January 31, 2010 David Purkey, Still Wanting To Be Tennessee Safety Commissioner, Latches onto Gubernatorial Candidate Haslam's Coattails

The local "news"paper had an interesting picture on its front page on Friday, January 29. Gubernatorial candidate Bill Haslam and his wife knocked on the door of Lynn Purkey in the Alpha Community, and a Tribune cameraman just happened to be there to record the event. 

The article then mentioned that Haslam was "flanked" in his door-knocking campaign by long time friend and supporter Hamblen County Mayor David Purkey.

[I'm not sure why, but the "news"paper forgot to mention that the Lynn Purkey who just happened to answer the door is Otto Purkey's wife and that Otto is David Purkey's big brother and that Otto is the former Sheriff of Hamblen County who lost his re-election bid in 2006 to current Sheriff Esco Jarnagin. Lynn Purkey's door was not randomly picked so an explanation of who Lynn Purkey is and her connections might be in order] 

I haven't decided whom I will support in the governor's race in Tennessee. This post is not about the governor's candidates but about the fact that David Purkey has grabbed onto Haslam's coattails with all his might in the hope that if Haslam is elected, David will finally get the dream job that he has always wanted---Tennessee Commissioner of Safety with power over the Tennessee Highway Patrol. 

To understand Purkey's dream, you have to go back to June 2006 when David was in the middle of what he had declared was his "last" run for County Mayor.  Although David had said that he wanted to serve one "last" term as mayor, ironically David ran off to Nashville and applied for Safety Commissioner right in the middle of that "last" campaign for County Mayor.

What was even funnier was that the local "news"paper either didn't know that David had applied for the Safety Commissioner job while in the middle of running for County Mayor OR the "news"paper knew and decided not to report this significant bit of news to its local readers.  Nope, the "news"paper never said a word about any of this until after I had a blog post based on a story in the Nashville Tennessean about David's application.

Click here for my June 26, 2006, post that was based on a June 22, 2006, Tennessean article. Then click here for the "news" story that the local "news"paper ran on June 27, 2006 (5 days after the Tennessean article and one day after my blog post).  Noe4accountability is a personal blog--not a newspaper with full-time reporters. There is something ironic about a local "news"paper that didn't know what the local Mayor was doing OR that chose not to report what the local Mayor was doing until five days after it had been reported across the state in the Tennessean. In fact, the local "news"paper only reported that the Mayor had applied for Safety Commissioner and had withdrawn one day after I finally went ahead and mentioned it on this blog.  How "news"y is that?

Of course, there is plenty of other "news" that the local "news"paper chooses not to report. The "news"paper decides what is "news" and how that "news" will be reported.   Bob Moore will cover up anything that Jack Fishman says to cover up.  Bob will slant anything as directed by his boss.  Bob will print just about anything that a government office or official tells him to ---without checking the accuracy of the information. Click here for one example of how Bob just publishes what government officials hand him and refuses to check on the accuracy of what he is provided. Some--but not all--front-page articles by Bob are little more than front-page press releases with a little flowery language added for that personal touch. Whether it's appropriate or not in a "news"paper article, I will admit that Bob's style of writing and word-choice are entertaining.

Frankly, I doubt that Haslam really knows much about David Purkey, the man who has always wanted-- and still wants--to have control of law enforcement in Tennessee.  I don't know the whole story about David.  I do know that he hates me because he couldn't control me while I served on county commission (2002-2006).  I know he hates that I brought in the state auditors to perform the county audit in 2003 when Hamblen County had more findings (29) than any other county in the state. Click here.  I know that he hates me because I pushed for openness and accountability throughout county government and for better control of spending.

This is a man who became upset and red-faced when I simply asked that a county decal be placed on all county taxpayer-provided vehicles (other than undercover vehicles or exempt law-enforcement vehicles). David wanted that county car, but he definitely didn't want a decal on it to let people know that it was a Hamblen County taxpayer-provided vehicle. The rest of the commissioners blinked.

And when I decided not to run again in 2006, one of David's first requests to the new commission was to ask for a car allowance of $7200/year---paid as a salary increase.  David had two goals in this. He would get the county to pay for a car that he could keep (no decal, of course) after he left office AND, by having his car paid for through a salary increase, his future government retirement pay would skyrocket since his retirement pay is partly-based on the highest five years of compensation.  With the car allowance/salary increase deal, Purkey upped his highest compensation from around the $83,000 he had been drawing as County Mayor to $90,000+ and upped his retirement for the next 20-30 years as well.

With David's continuing desire to be Tennessee Safety Commissioner, it's time to let the public know at least some of what the local "news"paper covers up about David Purkey, the lifelong politician and master of the cover-up, with help from friends in high places.

September 3, 2009 More from City Council's Meeting on 9/1/09

Other happenings at City Council on 9/1/09 and what the Trib is likely to report and what the Trib is likely to leave out.

The Trib may report today or tomorrow on the lengthy city council discussion on the Farmer's Market at the corner of S. Henry and W. Morris Boulevard. Mayor Barile did not want to discuss this on Tuesday, but councilman Gene Brooks managed to get the discussion going anyway.

Lots of ideas were thrown out---build a canopy over the area so it doesn't look, as one individual put it, like a "tent city"; sell it (proposals were sought from interested buyers about two years ago, but that's as far as it went); enforce the regulations for the market and perhaps clarify the current regulations regarding who can set up a booth and what can be sold; try to collect sales taxes (This was said to be virtually impossible since the city and state essentially rely on the honesty of the vendor to report sales and forward sales tax to the appropriate entity. It was also pointed out that farmers who are truly selling produce that they grew on their own farm are exempt from sales tax. One person said that he was pretty certain that pineapples being sold at the farmer's market were NOT grown by a local farmer).

What the Trib's Bobby Moore probably won't report is that Charles Cook asked the Mayor and Council to move their meetings to a later time--perhaps 6:00 pm--so more working members of the public could attend if they wanted to.

Cook made an excellent point---city government meetings should be held after normal work hours so the working person can attend.

I have publicly asked a number of times that County Commission move its 11:30 AM committee meetings to 5:00 PM or later for the same reasons as stated by Mr. Cook.

Government meetings should be held at times that are most convenient for the public. Having 11:30 am meetings (county commission committees) and 4:00 pm meetings (city council) shows disregard for the taxpaying public and interested citizens.

There are numerous other "public" meetings of government committees and groups that take place at 7:30 am, 9:00 am, 12:00 pm, 3:00 pm, and other times when the public for all practical purposes is excluded. LAMPTO (Lakeway Area Metropolitan Planning Transportation Organization), Morristown Regional Planning Commission, Morristown Utility Systems, and the Solid Waste Board are a few examples.

