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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

July 17, 2010 Commissioner Stancil Ford's Hit-and-Run

County Commissioner Stancil Ford of Cedar Hill Road was involved in a hit-and-run accident on June 30, 2010, just an hour-and-a-half before the above picture was taken at the County Commission meeting at 5:00 PM on that same day.

Did the local "news"paper report that Stancil's truck had hit a vehicle in which a couple in their 70s were riding just 90 minutes before Stancil arrived at the June 30th County Commission meeting? That Stancil's truck just kept on going after side-swiping the couple's car? That Stancil's truck was found abandoned in a driveway at the intersection of 11E and Merchants Greene?  That the driver had fled on foot or had been picked up before the police arrived?  No, No, No, and No.

Did lots of people know about this? Yes. Who? County Mayor David Purkey, some county commissioners, some elected officials and courthouse employees, EMA Director Eric Carpenter, hospital personnel, EMS, and on and on the list goes.

But why no mention in the "news"paper about Stancil Ford's hit-and-run? Why no mention of Stancil's illness?  "News"paper owner Jack Fishman pulls the strings on what is reported in the "news"paper. 

Somebody ordered and directed the cover-up of Stancil's hit-and-run, and that somebody has managed to keep a tight lid on it.  It's been over two weeks, and the "news"paper hasn't mentioned it.  The documents below, the Vehicle Impound Form and the first three pages of the Traffic Crash Report, give you information about Stancil's hit-and-run that Jack and his "news"paper don't want you to know. Click on the images to enlarge and read.

Now if a county commissioner or city councilman or an individual that Jack Fishman and company dislike had been involved in a similar hit-and-run, Jack and his crack reporter Bobby Moore would have been all over it--pictures and maybe a series of articles. Commission Chairman Stancil Ford is involved in a hit-and-run, and it's like it never even happened. 


Anyone can have an unexpected medical problem such as a stroke or heart attack or black-out while driving. If that's what happened and if someone was afraid to wait for an ambulance and took Stancil from the scene directly to a hospital to get medical attention, then that should have been reported.

But if Stancil had a medical problem and simply ran from the scene or had someone take him from the scene to the Courthouse just so he could swing the gavel at a brief County Commission meeting, that's a serious problem involving not only Stancil but also whoever took Stancil from the hit-and-run to the Commission meeting without talking with the police and without checking on the couple who were hit.

And if Stancil had been in the hospital just a few hours before the accident and left the hospital against the advice of his doctors--just so he could swing the gavel at a brief County Commission meeting--then the public and especially the people that he hit need to know this.

Now, we'll see if the "news"paper continues to ignore Stancil's hit-and-run. The "news"paper will either continue to stonewall this story or it will start "spinning" the story as it makes excuses for Stancil's actions on June 30th. 

Yes, if Stancil had a medical problem and was taken directly to the hospital after the accident for treatment, that's understandable. But if Stancil was involved in an accident, didn't stick around to talk to the officer, didn't go directly to the hospital, and didn't check on the couple that he hit but, instead, went to a county commission meeting, then there's a lot of explaining to do.  And the big question is (1) Where was Stancil and who was he with between 3:38 PM (when the officer arrived to investigate and found Stancil's truck abandoned in a driveway) and 5:00 PM (when Stancil was sitting in the Courthouse swinging a gavel)? 

May 19, 2010 Scott Purkey Is No Longer a Member of County Civil Service Board

Rusty Cantwell, Hamblen County's attorney, and Jeff Taylor, attorney for the Hamblen County Civil Service Board, have reviewed the case law and citations that I provided to Taylor about a month ago and have agreed that Scott Purkey legally gave up his position on the Civil Service Board last fall when he accepted appointment to the Construction Board of Appeals. 

Scott Purkey is the nephew of County Mayor David Purkey and former Sheriff Otto Purkey. Scott was  appointed to the Hamblen County Civil Service Board in early 2009.

Although state law says that a member of the civil service board can not hold any other elected or appointed position in the county, Scott accepted appointment as a member of the Construction Board of Appeals in the fall of 2009.

