoral Candidates Spar at CFA Debate

Democrat Mayoral Candidate John Litz (left) and Republican candidate Bill Brittain (below) respond to questions at the CFA (Citizens for Accountability) Debate at the West Hamblen Volunteer Fire Department this evening. Topics ranged from school funding and construction issues to economic development to meeting times for County Commission committees. A large and attentive crowd was present. The debate was moderated by Charles Cook, founder of CFA. CFA will have the video of the mayoral debate up for viewing in a few days. The website is www.morristownhamblencfa.com

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June 24, 2010 Hamblen County Sheriff and Mayor Candidates Debate Tonight

What: Debate between Hamblen County Sheriff Candidates followed by debate between Hamblen County Mayoral Candidates
When: June 24 at 6:00 PM
Where: West Hamblen Volunteer Fire Department at 6301 W. A. J. Highway
Debate Sponsor: Citizens for Accountability
                          www.morristownhamblencfa.com

6:00 PM Candidates for Hamblen County Sheriff
               Ernie Burzell, Democrat
               Esco Jarnagin, Republican

7:00 PM Intermission

7:20 PM Candidates for Hamblen County Mayor
               John Litz, Democrat
               Bill Brittain, Republican

June 22, 2010 Stancil Cancels Tax Levy and Budget Vote

During public comments at the beginning of yesterday's meeting of the Hamblen County Commission, I pointed out to Chairman Stancil Ford and all commissioners that there is currently no certified tax rate for Hamblen County. I noted that Commissioners could not vote on a tax rate or budget yesterday since they are still waiting for the certified tax rate. [Ironically, it was Stancil Ford who had changed Commission's regular meeting date to June 21 just so he could try and push a tax and budget vote through quickly.]

As the tax rate and budget discussion begain toward the end of the meeting, Ford acknowledged that there is no certified rate and admitted that the budget and tax rate could not be voted on at this meeting.  Bill Brittain said that appeals of appraisals were just ending, and he thought that a proposed certified tax rate might go to the state on Friday and perhaps be approved by the state on Monday, June 28, after which a vote on the tax rate and budget could be taken.

What's funny in all this is that it was Chairman Ford who created all the uproar by changing the regular meeting date from June 24 to June 21. As usual, haste makes waste. No matter how quickly Ford wants to push a budget and tax rate through, state law requires that certain procedures be followed and, in re-appraisal years, the certified tax rate must be set prior to tax rate and budget votes. 

Stancil and all commissioners need to realize the importance in taking time to do things right and even check the math before attempting to pass a tax rate levy and a budget.

Just how important is it to get the certified tax rate and check the math in Hamblen County? In 2005, it was worth ONE MILLION DOLLARS in savings to taxpayers.

During the last re-appraisal year (2005),  I was on County Commission.  We received the certified tax rate in our budget packets, and the Finance Director, Trustee, Assessor, and County Mayor were using that certified tax rate in budget calculations.  Just after one quick look at the "certified" tax rate that was being used, I knew something was wrong. It was clearly too high. I pulled out the old pencil and paper, checked the math, and found that the certified rate was indeed incorrect and that the miscalculated rate would result in overtaxing the property owners in Hamblen County in the amount of more than ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

I brought this miscalculation and tax overcharge to the attention of Assessor Keith Ely. Ely then pointed out the miscalculation that I had found to the state. After my one question, the 2005 tax rate was recalculated and the certified tax rate was reduced  by about 10 cents, saving the taxpayers of Hamblen County over ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

Haste makes waste. Trust but verify. Follow state law--it is there for a reason.

May 27, 2010 Hamblen County Mayor and Sheriff Candidates Debate on June 24

Morristown-Hamblen Citizens for Accountability is sponsoring debates between Hamblen County Mayor candidates Bill Brittain (R) and John Litz (D) and between Hamblen County Sheriff candidates Esco Jarnagin (R) and Ernie Burzell (D).

The two debates will take place on June 24, beginning at 6:00 PM, at the West Hamblen Volunteer Fire Department meeting room---located on the West A.J. Highway just west of the intersection of A.J. and Highway 160.  It is free and open to the public.

For more information and updates, visit the Citizens for Accountability website at www.morristownhamblencfa.com.

You can submit proposed questions for the candidates by e-mailing them to morristownhamblencfa@gmail.com.

And while you are at the CFA site, you can view videos of recent meetings and work and budget sessions of the Morristown City Council.

February 19, 2010 Eight County Commissioners Vote To Abolish Ethics Committee and Make County Attorney Rusty Cantwell "Ethics Officer"

Not surprisingly, the Hamblen County Commission voted yesterday to abolish its 5-man Ethics Committee.  

Not surprisingly, Hamblen County now has an "Ethics Officer."

Not surprisingly, the new "Ethics Officer" is county attorney Rusty Cantwell.

Pushing hard to disband the Ethics Committee that was established in 2007 and give the title of "Ethics Officer" to Cantwell were County Mayor David Purkey and Commission Chair/one-time Ethics Committee member Stancil Ford.