Another item that the Trib's Bobby Moore probably won't report is that after Mr. Cook suggested having later meeting times, I asked that the Mayor and City Council tape their meetings and air them on the MUS FiberNet government/education Channel 7. Over 18 Million dollars has been spent on the FiberNet/cable/phone system operated by the City.

County Commission meetings are shown or are supposed to be shown on MUS Ch. 7 (govt/ed channel) on Tuesday and Saturday nights at 9:00 pm. [I get Charter cable, so I'm not certain if MUS is still showing county commission meetings at the same time as Charter does. I do know that MUS is supposed to air county commission meetings.]

With the millions invested in MUS FiberNet, why in the world won't the City tape and air its own meetings on MUS Ch. 7? In addition to airing the tapes, the City could allow easy internet access to the tapes of these meetings at the city's website.

If the City really cares about giving more than lip service to open government, its meetings should be held late in the evening, meetings should be taped and aired on cable Channel 7, AND the meetings should be accessible at any time on the city's website at http://www.mymorristown.com/.

I believe Mayor Barile will place the matter of meeting times on the agenda for discussion at a future work session. She was very hesitant, however, to give the same consideration to taping and airing council meetings.

UPDATE: Well, the Trib's Bobby Moore finally got around to reporting the Farmer's Market discussion (see above) in yesterday's Trib---and that was only three days after the discussion/news took place! Bobby's front-page article was under the headline Farmers Market debate resurfaces. And if you read to the end of Bobby's "Farmers Market" article, you would find a short paragraph about Mr. Cook's request that council hold meetings later in the day (see above) and my request that council televise their meetings (see above). Impressive reporting.

August 10, 2009 Tribune: Double Stories, Double Pictures, and a Front Page Headline Problem

If you were reading the Tribune yesterday, August 9th, you may have done a double "double-take"!

The Trib put the same exact article in two different sections of yesterday's paper. Tommy Bible, general manager of the Jefferson-Cocke County Utility District, received the Tennessee Gas Association's Silver Flame Award. The Trib decided to let you read about Bible's honor on page C-8 under the headline Tommy Bible winner of TGA Silver Flame Award or, if you missed it there, you could read it again on page D-2 under the headline Bible earns TGA Award. Same story, same wording, same report from an unidentified source. [Congratulations, Mr. Bible. Congratulations, Mr. Bible.]

And a picture on page A-3 of yesterday's Trib of two lovely father-daughter duos buying dance tickets might have made you think "Wait, didn't I see a picture of these same people buying dance tickets in the Trib on August 7th." Relax. You aren't going crazy. The same people, in a slightly different pose, did appear in the August 7th and the August 9th Tribune.

The article that accompanied each picture was similar but with one major difference. On August 7th, the article written by Mike Williams said that the individuals were buying tickets for a father-daughter dance at All Saints' Episcopal Church as a fundraiser for Stepping Out Ministries. On August 9th, the article "from Staff Reports" said that the individuals were buying tickets for a father-daughter dance at All Saints' Episcopal Church as a fundraiser for the Imagination Library book program.

Both pictures included the same people: Melissa Carson of Stepping Out Ministries with the father-daughter duos of Bob and Maggie Vick and Landon and Alyssa Gibson.

Finally, expect a correction on yesterday's front-page headline that read: West announces candidacy for county clerk. Teresa West is not running for county clerk, a position currently held by Linda Wilder. West is running for Circuit Court Clerk, a position currently held by Kathy Mullins who is not seeking re-election in 2010. The article "from Staff Reports" had the right information but the headline, well, it was a mess.

By the way, if you have ever wondered why so many Trib articles don't name the local reporter, it is my understanding that the Trib will not put the name of the same reporter as a by-line for two articles on the same page. Bobbie Young may write two front-page stories, but the Trib will only put her name/by-line on one of her stories and her second story will show "staff reports" as the by-line. Of course, some "news" articles are just press releases or info that has been sent in by city or county government or the school board and these, too, may have a "staff reports" or "contributed reports" by-line.

[UPDATE: The Trib's correction on the Teresa West article appeared in little print on page 2 today. The paper apologized for the error and said that West is running for Circuit Court Clerk.]

May 23, 2009 Tribune, Friday, May 22: Why No News Coverage of City Council's Thursday Budget Meeting?

I posted early yesterday morning (Friday) about the big city council budget meeting on May 21 (Thursday) and the proposed cuts of $1,794,300 to the city budget. The post is here.

After I got home from work yesterday, I was reading the paper, but I didn't see a word about the meeting even though the Trib's city reporter Bob Moore was at the meeting. It was odd not to see any news about the Thursday meeting in the Friday edition of the "news"paper--especially since the Thursday meeting ended early.

Perhaps there will be a lot of "news" about this meeting in the Sunday Tribune.

Maybe Sunday will be the start of a series of articles on the city budget and how City Administrator Jim Crumley is suffering along with everyone else as he gives up his taxpayer-funded Morristown Country Club membership and a little bit of the car allowance increase that he negotiated for himself and several buds a couple of years ago--supposedly after private discussions with former Mayor Gary Johnson.

Remember the property tax increase and the sales tax increase and all the talk of "bare-bones budgets" in past years? Those "bare-bones budgets" apparently had enough money in them to pay for Crumley's Country Club membership. And car allowances and travel and food and cell phones everywhere.

Wonder what else is still in the budget that hasn't been discussed? A line-item detailed review is needed. CITY AND COUNTY.

[UPDATE Monday, May 25, 2009. Three editions of the Tribune "news"paper have come out after the May 21 Morristown City Council budget meeting, and still the Tribune has no "news" article about Crumley's suggested budget cuts or the reaction of the councilmembers to his proposals. Maybe Tribune reporter Bob Moore just came to the meeting and got copies of all the budget handouts for the fun of it and decided not to report anything. What a shame.]

May 18, 2009 Bill Swann's May 11 Tribune Ad

Former city council candidate Bill Swann's ad in the May 11 Tribune was bitter in tone while heaping a lot of criticism on Tribune election reporting and on the Trib for failure to investigate the candidates. Swann pretty much blamed the Tribune for his election loss.

In a multiple candidate race for a city council at-large seat, Gene Brooks was the winner, Swann was a close second, and incumbent Rick Trent was third.

Swann's ad points out that Brooks received 31% of the total votes cast and that only 14% of registered voters even bothered to cast a vote. Swann concludes that Mr. Brooks was elected "WITH LESS THAN 5% OF THE TOTAL REGISTERED VOTERS." Mr. Swann forgot to add that he (Swann) received even fewer votes than Brooks, so Mr. Swann also received the votes of "LESS THAN 5% OF THE TOTAL REGISTERED VOTERS.