When I pointed out to the Hamblen County Commission that Scott's membership on two boards was a violation of the civil service act, Scott tried to resolve the problem---and hold onto his Civil Service Board position--- by resigning from the Construction Board of Appeals. [And, no, the local "news"paper didn't report this intial allegation during the public comments portion of a Hamblen County Commission  meeting]

The problem with Scott's violation of the law and his attempt to fix it by resigning from the Construction Board of Appeals---as I mentioned in several earlier blog posts--is that there is case law that when an individual accepts a second "incompatible office,"  he automatically gives up the first office.

Scott was appointed to the civil service board first. When he accepted appointment to the board of construction appeals at a later date, he voluntarily and automatically gave up his civil service position since he could not serve on both and chose to accept the board of construction appeals appointment.

Click here, here, and here.

But never fear, Scott is launching a campaign to get re-appointed to the Civil Service Board. And  there are several county commissioners who will do whatever Scott and his uncles (County Mayor David Purkey and former Sheriff Otto Purkey) ask as the Purkeys continue to nip at Sheriff Esco Jarnagin's heels because Jarnagin defeated Scott's Uncle Otto and David's brother Otto in 2006.

A lot of people think that county commissioners would not and should not appoint people who have been and who are active opponents of the Sheriff to the Civil Service Board.  Independence and fairness should be the hallmark of service on the Civil Service Board.

Because current Sheriff Esco Jarnagin defeated Scott's Uncle Otto Purkey in 2006, appointing Scott Purkey to the Civil Service Board that handles grievances against Sheriff Jarnagin is like stacking a jury with friends of the Defendant. 

Civil service was adopted as a means to help remove politics from the Sheriff's department. Scott Purkey should not even ask to be appointed to a Board that handles grievances against the man who defeated his Uncle Otto, but he will. 

Scott Purkey's  first and now this second effort to get on the Hamblen County Civil Service Board is tainted and compromised by his political and family ties to the man (Otto Purkey) who lost a heated political race to current Sheriff Esco Jarnagin in 2006.

But this is Hamblen County, and the Purkeys, who still haven't forgotten and haven't moved past Jarnagin's victory over Otto in 2006, continue to try to make things difficult for Jarnagin. It will be interesting to watch the politics of Scott Purkey's push to get back on the Civil Service Board where he can vote on issues involving the man (Esco Jarnagin) who defeated his Uncle Otto Purkey.

It will be interesting to watch as commissioners put on blinders to vote for Scott Purkey, ignoring the political and family ties that naturally compromise and raise questions about Scott's independence and fairness in anything involving Esco Jarnagin. 

If the shoe were on the other foot, wonder how many commissioners would appoint someone with strong family and political ties to their opponent(s) to a board that handles grievances against commissioners?

If a commissioner were a defendant in a trial, how many commissioners would want to have the trial before a judge or jury with strong family and political ties to their opponent?

April 1, 2010 Conference Call with Good News from Hamblen County Commission Chair Stancil Ford and Mayor David Purkey

I had a very nice surprise conference call with Hamblen County Commission Chair Stancil Ford and County Mayor David Purkey early this morning.

Stancil initiated the call, but Mayor Purkey was on the line as well.

Stancil said that the two of them had been studying commission operations and the way appointments are made to boards and commissions and they have decided to adopt some suggestions that I have made over the years in order to be more open and citizen-friendly. I listened.

Two of the changes that Stancil and David are proposing are:

1) Stancil said that Committee meetings will begin at 5:00 PM--just like commission meetings--instead of the current 11:30 AM. Stancil said that he had finally realized that having committee meetings at 11:30 AM shuts out the citizens of Hamblen County who want to hear the discussions and have input but have to work for a living. I thanked him.

2) David then said that he was going to propose time or term-limits for people who serve on boards and commissions in Hamblen County.

David said that Stancil and he had finally realized that the same people do not need to be appointed over and over to the same board and do not need to serve on 3-4 boards at the same time. They thought the Commission would go along with their idea. I thanked them.

It was a good conversation and I think they had some other ideas to share with me, but I didn't have time to listen.

In my best Stancil imitation, I banged the phone/gavel down and growled/shouted "Your three minutes are up!"

UPDATE:  To all who e-mailed or called to tell me how pleased you are about this change of heart/policy by Stancil and David. Sorry, there hasn't been even the slightest change of heart by either one. It's April 1st and you just got pranked! 