How will this new set-up work? County Attorney Rusty Cantwell represents all county employees and county officials.

So an ethics complaint against a county official or county employee is supposed to be sent to that person's attorney for consideration and action?

Yes. The Commission has just created yet another conflict of interest. The county attorney charges the county $150/hour and now ethical complaints against his clients will be sent to him so he can be paid $150/hour to receive and read complaints (against his clients!); handle the complaint himself (conflict of interest); or assign it to some other attorney (without a conflict) that the county will have to pay.

I guess the first complaint that our new Ethics Officer will handle is the one filed by the Hamblen County Civil Service Board against Sheriff Esco Jarnagin. This complaint was originally filed with the old and now "officially" disbanded Ethics Committee.

[I say "officially" disbanded because the five members of the Ethics Committee who were appointed to one-year terms in 2007 were not legally appointed or reappointed when their terms expired in June 2008. No one was appointed in 2009 and no one had been appointed to date in 2010. The original Ethics Committee members from 2007 (Commissioner Stancil Ford, Commissioner Joe Swann, Trustee Bill Brittain, James Harrison -attorney and citizen member, and Jack Cartwright-citizen member) just kept serving and serving year after year as "holdovers" without legal appointment. It looks like the Ethics Committee that violated the Sunshine Law by having a meeting without notice to the public on December 15, 2008, was made up of five people who acted as Committee members despite the fact that their terms had expired 6 months previous.]

Will Cantwell recognize that he has a conflict of interest in trying to handle an ethical complaint against one of his government clients? Will he charge the county $150/hour as he decides to which attorney he will give this complaint? Or will Cantwell take off his County Attorney hat and put on his Ethics Officer hat and handle the complaint against Jarnagin himself and collect his fee?

Several commissioners are led around by Stancil Ford and David Purkey. Purkey and Ford want to keep everything close to the vest and in-house.  Ethics?   One person--County Attorney Rusty Cantwell--is going to make the ethical calls from here on out and that one person has a clear conflict of interest that is obvious in the very first complaint that he has to consider. 

July 6, 2009 City and County: Briefs and Upcoming Posts

A lot has happened locally over the past several weeks.

Democrat State Rep. John Litz announced that he would not run for re-election and said that he was not ready to comment on his future plans.

Democrat Larry Mullins jumped into the vacuum and announced that he is a candidate for state representative. In Mullins' announcement, it was mentioned that his wife Kathy Trent Mullins will not run for re-election as Circuit Court Clerk for Hamblen County.

John Litz later announced that his future plans include a race for County Mayor against Republican candidate Bill Brittain. [I don't think that John will have any opposition in the Democrat primary. There is a very slim possibility that Bill might have some opposition from an elected official who was miffed when current County Mayor David Purkey apparently got a group together and pretty much selected the current Republican candidate line-up without considering or consulting with that individual. The current Purkey line-up for the two major offices is Brittain for Mayor and Purkey's Finance Director Nicole Buchanan for Trustee.]

The School Board is meeting with the Hamblen County Education Committee on June 7 to discuss the Board's plans to spend $5.3 million on environmental and maintenance issues (roof, etc.) at East High. If you can get off work at 1:00 pm on that day, you might want to attend.

City Administrator Jim Crumley has been asked by at least four councilmembers to resign or retire or somehow get the heck out of City Hall. City Mayor Sami Barile hates the possibility of Jim leaving. With Jim gone, Barile loses her right-hand man and the source of her knowledge of city government.

With the prospect of Crumley's exit, Mayor Sami Barile is now telling government officials to act with civility at city council meetings. The local "news"paper has also editorialized for civility. Civility is important, but the Mayor needs to realize that disagreements and discussions are not automatically indicative of a lack of civility. And, hopefully, she will even come to recognize that questions are not micro-managing. If she had been paying attention and asking questions before and after taking office, maybe she would have known of the financial disaster that awaited her after she was sworn in in May 2007. In any event, Mayor Barile needs to worry less about what she considers a lack of civility and start worrying more about learning firsthand what's really going on in city government and in the City of Morristown.

Barile and council need to start addressing the jobs situation, skyrocketing unemployment in the City, the red light cameras, spending problems, the city's huge debt, sewer issues, and the lack of accountability. If and when Crumley is no longer spoon feeding Barile/council with his misleading analyses of the state of the city, Barile and company should set up procedures that will provide for checks and balances on the incoming administrator.

The Mayor and council need to be kept in the loop about city government (pay raises, car allowances, cell phones, contracts, sewer, spending). The Mayor and council need to eliminate the free-rein that Crumley had to spend and shift money around (in bunches of up to $10,000) without explaining the reason in advance and without getting council's permission in advance. Any contracts negotiated by the City Administrator or others need to come before the council for final approval and the contracts should be in final form and available to councilmembers for review at least a week before the contract is placed on the agenda for a vote.

In other news, former Hamblen County Deputy Dexter Morris was convicted in federal court of violating the civil rights of females stopped and detained by him and of lying to federal agents when confronted about the incidents.