Swann then refers to holding accountable "those elected by a minority of our citizens." Mr. Swann was probably taking a stab at Mr. Brooks, but this comment could also apply to the current Mayor Sami Barile. Barile, like Brooks, was elected in a multiple-candidate race in 2007, and Barile, like Mr. Brooks, received the votes of less than a majority of the actual voters and less than a majority of registered voters. [If Mr. Swann had received 1 more vote than Gene Brooks, Swann himself would have been one of "those elected by a minority of our citizens."]

Mr. Swann's ad also criticizes the local press for not fully investigating the candidates. Perhaps Mr. Swann hasn't noticed or perhaps Mr. Swann just hasn't been negatively affected by the press until now, but true investigative journalism does not exist in the offices of the Citizen Tribune. Mr. Swann is correct that there is no true in-depth investigative journalism at the Tribune.

What the Tribune lacks in investigative journalism and true news reporting, however, it makes up with lots of fluff and government press releases passed off as news. The Tribune has a monopoly on what information goes out to the public and a monopoly on political ads---like Mr. Swann's.

April 21, 2009 Open Meetings Act in Hamblen County: Now Meetings Are Announced That Aren't Taking Place!

On Sunday, the Tribune announced in a front-article that "Hamblen County commissioners and school board members will meet in a work session Monday to continue their discussion on the future of the school building program."

According to the paper, the work session was set for 6:00 PM in the old East High library.

The only commissioner present for the "commission-school board work session" was Ricky Bruce.

We've gone from no public notice of meetings to front-page notice of meetings that don't take place! [The "green" link to the Tribune's Sunday front-page notice of the meeting is working now but don't expect it to work for very long--for some reason, the Tribune doesn't leave permanent links up to its stories. My "blue" blog link is still good.]

The rumor is that the county called or attempted to call the meeting off last Friday, but the school board/Tribune either didn't get the message or ignored it and went ahead and announced the meeting in the paper.

At the "joint" meeting, Dr. Lynch discussed the commission's refusal to fund purchase of the McCorkle property on 25E for a new East High. He then passed out info to Board members and the press and discussed properties that could be purchased around the existing East High.

City Administrator Jim Crumley has apparently given the following estimated sales prices to Lynch: Talley-Ward could be sold to the school system for $810,000; Long-Reel track for $505,000; and King Park for $160,000.

Lynch said other private properties available have an estimated purchase price of around $692,000.

Then talk of one high school v. two came up. School Board Chair Janice Haun said she opposed one high school. Carolyn Spoone Holt (Commissioner Joe Spoone's sister) said most parents want two high schools.

Clint Harrison said he had never heard of one high school until recently, and added that one high school should not be built just to save money.

Carolyn Wolfenbarger said she was "adamantly" against one high school.

Former Morristown High and West High School teacher Coach Gene Quarles talked at length about maintaining two high schools and said he could see the benefits of a third high school in order to keep the population of each high school at around 900 students.

He said that some of those behind one high school are driven by a desire to have the top athletic program rather than a top education program.

April 11, 2009 Referendum on Sales Tax Increase in Hamblen County

The committee to increase the local sales tax in Hamblen County from 9.5% to 9.75% was formed on Monday.

If enough money has been raised or if the Tribune extends credit, the Win The Vote sales tax increase committee will probably have a big ad in the Tribune tomorrow asking Hamblen County voters to support the sales tax increase from 9.5% to 9.75%. Letters or postcards may follow. Then students, school employees, or parents passing out literature at work, sending e-mails, and going door-to-door.

We may see an original editorial--unlike the typical Tribune editorial that has been copied from some other paper. There will probably be an onslaught of letters to the editor and the proverbial Tribune "series" of articles on schools and the sales tax--all with the Tribune's and School Board's classic pro-tax stance.

You can blame this third push for a sales tax increase directly on the City of Morristown. In the first (countywide) sales tax referendum in February 2008, the City tried to get city votes by promising a city property tax decrease. The city and county both noted that part of the money would go to education--- "for the children." David Purkey and Stancil Ford prepared and signed letters on county stationery that were sent out to county voters. That referendum failed.

Despite the setback, the City was determined to get a sales tax increase approved despite the initial setback. So the City held a second referendum--just for city voters--again promising city voters that the City's 2007 historic 40% property tax increase would be rolled back to a 25% increase if the sales tax referendum was approved. Letters were sent out by Mayor Barile and the council saying in no uncertain terms vote "Yes." Sort of like the county's "pick-your poison" wheel tax referendum in 2002. The citywide referendum passed.

City voters reduced one poison (property tax) by voting for an increase in another poison (sales tax). Then the City--which had joined in expressing passionate concern for education in the first referendum--decided to keep ALL of the sales tax instead of voluntarily contributing part of its sales tax increase to "the children."

In this third sales tax referendum, the county is pushing to make the city's sales tax increase countywide---just as it would have been had the first countywide referendum passed. The county is NOT offering any roll back in property taxes to county voters.

The city and county have orchestrated a two-prong approach to force/extort/blackmail voters into finally approving, in effect, a countywide sales tax increase. The City went first and offered a property tax reduction to finally get the sales tax increase passed in the city. The County is going second and, if the tax passes, city, county, and school officials will have gotten what each wanted all along--more tax money.

With the never-ending push for more money, where is the plan describing exactly how additional money will be spent, what improved educational outcomes will be realized, how much test scores will rise, how student literacy will be improved, or how much graduation rates will go up?

From the Win the Vote committee: This is about "the children." The answer to all school woes is money, more money, and still more money.

From the taxpayers: We love the children. The answer to all school woes is NOT money. And can you tell us how much taxpayer money will be enough? Just a ballpark figure will be OK. 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%?

March 28, 2009 Commission Polled on One High School

According to a little birdie, a county official recently suggested to a Tribune reporter that he "poll" some or all county commissioners to see what their position is on one unified high school for Hamblen County.

I don't know if the poll of county commissioners is complete yet or if the results of the "one high school" poll will be reported to the public.

If the reporter does release the poll results, it will be interesting to see if he includes the identity of the official who suggested the poll and includes the position of that official on one high school.

March 18, 2009 Sunshine Week Editorials

Some Sunshine Week Editorials Across Tennessee...

Knoxville News-Sentinel

The Memphis Commercial Appeal

The Jackson Sun

The Citizen-Tribune? Nothing yet.

Is support for Open Meetings by the local paper a thing of the past?

Is Mike Fishman's support for Open Records in 2004 a thing of the past?