March 24, 2010 Watch for a Grievance To Be Filed Against Esco Jarnagin; UPDATE: Read Attorney Cantwell's Letter to Jarnagin Advising Jarnagin To Dismiss Deputies

It is very possible that one or more of the deputies who were recently fired by Sheriff Jarnagin will file a grievance with the Civil Service Board over the terminations.

Jarnagin was recently force to terminate the deputies on the advice of County Attorney Rusty Cantwell in order to comply with the Civil Service Act that was adopted in Hamblen County during the term of former Sheriff Otto Purkey. 

To read Cantwell's letter and his advice to Jarnagin to "dismiss" the deputies, click or double-click on the letter (below) to enlarge it. Cantwell's letter was issued after a third attorney general's opinion (March 2010) again said that deputies in any county that has adopted the County Sheriff's Civil Service Act of 1974 can not run for sheriff. 

Click here for a prior post on this topic and links to the prior AG opinions (October 2009 and January 2010) on deputies covered under civil service running for office.

If a grievance is filed, will Scott Purkey--who has been serving illegally on the Civil Service Board for several months--hear the grievance? Click here. Scott is former Sheriff Otto Purkey's nephew. He is also the nephew of current County Mayor David Purkey, and the son of Junior Purkey.

March 20, 2010 Scott Purkey Resigns One Position After Serving Illegally on Civil Service Board for Months

At the Thursday county commission meeting (March 18), I passed out a section of the Civil Service Act to all commissioners and to the press. After reading TCA Section 8-8-406 aloud, I pointed out the obvious, this one-sentence section says that a Civil Service Board member can NOT hold any elected or appointed office within the county.

Click here for my previous post and to view the state law (TCA 8-8-406) that I handed out to the press and to the commissioners.

I then informed the commissioners that Civil Service Board member Scott Purkey has been serving illegally as a member of the Civil Service Board for many months because he is not only on the Civil Service Board but he is also on the Board of Construction Appeals.   [Maybe it is just coincidence, but the Scott Purkey who has been allowed to serve illegally on the Civil Service Board just happens to be the nephew of County Mayor David Purkey and former Sheriff Otto Purkey and is the son of Junior Purkey a/k/a the Purkey Posse.]

I was told today that Scott Purkey hustled to the Courthouse and resigned from the Board of Construction Appeals yesterday, one day after his nearly 6-month violation of the Civil Service Act was made public. One has to wonder if Purkey ever read the Civil Service Act--either before or after he was appointed to the Civil
Service Board. The law that he was to uphold and administer clearly says that you can't be on the Civil Service Board and hold any other elected or appointed office.

UPDATE: Purkey's rush to resign from the Board of Construction Appeals is an obvious attempt to preserve his position on the Civil Service Board where he can continue his partisan activities. David Purkey will try to keep Scott in that position even though there is support for the proposition that Scott already gave up his position on the Civil Service Board automatically on the day that he accepted appointment to the Construction Board of Appeals.

If you are thinking that you didn't see any report of this in the "news"paper, it's because the local "news"paper didn't report it.  Now we'll have to wait for Sunday's paper to see if the "news"paper bothers to report that the allegation was made, that Purkey was in fact in violation of the Civil Service Act for about six months, and that he then resigned from the Board of Construction Appeals to try to keep his Civil Service Board seat. Do NOT hold your breath on this one.

It would be a real shocker if the "news"paper actually did some follow-up and asked Scott Purkey about this and whether he has ever read any part of the Civil Service Act. Nah, that won't happen. The local "news"paper follows a Don't Ask & Don't Tell policy on "news" about elected and appointed officials. 

"News" doesn't exist unless it is "news" that has been pre-approved for publication by the powers-that-be.

March 19, 2010 Is Civil Service Board Member Scott Purkey Serving Illegally?

The 1974 Sheriff's Civil Service Act which has been adopted in Hamblen County provides for a three-person civil service board to test applicants, draw up employment rosters, etc.

The members of the Hamblen County Civil Service Board are Joel Seal, Tim Horner, and Scott Purkey. It is difficult to keep the tangled web of Courthouse kinships straight, but I understand that Scott Purkey is Mayor David Purkey and former Sheriff Otto Purkey's nephew and Junior Purkey's son. David, Otto, and Junior are brothers.