There was testimony that a number of complaints were filed against Morris during the tenure of former Sheriff Otto Purkey and that Purkey ignored or dismissed the complaints, eventually promoting Morris to patrol officer. Other testimony indicated that Deputy Ernie Burzell handled a complaint filed by a 16-year old girl who was stopped by Morris without cause. Morris allegedly fondled the girl and apparently admitted to Burzell that he had no reason to stop the teenager and that he had asked the girl "What does a 16-year old do to get those boobs?" Burzell took no action on the complaint and entered nothing in Morris' file about the incident.

I will discuss these items in more detail in future individual posts

A lot more local governmental happenings and revelations are on the horizon.

May 17, 2009 Tennessee Comptroller Justin Wilson Expresses Concerns about City and County Variable Rate Debt/Swap Agreements

Where is Joe Ayres?

Tennessee State Comptroller Justin Wilson is looking at the use of variable rate debt/derivatives/swaps by cities and counties, and the new Comptroller apparently doesn't like what he sees.

Wilson points out conflicts of interest and notes that the complexities of these debt instruments may make them unsuitable for small cities and counties. Wilson's guest column in the Memphis Commercial Appeal is here. Other people such as investor/financier Warren Buffett have pointed out the dangers of derivatives as well.

In addition to the inherent financial dangers associated with derivatives, even a blind man could see the multiple conflicts of interest surrounding Joe Ayres/Cumberland Securities/Morgan Keegan/Regions Bank/TNLoans who provide and market variable rate swaps/derivatives to Hamblen County and other Tennessee cities and counties.

The fox (Joe Ayres/Cumberland Securities) is watching the henhouse (taxpayer debt) and being paid in multiple ways and through multiple entities to do the watching. Click here for a previous post on Hamblen County debt and Joe Ayres. Joe Ayres and his cohorts and companies are collecting, directly or indirectly, fees and commissions and profits through several entities with various connections to the debt issuance process.

The local press doesn't talk about the county's debt. The Trib just selectively reports the information that the county puts out. As a result, Hamblen County residents have to turn to The New York Times or the Memphis Commercial Appeal to read about the questionable actions of Joe Ayres/Cumberland Securities/Morgan Keegan/Regions Bank/TnLoans in Tennessee. Articles have also appeared in the Knox News-Sentinel, the Nashville Tennessean, and other newspapers.

On May 12, the county had CTAS (County Technical Assistance Services) give a presentation on the county's debt. Mayor Purkey, the county's chief financial officer, didn't bring in Joe Ayres (the fox) to review the debt (henhouse) this year even though Joe has always done so in previous years. Where's Joe?

Of course, another problem with recent Hamblen County debt is that it never gets paid off! Over the course of about ten years (1998-2008) NOT ONE PENNY OF THE LAST SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAM (1998) WAS PAID OFF. Click here for a previous post and a link to Hamblen County's 2008 Audit and pages on debt.

About a year ago, a lot of the county debt was refinanced resulting in Hamblen County owing more after the refinancing that it owed before the refinancing. Deeper and deeper into debt we go.

And yet you have some county commissioners and all the school board members talking about embarking on another, even larger, school building program and even talking about making "interest-only" payments again.

To talk about a huge increase in county debt (up to $80M more) when unemployment is high in Hamblen County and in the City of Morristown, when businesses are leaving and cutting back, when our furniture and automotive-connected businesses are laying off, and when individuals in Hamblen County and across the state are struggling is fiscally irresponsible.

And let's not forget that the debt figures that they are tossing around are the amount of principal only. Most county officials and school board members conveniently ignore the interest costs during building program discussions.

If the county takes on another $80 million of debt for school construction while it still owes about $40 million from the 1998 school construction program ($35 million) and county projects (about $5 million), then the principal owed will be around $120 million. The total cost to the taxpayers (principal and interest) on that $120 million could be $200 million or more--especially if they go the interest-only route for many years. That's $200 million! $200,000,000.00! And that does NOT include the hospital debt for which the county is ultimately liable should hospital debt revenues fall short of hospital debt expenses.

But this is the government. Different rules. Other People's Money (OPM). It's much easier to go into debt with other people's money (OPM) than it is to do so with your own money.

I'd like to know which commissioner has taken out a huge mortgage (1998) and then has thrown away money by making interest only payments for 10 years so that when the debt is refinanced 10 years down the road (2008), he/she owes more than was owed at the start of the loan?

Only a commissioner or elected official who has done this or who would do this WITH HIS/HER OWN MONEY should promote this kind of debt scheme with taxpayers' money.

On May 14 during discussions of Hamblen County's debt fund, a commissioner asked "Where is Joe Ayres?" [Mr. Ayres always used to come to commission during the budget process to explain the county's debt position] There was no clear response to that question from County Mayor David Purkey, Trustee Bill Brittain, or Finance Director Nicole Buchanan.

The question remains unanswered.

Where is Joe Ayres?