*Thank you to Michael Silence for mentioning this post on his popular News-Sentinel blog.

March 17, 2009 School Board "Invitation" To Commissioners Makes Tribune Headlines Just Hours Before the Meeting

As mentioned in a previous post, the School Board invited county commissioners, County Trustee Bill Brittain, and County Mayor David Purkey to meet last night with the Board at its 6:00 PM work session.

The Board wanted some "direction" from the commission about the proposed $80 Million school building program--or $140-$160 Million if you include interest that the Trustee has projected.

As I speculated in the March 15 post, the Tribune reported the March 11 invitation in a front-page article that ran yesterday, March 16, just hours before the meeting.

It was a very interesting work session. If you listen closely at these meetings, various comments hint at what is going on behind-the-scenes and what is yet to be revealed to the public--about the building program and other local projects.

Since this is Sunshine Week. I just have to add a plug for more SUNSHINE in local government. The School Board really should tape and let its work sessions and meetings be televised on the government-education cable channels.

The Board has cameras, all kinds of technology gadgets, and a very capable technology staff. What an "education" to let the cameras roll and put the taped meetings and work sessions of the Hamblen County Board of "Education" on the government-education cable channels.

More on the work session in future posts.

March 17, 2009 Sunshine Week and Open Meetings Act Lawsuits in Hamblen County: Then and Now

March 15-21 is Sunshine Week in Tennessee. Usually, the local newspaper carries a series of front-page articles during Sunshine Week about openness in government, noting the importance of Tennessee's Open Meetings and Open Records Acts in ensuring open and accountable government. [Update: Thanks to Michael Silence for steering readers to this post]

Newspapers have traditionally been major proponents of open government, and there are some newspapers today who still continue the proud tradition of the press as guardian and protector of the public's right to know when government meetings are taking place and right to access to public records.

In this area, the Knoxville News-Sentinel has continued the tradition of the press as guardian and protector of open government. To protect the public from backroom deals and secret meetings, the Sentinel filed an Open Meetings lawsuit in 2007 against the Knox County Commission. The lawsuit resulted in an important victory for open government not only for the News-Sentinel but also for the people of Knox County.

And one time many years ago, the local Citizen-Tribune took the lead in exposing and stopping violations of the Open Meetings Law by the Morristown Civil Service Board.

The Tribune, a part of Lakeway Publishers, filed an Open Meetings lawsuit against the Morristown Civil Service Board some 15+ years ago. The Tribune asked for an injunction against the Civil Service Board to prevent secret deliberations and future violations of the Act and the Tribune asked that costs be assessed against the Board.

The Tribune won that battle, but only because it was willing to file suit on behalf of the public and the press.

What happens when there are local violations today?

In December of 2008, the Hamblen County Ethics Committee violated the Open Meetings Act by not providing notice to the public of its December 15 meeting. [Yes, as many have people have mentioned to me, there is real irony in the Ethics Committee violating state law.]

On January 22, during the public comments portion of the meeting of the county commission, Ethics Chair Joe Swann, Ethics member Stancil Ford, Ethics attorney Rusty Cantwell, and the full commission were informed of the Open Meetings violation by the Ethics Committee and the Ethics Committee was asked to correct the violation.

A Tribune reporter was present. However, in the Tribune's coverage of the commission meeting, the alleged Open Meetings violation by the Ethics Committee was not mentioned nor were comments or responses from any Ethics Committee member reported.

With no concern, questions, or reporting by the press, the Ethics Committee just ignored and denied the violation. While I would hope that the Tribune is still as concerned about the Open Meetings Act as it was fifteen years ago when it filed its own Open Meetings lawsuit, that just doesn't appear to be the case today.

Stonewalling by the Ethics Committee left only one way to enforce the Open Meetings Act--a citizen lawsuit. The citizen lawsuit was filed on February 17, 2009, only after the Ethics Committee continued to refuse to admit and correct its violation.

After the lawsuit was filed, the Ethics Committee quit ignoring and denying its violation and held a re-do meeting on March 11.

At the Ethics Committee re-do meeting, Bill Brittain, a member of the Ethics Committee, recused himself from the vote regarding discipline of Frank Parker and Paul King after being questioned about a conflict of interest regarding Frank Parker.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Fifteen years ago, the Morristown Civil Service Board violated the Open Meetings Act but did nothing about its violation until forced to do so as a result of an Open Meetings lawsuit filed by the Tribune.

In December 2008, the Hamblen County Ethics Committee violated the Open Meetings Act but did nothing about its violation until forced to do so as a result of an Open Meetings lawsuit filed by a citizen.

Some helpful links on Open Government in Tennessee: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government. Tennessee Press Association.

March 9, 2009 Official Pow-Wow...the Rest of the Story

In a recent post, I mentioned the rumor going around that at least two elected officials had met with other elected and/or appointed officials to discuss public business in a meeting that neither the public nor the press knew about.


Today at county commission committee meetings, Commissioner Joe Swann admitted that he and Commissioner Ricky Bruce had met with Director of Schools Dale Lynch and others. Joe said it was an unannounced meeting to discuss and prepare the school board's answers to questions about the proposed purchase of land for a new East High.


Joe said he was sorry if he had upset the Tribune by not telling them about the meeting. He said that no votes were taken, and he claimed that the Sunshine Law was not violated because it was just an information-gathering meeting. Ricky said nothing.

Tribune writer Bobbie Young was at the meeting.

February 28, 2009 More Official Pow-Wows Without Notice To The Public?

This blog contains my opinion on many issues. I share links to news stories that are reported across the state by various media. And I do some independent local news-gathering, posting information that the local newspaper ignores.

While I am cautious about mentioning things that I hear that have not been verified, there is a rumor going around that there was recently an (unannounced) meeting of a small group of elected and appointed officials who were engaged in important discussions of public business and expenditures.

[NOTE: This meeting may have been held in violation of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. While not all elected or appointed officials are covered by the Sunshine Law, this meeting allegedly included two or more officials who are covered by the Sunshine Law and whose participation in an unannounced meeting to deliberate about public business could rise to a violation of the letter and/or spirit of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. This is not an accusation of a violation because I don't know the specific nature of the discussions nor the identity of all participants.]

The public was not notified of this meeting.

The press apparently was not notified, but we'll have to wait and see if that glitch creates a problem for any of those involved in the meeting.

While the press has never reported when lowly John and Jane Taxpayer are not notified about public meetings, the press just may be ticked when the NEWSPAPER isn't notified!