Yesterday at county commission, I provided the commissioners and "news"paper reporter Bobbie Young with a copy of the above section (TCA 8-8-406) of the Civil Service Act. You can click on the image to enlarge it.

During public comments, I read this short section that includes the statement that members of the Civil Service Board "shall not hold any elected or appointed office within the county."

I then pointed out that Scott Purkey is serving on the Civil Service Board while also holding an appointed position on the Construction Board of Appeals.  No commissioner said a word. Mayor David Purkey said nothing. County Attorney Rusty Cantwell said nothing. No commissioner asked Cantwell to comment. Chairman Stancil Ford finally said that he would look into it.

First, the Civil Service Board granted leave to deputies to run for office in violation of the Civil Service Act. Click here. Now--unless somebody decides that the words "shall not hold any elected of appointed office within the county" mean the exact opposite of what they say--it looks like a member of the Civil Service Board, Scott Purkey, is not "qualified" to continue service on the Board and is violating the Civil Service Act.

Scott is not only related to former Sheriff Otto Purkey, he worked for Otto in the Sheriff Department and supported Otto in the 2006 Sheriff's election. Because of his obvious partisanship, Scott should never have been appointed to the Civil Service  Board in the first place. Out of all the people in Hamblen County, surely there is a person who meets the qualifications of the act and who can be expected to act in an impartial and knowledgeable manner in fairly administering the Civil Service Act.

Scott Purkey's initial appointment to the Civil Service Board gets back to the good old boys network and keeping everything in-house. It is obvious where that style of appointment has gotten the Civil Service Board.  We'll soon see if Scott is so desperate to stay on the Civil Service Board that he resigns his Construction Board of Appeals position or if Scott finally recognizes that his "service" on the Civil Service Board was compromised from day one and that he should resign from that Board.

Just to make sure that all the info is out. Scott was appointed to the Civil Service Board first and then many months later he was appointed to the Construction Board of Appeals.  It will be interesting to see if someone tries to justify Scott's dual service by interpreting 8-8-406 as saying that you only have to be free of other office at the time you are appointed to the Civil Service Board--then you can accept all the other appointments that you want to. 
That, in my opinion, would be an absurd position but who knows what will be done or said to protect Mayor Purkey's nephew. 

If the statute is meant to prevent a conflict in dual service on the Civil Service Board and other boards of offices, then when you are appointed to the Civil Service Board and when you are appointed to another office doesn't matter.  TCA 8-8-406 simply says members of the Board "shall not hold any elected or appointed office within the county."  Scott Purkey is a member of the Civil Service Board and holds an appointed position within the county. 

While he could "resign" from the Civil Service Board, there is support for the position that when Purkey accepted appointment to the Construction Board of Appeals, he automatically gave up/resigned his position on the Civil Service Board without any other action being taken.

March 19, 2010 Civil Service: Commissioner Bruce, Sheriff Jarnagin, and County Attorney Rusty Cantwell Tangle over Recent Firings

There were some real fireworks at the end of yesterday's county commission meeting.

Commissioner Ricky Bruce had sent a letter to commissioners expressing his concern and displeasure at the recent firing of three deputies who are running for office in Hamblen and Jefferson Counties in violation of the Civil Service Act. The three deputies are Ernie Burzell and Roy Rucker who are running for Sheriff in Hamblen County and David Kitts who is running for Sheriff in Jefferson County.

Bruce had lots of questions and comments about the law itself (he doesn't like it) and about the handling of the entire matter. Bruce wanted to blame the Sheriff for putting the three on unpaid leave and then telling them that they had to resign or be fired because of state law TCA 8-8-419.

Sheriff Jarnagin stated that the blame lies with the three-man Civil Service Board (Joel Seal, Tim Horner, and Scott Purkey). Jarnagin said that it was the Civil Service Board that granted leave to Burzell, Rucker, and Kitts, and the Sheriff then signed off on the leave. Jarnagin added that the Civil Service Board should be responsible for knowing the civil service act under which it operates and should not have granted leave. [UPDATE: Scott Purkey has been serving illegally on the Civil Service Board for many months. Click here and here.]

Cantwell tried to defend himself as he explained that he had been involved in many discussions about the law going back many months. Bruce began to realize that the civil service act as written and perhaps even the federal Hatch Act give job security to deputies but in return the deputies give up the right to run for partisan office. Bruce complained that the law makes no sense, is unfair, and he wants it changed.

Next, Bruce pushed for Jarnagin to agree not to fill the three deputy positions and to hold the jobs open until after the election if necessary. Jarnagin said that he could not do that. Bruce then asked if the county could at least continue to pay insurance for the men until some future date. County Mayor David Purkey spoke up and said that as County Mayor he is in charge of insurance and he could continue their insurance as he had done before for other individuals. 

Now I am sitting there thinking, just a minute, buster, you can't violate the terms of the insurance contract just because you are "in charge" of insurance.  County Attorney Cantwell said nothing in response to Mayor Purkey's assertion that he could take care of continuing to provide insurance for employees that had been terminated. Thankfully, Commissioner Baker spoke up and asked Cantwell if the county really could pay insurance for employees who had been terminated. Cantwell said that the insurance contract would determine who is a  full-time employee and who is eligible for county insurance. 

[Neither the Mayor nor anyone else can just decide to pick and choose and arbitrarily continue to pay insurance for people who are no longer employees.  The insurance contract does matter.  County Attorney Cantwell said nothing about Mayor Purkey's admission that he (Purkey) had continued county insurance for certain people in the past or Purkey's claim that he could continue insurance for the three deputies with a wave of the Mayoral hand.  Of course, terminated employees may have the option of continuing insurance coverage for a period of time under COBRA provisions.]

After all was said and done, Ricky Bruce was right about one thing--the situation was handled poorly.

Apparently, County Attorney Rusty Cantwell and the Civil Service Board and Sheriff Jarnagin and the deputies thought that they could get around the Civil Service Act if the deputies took a leave of absence to run for office despite two AG opinions (October 2009 and January 2010) that said when you announce for office you have violated the civil service act and must be terminated--and that added that the Federal Hatch Act may also prohibit the deputies from running for partisan office.

Then the more detailed third AG's opinion came out on March 11, 2010, saying that the Civil Service Act and the Federal Hatch Act may separately or together prohibit deputies from running for partisan elected office. The third AG's opinion specifically added that taking a leave of absence doesn't make it OK for deputies covered by civil service to run for office. It also mentioned that it didn't matter whether the deputy was running for office in his own or another county.

Rusty pointed out that the civil service board's agreement with the Sheriff to break the law by putting the men on leave is void. 

Cantwell advised Jarnagin in writing on March 16 that Jarnagin had to follow the law and had to terminate the men if they did not resign.

It was an interesting evening.

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. 

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.

October 11, 2009 One of My Public Requests Is Answered: Committee Agendas Are on the Hamblen County Website

Wow!  For a long time now, I have asked the county commission to put committee agendas and minutes on the Hamblen County website.

At long last, County Mayor David Purkey and his staff have finally done it. And it wasn't hard at all.

Click here to see the agenda for tomorrow's October 12 Finance Committee meeting.  [You will also see that agendas for nine Finance meetings long gone by (January 09-September 09) have just now been posted, and if you hit on archives, even older agendas are available.] 

[NOTE: The chairmanship of the Finance Committee has been changed by Chairman Stancil Ford.  Ford has removed Joe Spoone from his position as Finance Chairman. Ford has named Commissioner Louis "Doe" Jarvis, who was appointed earlier this year to replace Joe Swann, as Chair of this year's Finance Committee. Joe Spoone is rumored to be contemplating a run for County Trustee, a position being vacated by Bill Brittain who is running for County Mayor. Ford is the one who named Spoone as Finance Chair for 08-09, but he has replaced Spoone as Chairman for the current 09-10 year.]

The Public Services agenda for October 12, 2009, is here.  As with Finance, Public Services agendas for Jan 09-Sept 09 have just now been posted, and if you hit on archives, even older agendas are available.

When I made a request for posting of agendas and minutes of committee meetings in late 2006/early 2007, committee minutes were posted for January 2007 and then no more minutes. Agendas were posted from January 2007-August 2008 and then no more. 