One solution to solve the dilemma of whether a particular discussion or meeting is a true violation of the Sunshine Law would be to have a public message board for local public officials to use in order to share information with one another---AND THE PUBLIC. Knox County did this after the Knox County Commission was cited for private meetings and deliberations between commissioners. You can also reach the Knox County website here and then click on Commission Forum to see the public message board.

We are approaching the annual celebration of Sunshine Week in Tennessee. And the Citizen-Tribune, as it has always done, will have a wonderful editorial extolling the virtues of Tennessee's Open Meetings and Open Records Acts ("Sunshine" laws).

And at the same time, the Citizen-Tribune knows that there are unannounced meetings taking place in Hamblen County where important discussions and/or deliberations about the spending of millions of taxpayer dollars are taking place in the dark.

You can't have a "public" meeting without adequate notice to the public!

Wouldn't it be refreshing if the Tribune did more than write an editorial once-a-year about how important the Sunshine Laws are?

June 3, 2008 On Election Eve, Tribune Front Page Banner Headline Mentions Sales Tax Referendum

Sales tax election tomorrow

That was last night's headline in the Tribune. The report is that 577 people voted early.

During this election, the Tribune has carefully avoided the front-page infomercials that were the core of its "news" reporting during the failed February 5 countywide sales tax increase referendum.

Instead the promotion of this citywide sales tax increase referendum has been by the City with promotional letters sent out at taxpayer expense with the specific request that the recipient vote YES on the sales tax increase. [I may have missed it, but I don't remember the Tribune reporting that these letters went out--even though the Tribune, its owner-publisher, and most staff and reporters would have received these official letters.]

The City plans to slide a permanent sales tax increase in with the offer of a temporary 15-cent property tax increase.

Then the plan is for the county to come back and try to pass the sales tax increase in the county.

If at first you don't succeed (countywide), try, try again (citywide and then county only).

The fall back plan (city vote, then county) began as soon as the countywide referendum failed.

That's likely why the City, despite early talk of supporting the schools, has NOT agreed to provide any of its extra $1 million in projected sales tax money to the schools. That leaves it open for the county to call for another referendum in the fall and say we need to pass a sales tax increase in the county so we can swipe the extra $1 million back from the City "for the children."

The City will say fine and, boom, the permanent sales tax increase is in countywide despite the initial resistance of those pesky voters.

And then the good old boys can resume the practices of administrative overstaffing, hiring relatives, making interest-only payments on debt, overspending, $100 M city wish lists, and $50M? $70M? county building programs.

Conflicts of interest, no-bid contracts, nepotism, special raises to select workers, and take-home vehicles and lots of late model chrome for the elite can continue!

May 26, 2008 Front Page "News"?

Do you read the truth about government in the newspaper or just a front-page press release?

Is a professional reporter concerned when the financial facts of a front page hard news story may be wrong? Will a reporter who says he "stands by" his article and the audited figures in it show where his "audited" figures came from? Click on the "news" headline and excerpts at left.

The newspaper article, written by Bob Moore, quoted Trustee Bill Brittain and County Mayor David Purkey and provided and compared "audited" expenditure figures for 1997 and 2001.

The article states that the 1997 audited total for the general government, highway, garbage, and general debt was $14.1 million. A review of the audit shows that this total appears to be correct.

The article maintains that spending only went up slightly from 1997 to 2001 and that the 2001 audited total for the general government, highway, garbage, and general debt was $14.8 million. According to an auditor, a review of the audit shows that this total appears to be incorrect.

If you actually look at the 2001 audit, you will find that the expenditures for 2001 are not $14,800,000 as reported. Instead audited expenditures for 2001 are about $16,500,000 (see below). The "news" report somehow left off about $1,700,000 of county spending that is shown in the audit!

2001 AUDITED EXPENDITURES

General government fund $9,755,386 (p. 65)
General debt fund 4,048,765 (p. 85)
Highway fund 1,955,371 (p. 71)
Garbage fund 1,812,099 (p. 68)
-----------------
TOTAL OF 4 FUNDS $17,571,621
Less Tax Anticipation $ 1,000,000
Notes for General Fund
and Garbage Fund -----------------

2001 TOTAL AUDITED $16,571,621
EXPENDITURES

The audit shows approximately $16,500,000 in "audited" expenditures in 2001, but the front-page news article reported only $14,800,000 in 2001 "audited" expenditures.

Neither the County Mayor nor Trustee would ever respond to anyone's questions or offer an explanation for the $1,700,000 in spending that is in the audit but that is not in the "news" article. ($16,500,000 AUDIT - $14,800,000 NEWS REPORT)

Since no one would discuss the discrepancies, I called the reporter--Robert (Bobby) Moore--and told him that I had talked to an auditor and it appeared that $16,500,000 was spent in 2001. I then asked Bob if he could explain the $1,700,000 discrepancy in the newspaper report and the actual audit expenditure totals for 2001.

WARNING: If anyone else out there is considering calling Bob Moore to ask a question about an article he has written, be prepared to get nothing except a roundabout response which I paraphrase as follows: "I stand by my article, but, no, I will not answer any questions, I will not look at the actual audit, and I certainly will not tell you whether the figures in my article are really correct or not."

The conversation--paraphrased-- went more or less like this:

Noe: Bob, you reported that $14.8 million was spent (in 2001)...An auditor reviewed the audit with me and says that that is not the case...An auditor says that way more than $14.8 million was spent in 2001. Will you show me in the (2001) audit where $14.8 million was spent?
Moore: I know where it is...I'm not going to tell you...I'm not going to show you.

Noe: Why won't you show me what the expenditures were?
Moore: Because of your blog.

Noe: Bob, I have said either the Tribune was wrong OR they were given false figures. Now you say you know where it is. You know the real expenditures. Where is it (the expenditures that were not reported)?
Moore: I do know. I do know. But I'm not going to tell you. Linda, you don't have a clue. You don't have a clue about how to be a politician.

Bob Moore is a pretty savvy guy with numbers. He could look at the 2001 audit, find the expenditures for each of the four funds, and total them up in just a few minutes--just like the auditor did and just like I did. Because it would be an easy and quick review, I offered to bring him a copy of the 2001 audit. However, he absolutely refused to look at the 2001 audit to see if the figures he had been given and reported were true or not.

On the professional level, Bob Moore is a numbers guy and he writes front-page articles covering city and county government. He can write about whatever he (or his editor) chooses.

A professional reporter, writing a front-page news article that reaches thousands of people, should be willing to explain the facts and figures in his front-page article when asked instead of responding "I'm not going to tell you."

A front-page "news" article is serious business---especially during an election. How many people believed that "news" article and the "audited" figures in it?