Even when the Mayor and his staff stopped posting the agendas, I continued to ask privately and in public meetings for better use of the website, more information, and agendas and minutes in particular. Because I believe in open and accountable government, I am extremely pleased to see that the agendas for tomorrow's meetings have not only been posted--but they were posted BEFORE the meeting.

NOTE: An article in the local newspaper dated September 18, 2009, Page A-3, had stated that agendas would be posted after the meetings had taken place. From the article Beginning in October, Shelton (Amber Shelton, the Mayor's Executive Assistant) will post committee agendas but not until after the committees have met, she said.  The next paragraph quotes Shelton: "We're looking at putting them on before but sometimes there's just not enough time before the meetings. This way (posting the agenda after the meeting), people will have a reference so they can look back and see when an issue was discussed." 

When this article appeared in the paper, I, like most people, questioned the usefulness of an agenda posted AFTER a meeting. I knew that committee agendas are prepared and printed and mailed out to commissioners about 5 days before the committee meetings, so I knew the agendas could be posted online about 4-5 days before the meetings in order to give citizens and taxpayers a heads-up on what is coming before the committees--if the Mayor wanted it done.

The next web project should be to post MINUTES of these committee meetings. It's important to know what is going to be discussed (Agendas), but it's just as important to be able to see the minutes of those meetings to find out who was present, what discussion took place, what recommendation, if any, is coming out of the committee to the full commission, and the record of votes taken.

And, finally, a very important change would be to have those committee meetings at a time when citizens and taxpayers can actually attend if they want to.

You can have an agenda and you may be interested in a particular item that is going to be discussed, but unless you are retired or don't work or can take off work for an extended and uncertain period of time, you probably can't make it to a set of meetings that start at 11:30 AM with no set time for any meeting except for the first one.

Stancil Ford was elected to the commission in 2006 and became chairman in September 2006. Stancil, as Chairman, changed committee meetings from an afternoon meeting time to 11:30 AM and said that he changed to the 11:30 meeting time so people could attend the meetings on their "lunch hour."  Give me a break!

Stancil and several commissioners are retired. Other commissioners own their own company or have high managerial positions that allow them to leave work and attend these 11:30 AM meetings without losing pay. Working citizens and taxpayers don't have the same scheduling luxury that these commissioners have.  Stancil could change the meetings to a more taxpayer-friendly meeting time next month if he wanted to. Of course, other commissioners could also bring this up for public discussion if they wanted to see taxpayer-friendly meeting times.

The commission meets as a body once a month at 5:00 PM on the Thursday after the 3rd Monday. At commission meetings, it's usually just push-a-button, record the vote, and meeting adjourned.  

Committees of the full commission meet on the second Monday of each month. Committees are where the real discussion, if there is any, takes place, before an item is sent to the full body. More time is allowed for public input at committee meetings. Committees should meet at or near 5:00 PM like the full commission does--a more taxpayer-friendly meeting time--instead of 11:30 AM meetings which effectively shut out the average working taxpayer.

September 19, 2009 Hamblen County Website To Get An Update (Finally!!)

I have publicly asked county commission several times to update the county website and to make it easier to access information about county government. Here and here.

Commissioner Nancy Phillips and I pushed for a county website from the moment we took office in 2002.  A website was established with limited information provided at the start and the addition of a few features later.  Even though I did not run again in 2006, I have continued to attend commission meetings and I have continued to prod commissioners to enhance the website.

Finally, there is a response to my voice and to the voices of others who have asked for more information and online services on the website.

Yes, it looks like a more informative county government website is coming. See the current Hamblen County Government website here.

The one county official who has already made the most with her "section" of the website is County Clerk Linda Wilder. She has scanned in county commission minutes and has provided some online services.

One feature that would enhance the usefulness of the clerk's section and of the entire county website would be a key-word search feature. I have proposed this and county attorney Rusty Cantwell has previously agreed that this would be helpful not only to the public but to him in researching prior actions of county commission.

With a key-word feature, a word or words (e.g. "county budget") is entered in a search box and then the site provides a list where that word appears in the website, such as in Planning Commission documents, county commission minutes, agendas, etc.  A key-word feature is common on many websites. See the Knox County government website here with its key-word or search feature near the top of the page.

The improved Hamblen County government website will be updated with current information instead of letting old and inaccurate  information remain on the website for months after changes occur. Links to state government and local legislators as well as U.S. Senators and Congressmen will be included. A community calendar of events will apparently be added--with information about non-governmental happenings such as Mountain Makins, plays, etc. The website will continue to have links to job opportunities with the county--but frankly these are few and far between and many are filled by officials or department heads without any posting at all.

The newspaper reports that beginning in October, the Hamblen County website will post committee agendas AFTER THE COMMITTEES HAVE MET.  Posting agendas after the meeting has already taken place is of zero use to the public or to interested citizens who might attend if they could see an agenda and decide if a topic of interest to them is to be discussed.  Posting an agenda after the meeting is about as helpful as locking the barn door after the cow has escaped.

I haven't received an answer to the obvious question about the committee agendas. Why won't the committee agendas be uploaded and posted (or scanned) on the website BEFORE the committee meetings? The agendas are prepared, printed, and provided to commissioners several days BEFORE the committee meetings. Why can't those agendas be uploaded and posted (or scanned) on the website at the same time? The City of Morristown posts agendas on its website before council meetings. Surely, the county can do the same.

Also missing in the planned update of the website is posting the minutes of committee meetings. The minutes of committee meetings are prepared just a few days after the committee meetings take place and are put in commissioners' packet several days before the full commission meeting. Why can't the committee minutes be uploaded and posted (or scanned) onto the website at the same time they are prepared, printed off, and provided to commissioners?

A government website should absolutely include committee agendas, committee minutes, as well as times, actual dates, and places of all government meetings. I would think that both a community calendar and full governmental information could be posted on the county government website. But IF for some reason there is not time or a willingness to do both, I hope the Mayor will choose to place county government information, including agendas and minutes, on the county government website first and add a community calendar at a later date.

A government website is a wonderful means of providing governmental information to a large segment of the public. Let's hope that Mayor Purkey and his assistant Amber Shelton decide to provide full and timely information about meetings, agendas, and minutes.  Agendas should be posted on the website before the meetings. Minutes should be posted after the meeting just as soon as they are prepared.  The final approved county budget should be posted within 30-60 days of its passage.  And a key-word feature should be added so that citizens and taxpayers are not searching for an "information needle" in a "website haystack."
 
Next would be making the information and packets that are provided to committees and commissioners and the press available online to the TAXPAYERS!  Now there's an idea.

September 13, 2009 The Facts on Hamblen County's Payment of Unauthorized Car Allowances--Yes, Including Mayor David Purkey's Car Allowance

On August 20, 2009, Hamblen County Commission finally voted to come into compliance with long-standing state law and ceased paying car allowances to three individuals: Assessor Keith Ely, Marsha Hopkins, and Danny Young.

State law does not allow Hamblen County to pay car allowances. Click here to read the state attorney general's opinion 09-60 listing which three counties can provide car allowances (Knox, Bedford, and Dyer). See Page 2, Paragraph 3, and Page 3, Paragraph 3, stating that only Knox, Bedford, and Dyer can provide car allowances.

Despite the law and the attorney general's opinion, there is one individual in Hamblen County who still receives a "car allowance." That individual is County Mayor David Purkey.

Why, in the face of state law prohibiting car allowances in Hamblen County, does Mayor Purkey's "car allowance" continue to be paid? Because the mayor and the county attorney say that the mayor's car allowance is actually NOT a car allowance at all.

In a variation of the Clinton syndrome--the mayor and his attorney say that it all depends on what the meaning of "car allowance" is. What is unique about this word game is that the OFFICIAL WRITTEN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS (above) and the MAYOR'S OWN WORDS point out that the Mayor requested and received $600/month for a "car allowance."

(1) The Mayor's own letter and words (above) request a "car allowance" and then ask that the "car allowance" be paid through a salary increase;

(2) The Finance Committee minutes (above) that were prepared in the Mayor's office by the Mayor's staff show that a "car allowance" was voted on and approved; and

(3) The budget amendment (above) that was prepared in the Mayor's office by the Finance Director and approved by the county commission says that the $600/month is for a "car allowance" to be paid through a salary increase.