Bob Moore says that he "stands by" his article AND the figures. Bob Moore says that he knows where the expenditures that were not reported are, but he can't reveal that information! Super secret and all that. Yeah, sure. It's more likely that Bob got duped and was given bogus figures and now he doesn't want to admit it.

Why can't he show where the figures came from for HIS article? Why won't he look at the 2001 audit and add up the expenditures in the four funds and see if they match what he reported? If he knew that way more than $14.8 million had been spent in 2001, why didn't he report the real amount that was spent and explain what was going on?

Bob loves to talk, but he doesn't want to talk about this article and the "audited" expenditures he reported.

I would like to know if he can (1) show in the audit where there is a total of $14.8 of expenditures in the four funds as he reported; if that doesn't work, (2) I would like for him to explain what he knows about the $1,700,000 of expenditures that are in the audit but that were left out of his report; if that doesn't work either, then (3) I would hope that Bob would simply acknowledge that he was given false figures, reported them, and is not concerned about the accuracy of this or other front-page articles/stories.

Bob makes it sound like he knew all along that 2001 audited expenditures were higher than the $14.8 million that he reported, but for some strange reason he can't or won't reveal why he didn't report the real expenditure total.

If he REALLY knew that way more than $14.8 million had been spent and even knew where it was, why did he write a front-page "news" report saying only $14.8 million had been spent in 2001?

[NOTE: Bob Moore would hate to hear this, but I was not offended and in fact took it as a compliment when he said that I didn't 'have a clue about how to be a politician.' News flash! I never intended or wanted to be a politician!]

We've got more than enough of them in government.

May 18, 2008 Sales Tax Vote: All Quiet on the Morristown Front

Yes, there is a citywide sales tax referendum going on. Early voting started last week. Election Day is June 3. The Tribune has been pretty quiet---so far.

There have not been any front-page pictures/headlines/articles quoting all the elected and unelected "leaders" who support the tax. This is quite a contrast to the incessant front-page pro-tax articles/advertisements in the Tribune in the days leading up to the February 5 countywide sales tax referendum that failed.

Maybe the June 3 citywide referendum is going to be a stealth election where the powers-that-be network to make sure that the troops come in and vote for the tax increase, and other than that, mum's the word. Quiet. Don't remind the average taxpayer about the city's June 3 "pick-your-poison" sales tax referendum and early voting.

Bob Moore wrote an article back in March indicating that the City was going to spend $12,000 on this citywide referendum to educate and advocate for passage of the sales tax increase. As of about noon on Thursday, the City had not yet registered with the Hamblen County Election Commission as a "committee" to support the sales tax.

During the last (February 5) referendum, the City of Morristown formed a committee to support the sales tax. This "committee" put up "Vote YES for Sales Tax" signs on city property and at the Courthouse and mailed out letters signed by the City Mayor and all Councilmen encouraging Morristown residents to vote YES for the sales tax increase.

The City donated $3,500.00 tax dollars to this committee. The "committee" spent $3,066.26 of those donated tax dollars to "educate" those voters who might be inclined to vote against a sales tax increase. The City's finance director Dynise Robertson served as treasurer of that committee.

Click on the images above to see the City's donation of $3,500.00 tax dollars to this committee and the itemization of the committee's $3,066.26 in expenditures. [No, I don't know why or who spent tax dollars at an Office Max in Johnson City instead of Office Max in Morristown.]

Most local residents vividly remember the 2002 "pick-your-poison" wheel tax referendum. Tribune headlines provided the education, "Voters Should Pick Poison." (See above). Bob Moore's article quoted the Commission Chair as telling voters it's an "either-or" proposition---either you vote for the wheel tax OR there will be a property tax increase. Voters dutifully "picked" the wheel tax, and County Commission just as dutifully passed a property tax increase just a few short months later.

Now it's the City's turn. They want city voters to "pick" a sales tax increase despite the fact that sales taxes are among the most regressive taxes. They hit everyone, for sure, but they hit the poor and those on fixed incomes the hardest. Despite the disproportionate and heavy burden of sales taxes on the poor, the City spent over $3,000 tax dollars on the last failed sales tax referendum and, according to City Administrator Jim Crumley, the City may spend even more tax dollars ($12,000?) on the current sales tax referendum in order to "educate" voters to vote YES.

The City wants to put the sales tax increase "in-the-revenue-bag" and then property tax increases can resume. Pick one poison (by referendum) and then the property tax poison (that you can't vote on in a referendum) will be just down the road. Just like the county.

The sales tax increase will then be just another eternal tax burden that hits the poor, the elderly, and those on fixed incomes every time they purchase the basic necessities---a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, shoes, a shirt.

There is already a tremendous sales tax burden (9.5%) on goods purchased in Morristown/ Hamblen County.

Isn't that enough? Aren't people having enough trouble as it is paying for $5/gallon milk, nearly $4/gallon gas, and sky-high food, utility, insurance, and sewer increases?

March 20, 2008 Four for Four: Batting 1.000

I'm batting 1.000! See my predictions in my March 15 post.

According to yesterday's page 8 Tribune article, the City of Morristown is moving ahead with plans to hold a city-wide referendum after the narrow failure of the February 5th countywide sales tax referendum.

Nothing surprising about that. In every pre-February 5th front-page tax-promotion article in the Tribune, the City repeatedly stated that it would hold a city only sales tax referendum if the February 5th countywide referendum failed.

Where I'm 4 for 4 and batting 1.000 is in predicting the City's four plans for spending the $2 Million dollars that the City estimates it will take in if its city-wide referendum passes.

My March 15th predictions in blue and the City's March 18th intentions in red:

1. The City will reduce last year's historic $0.37 property tax increase by $0.15.
The City will reduce last year's historic $0.37 property tax increase by $0.15.

2. The City will give some of the increase to the schools.
The City will give some of the increase to the schools.

3. The City will use some of the increase to build up its fund balance that has been drained.
The City will use some of the increase to build up its fund balance that has been drained.

4. The City will use some of the increase for capital expenditures.
The City will use some of the increase for capital expenditures.

Four-for-four!

The article adds that the City will probably hold a special election instead of just placing the referendum on the ballot for the already-scheduled August or November election.

This means that the City taxpayers will have to pay roughly $8,000 for costs of the special election where there would be no cost to City taxpayers if the measure were placed on the August or November ballot.

In addition to the $8,000 in costs for a special election, the City is apparently planning to spend another $12,000 of taxpayer dollars for, as the paper reports, "public education and advocacy."

[NOTE: During the last referendum, the City was reported as planning to spend $4,000 for public education and advocacy via letters and signs to promote the sales tax. Looks like the City's ante has tripled.]

It's time for another prediction.

If it ever looks like the city special sales tax referendum won't pass---even with free front-page Tribune advertising/articles and even with the spending of $12,000 taxpayer dollars for "public education and advocacy"--- then the City will spend even more and do whatever it takes to educate and advocate for the passage of this referendum.

Cut spending? No. Live within your (the taxpayers') means? No.

March 15, 2008 Another Sales Tax Referendum?

Same song (More Taxes); Second Verse (Another Sales Tax Referendum)

The City of Morristown is going to discuss a City-wide Sales Tax Increase Referendum at its March 18 meeting.

Click here to see the entire City Council Agenda for March 18. The last page lists items for the Council's Work Session on that day.

Item #1 Discussion of City-wide Local Option Sales Tax Referendum.
Item #2 Budget Review.

Wonder if anyone at the Council will add an item to the Work Session agenda?

Item #3 How to Live Within a Budget (Like the Citizens Do) by Making Painful Cuts (Like the Citizens Do) and Eliminating $100 Million Dollar Wish Lists.

Locals are aware that a countywide sales tax increase referendum was on the February 5 ballot and was narrowly defeated.

The countywide referendum was defeated despite the efforts of the City in using tax dollars to put up Vote YES signs and to send out mass mailings to Morristown residents urging them to Vote YES; despite County Mayor David Purkey and Commission Chair Stancil Ford (with help from the P-16 Council and the Tennessee Technology Center) sending out letters to county residents urging support for the referendum; despite the School Board's support; despite the Chamber of Commerce's support; and despite the unending free daily front-page advertising/articles in the Citizen-Tribune telling everyone how truly GREAT a sales tax increase would be.

When will the government decide it has enough of our money?

The current 9.5% sales tax is already HUGE and hits lower and fixed-income individuals with a vengeance.

Shortly after I paid our property taxes (February 29!), I ran into an acquaintance and we started talking about taxes. He, like so many others, is sick of taxes, taxes, and more taxes; fees, fees, and more fees. Then he said something that I've heard before but it bears repeating.

The government taxes us when we earn money and then taxes us again when we spend what little we have left!

Apparently, the City of Morristown is determined to increase the current 9.5% sales tax. With the failure of the first (countywide) referendum, my guess is that the City will schedule a citywide sales tax referendum and will say that if the increase passes: (1) they will reduce last year's city property tax increase by 15-cents; (2) they will give some of the increase to the schools even though not required to do so; (3) they will use some of the money to build up the city's reserves that have been drained by years of uncontrolled spending and borrowing; and (4) they will use some of the money for capital projects.

Now if I were a city resident, I would have a question about this. With the February 5 countywide referendum, the city expected to get $1 Million new sales tax dollars and said that it would use the $1 Million to reduce the city property tax rate by 15 cents.

With a proposed citywide referendum, the city expects to take in about $2 Million new sales tax dollars. If I were a city property taxpayer, I would expect that $2 Million to translate into nearly a 30-cent city property tax reduction!

This is nothing more than a desperation tax to cover years of uncontrolled spending, outlandish borrowing, and living high on the taxpayer's dollar.

And you can bet that the Citizen-Tribune will be behind this tax increase all the way with constant free front-page (advertising) articles and pictures---just like it did in pushing for the countywide tax increase.

I think I can even tell you in advance how this tax increase will be "sold" to city voters. The theme of the tax increase will be that out-of-towners will pay most of the new taxes.

Tax yourself so you can tax others at the same time.

But out-of-towners don't have to come here to shop any more. Major retailers have opened stores in surrounding cities. And with the price of gas, an out-of-towner would certainly think twice before traveling anywhere to shop.

So will an added tax really mean more revenue or will it just be a negative that discourages people from driving to Morristown to shop?

December 18, 2007 Whereas...Let the ILLEGAL Invasion Continue?

Bobby Moore writes that City Councilman Mel Tucker's anti-ILLEGAL immigration initiative has hit a wall.

Moore reports that the federal government can't, or won't, do anything to help local law enforcement take steps to address ILLEGAL immigration in Morristown and Hamblen County.

We have a federal government that won't enforce laws against ILLEGAL immigration....and now it also refuses to assist local governments help enforce laws against ILLEGAL immigration!

Mel Tucker sees and has outlined the damage that ILLEGAL immigration has done in Morristown.

Tucker's "WHEREAS" paragraphs in his ILLEGAL immigration resolutions describe some of the damage to the city and to the local community as a result of ILLEGAL immigration. Tucker's federal resolution is here. His state resolution is here.

Sheriff Esco Jarnagin offered an analogy. ILLEGAL immigration is like someone who criminally trespasses on your property, puts up a tent, and "camps out" on your front yard!

After years of throwing out the welcome mat to ILLEGAL immigrants and years of turning a blind eye to the harm and costs of ILLEGAL immigrants, Morristown has become a sanctuary city for ILLEGAL immigrants and Hamblen County has become a sanctuary county for ILLEGAL immigrants.

The city has passed Tucker's resolutions. The county should go ahead and pass the resolutions this Thursday, December 20.

Then instead of just saying "oh, well, let the ILLEGAL invasion continue," citizens and local officials should ramp up the pressure on the federal government to secure our borders and to begin genuine efforts--with the help of local law enforcement--to enforce immigration laws.

April 1, 2007 Surprises Everywhere!

Big things are happening...

Mayor David Purkey called me and apologized graciously and profusely for his many fits of anger while I was on county commission! He said that he had been overly frustrated by my demands for accountability and fiscal responsibility and that he was relieved that I didn't run again because now he and his staff can say and do anything and no one really asks any questions.

Along with his apology he admitted that all the allegations in my June 22, 2006, statement to County Commission were true and that he had been spending taxpayer dollars without commission approval, had created false documents, had manipulated the 2001 audit, had put his (ineligible) friend on the county's insurance plan, and on and on and on.

Mayor Purkey added that he was now going into financial rehab. And taking lots of anger management courses on the side!

Open Meetings Violation Sparks Lawsuit! The Citizen-Tribune, after running several recent editorials and articles about the Open Meetings laws in Tennessee, is suing the Morristown City Council and City Administrator Jim Crumley for Open Meetings violations.

The paper reported back on March 6 that city councilmen had voted "publicly" to authorize Crumley to bid $250,000 for the Lowland sewer treatment plant at the old Enka site. The paper then reported that council had later voted "privately"-- outside of an official announced called meeting-- to authorize Crumley to bid up to $350,000 for the Lowland sewer treatment plant at the old Enka site.

Finally, the paper reported that a "majority" of the council had voted again "privately"--- outside of an official announced called meeting--- to authorize various bids above $350,000 for the sewer plant.

The newspaper, deciding that actions speak louder than editorials, is taking a stand in support of the state's Open Meetings laws. The Tribune is going to court to challenge the taking of "votes" outside of an announced meeting.

More Great Open Records News! The Hamblen County School Board has decided that it no longer has anything to hide about the construction management arrangement in the previous $35 million dollar elementary and middle school building program.

In the spirit of openness, the Board is going to release the letter that its attorney Scott Reams wrote to former SB Chairman Ernie Horner about the school board's deal back then to pay construction managers to build schools and then to pay them even more to supervise themselves as they build. In a press release, the Board said that it regretted having spent $40,000 on lawyers to keep the simple little letter secret for so long.

Dr. Lynch to Open Chain of International Schools. Dr. Dale Lynch has resigned his position as Superintendent of Hamblen County Schools and has announced plans to open a chain of International Schools throughout the southeast to encourage the continued influx of illegal immigrants into the area.

Jefferson Federal, Garcia Labor, the Niswonger Foundation, Morristown City Council, and the Hamblen County Commission provided money for Dr. Lynch to start up the first International School in Hamblen County. These same groups are partnering with Dr. Lynch in his plans to franchise the International School concept. Unfortunately, the head of Garcia Labor, Maximino Garcia, was recently convicted of harboring illegal aliens. Prison officials say that Garcia is unavailable for comment at this time but that Garcia has promised to wire money to help Dr. Lynch.

Fantastic medical news! All the spineless individuals who have sent in anonymous comments to this blog over the past several months have had backbone replacement surgery. They will be sending in all future comments with their real names so that I can post their name/comments.

FLASH! Another apology! Hamblen County Commission Chairman Stancil Ford has apologized to Gwen Holden.

A few months ago, Ford, in response to a question from Holden, told her emphatically that Mayor Purkey had not sent a false $120,000 matching funds document to the state at the start of the Russellville sewer grant work.

Then Ford began to wonder if what he had said in defense of Purkey was true. Ford asked to see the $120,000 matching funds document that is in the sewer grant file in Mayor Purkey's office.

Ford discovered that Purkey did send this false document/resolution to the state and had even included a letter with the false document falsely assuring state officials that the $120,000 spending resolution had passed unanimously at a county commission meeting.

Being a gentleman, Ford graciously apologized to Holden. Ford added that money is not the issue now because the money has already been spent. However, Ford proclaimed that he will not be a party in protecting officials who have created false documents, who have made false statements to state officials, and who have failed to bring spending resolutions to the commission for approval as required by law.

Ford will ask Mayor Purkey to issue a public apology at the April commission meeting. Better hope that Mayor Purkey has graduated from those anger management classes before asking for that apology, Chairman Ford!

Term limits are coming! The Hamblen County Commission and the Morristown City Council are planning to enact term limits for all elected officials setting a maximum of two 4-year terms for any elected office. The rumor is that there will be a term-limit exception for Commissioner Guy Collins and City Councilman Doc Rooney.

More news about news! The Citizen-Tribune from now on will demand documentation about county financial information that it is given and will make corrections about the most flagrant false financial information that it has been given in the past.

This new policy of verification comes after the Tribune realized that its reporters had been "used" and had been given false financial information in the past---false information that was then reported to the public in front-page "news" articles.

One of the first actions in implementing the new policy will have the Tribune printing a front-page retraction of a front-page article that it ran in April 2002 as incumbent county officials used the Tribune to put out false financial information to influence the 2002 elections.

In the article set for retraction, C-T reporter Robert Moore reported that county spending was under control and that county officials say that the 2001 county audit showed that a total of only $14.8 million had been spent out of the General Government Fund, the Garbage Fund, the Highway Fund, and the General Debt Fund.

Moore apparently was not offered and did not ask to see the 2001 audit to check on the accuracy of the 2001 spending data that he was given was reporting.

After several years of this and other "news" articles containing incorrect county financial data, the paper has now decided that it does not want its front page to be used for self-serving government press releases that contain false financial or other data.

The paper and reporter Moore now have a copy of the 2001 audit and have found out that $16.8 million was spent out of the four funds mentioned above---NOT the $14.8 million in 2001 spending that Moore said officials told him was the correct audit amount.

Change in Committee Meeting Times! The Hamblen County Commission has decided that its committee meetings on the 2nd Monday of each month should be held at the same time (5:00 PM) that its regular commission meetings are held. Formerly, committee meetings were held at 10:30, 11:30, 12:00, or 1:00 when working people couldn't make it.

TELEVISING MEETINGS.

The County Commission has decided to tape and televise its committee meetings. The Commission wants to provide a way for those who are unable to attend committee meetings to see what is going on in the same way that the public can see tapes of the full commission meetings.

The Morristown City Council is no longer afraid of televising its meetings. City Council has decided that it will tape and televise council meetings and work sessions on the Charter and MUS FiberNet government/education channels.

Surprise! HCBOE also wants to televise its meetings! In a sudden move, the Hamblen Board of Education has decided that it, too, will tape and televise its meetings. The Board is offering a new civics course for students, and now realizes that televising School Board meetings promotes countywide civics education and keeps the taxpayers informed.

More great School Board/County Commission news for taxpayers! At their April meetings, the School Board and the County Commission will report that there will be no tax hike next year. The School Board will fund improvements to East and West High by using the roughly $4 million in BEP funding that the schools already get for capital outlay and debt service. This $4 million will take care of all financing for the high school improvements.

News to Die(t) for: Hamblen County Commissioners, City Councilmen, and the School Board are on a new trust diet. One heaping serving of honesty, two scoops of openness, and a generous topping of accountability.

And the best news of all! The Hamblen County Commission has decided to pass THE strongest ethics law in the State of Tennessee.

The Commission has decided that conflicts of interest are an absolute disgrace and should be eliminated. Therefore, any commissioner with a personal or family conflict of interest on a matter will not be allowed to vote on a matter. Commissioners have realized that it's a joke to make silly and useless announcements admitting that they have a conflict but adding that their personal or family interest doesn't really have any effect on their vote.

In keeping with its policy to eliminate conflicts of interest, the Commission has also decided that its new Ethics Committee will have NO public officials, government employees, or relatives of either on it.

In addition, the new Ethics Committee will be authorized to actually investigate credible complaints from the public regarding ethical violations by public officials and public employees and may recommend public censure for ethical lapses or referral to state authorities for specific legal violations.

The Commission has decided that the public is tired of "fox guarding the henhouse" politics and ethics.

Late-breaking special report on April 1. Pigs are currently flying in circles over the Courthouse dome, the City Center steeple, and the Board of Education building.