Purkey requested a "car allowance." [Click on page 1 and 2 of his letter of request above]. Purkey came to the Finance Committee and asked for and received a "car allowance." [Click on the Finance Committee minutes above].

Purkey's request for a "car allowance" was approved through a budget amendment prepared in his office by Finance Director Nicole Epps-Buchanan and later passed by Hamblen County Commission . [Click on the Budget Amendment for a "car allowance" above].

There will be further discussion of this matter on September 14, 2009, during the Finance Committee meeting that begins at 11:30 am in the conference room at the Hamblen County Health Department. [The Health Department is located next to the M-H Library on Main Street.]

Of course, the 11:30 am meeting time tomorrow makes it virtually impossible for most working people/taxpayers to attend without risking loss of job or income. Most commissioners, however, do not have to worry about work as most are retired, do not have a full-time job, or own their own business and do not have to ask for permission to leave work during the middle of the day with a loss of wages. See my previous post HERE that included discussion of meeting times.

It is my understanding that 12 of the 14 commissioners fall into one or more of the above categories: Larry Baker, Herbert Harville, Stancil Ford, Guy Collins, Paul Lebel, Nancy Phillips, Louis "Doe" Jarvis, Doyle Fullington, Dana Wampler, Reece Sexton, Joe Spoone, and Dennis Alvis.

In addition to excluding the working person/taxpayer, the 11:30 am meetings conclude with a taxpayer-provided lunch and drink for the commissioners. At the conclusion of previous committee meetings, some of the commissioners and county employees have even taken an extra (taxpayer-provided) lunchbox home for the spouse or family.

The old saying that there's no such thing as a free lunch, like so many old adages, obviously doesn't apply to government officials and employees!

There's nothing like scheduling meetings at times that for all practical purposes exclude the working/taxpaying public and then getting a free lunch out of it plus a free meal or two for the family.

Click here and here and here for previous posts on county car allowances.

Click here for a previous post where I publicly requested that meeting times be moved to a more taxpayer-friendly time.

September 5, 2009 County Commission Stops Unauthorized Car Allowances in Order to (Finally) Comply with State Law

At its August 20 meeting of the full commission, the Hamblen County Commission voted 12-1 to stop three of the four car allowances that have been paid for several years in violation of state law. [Commissioner Tommy Massey was absent.]

This was a total reversal of what the Finance Committee had recommended on August 10. See my post on the August 10 Finance Committee meeting here.

At the August 10 Finance Committee meeting, I had asked the committee to stop payment of unauthorized car allowances. The Committee refused to stop these unauthorized payments and, instead, voted to study the issue again in September. The payments were going to continue despite state law that does not allow Hamblen County to pay car allowances, despite an April 2009 state attorney general's opinion on county car allowances, and despite the county attorney's May 2009 opinion (which was just a review of the state attorney general's opinion noting that Hamblen County is not among those counties authorized to provide car allowances).

After years of paying unauthorized car allowances and with the prospect of these payments continuing for still more months, I spoke to the full commission during the public comments forum on August 20 and, as I had done on August 10, I again asked that these unauthorized car allowances stop now and that Hamblen County come into compliance with state law now. Why continue to violate state law and pay out thousands of taxpayer dollars on unauthorized car allowances?

Despite state law and my request that the commission comply with state law immediately, Finance Chairman Joe Spoone made a motion to postpone any decision and to "study" the car allowance situation in September. Thankfully, one commissioner was listening and had the courage to question what was going on and to stand up for the taxpayers.

Commissioner Dana Wampler noted that Hamblen County is out of compliance---as I had stated---and Wampler then amended Spoone's resolution to stop three of the car allowances now (Ely, Hopkins, Young) and to pay mileage to those individuals if they use their car on county business. The situation is still set for review in September, but unauthorized car allowances will stop.

During discussion of the amendment, Wampler turned to county attorney Rusty Cantwell and asked about the unauthorized car allowances and when the county should come into compliance. Rusty said that there are three car allowances (the fourth car allowance is that of the County Mayor but Rusty doesn't think that the Mayor's $600/month car allowance is really a car allowance). As far as when the county should come into compliance with state law, Rusty said that was "up to you (the commission)." That response from the county attorney was a bit of a surprise.

Thankfully, Commissioner Wampler stuck to his guns and decided that the county should come into compliance with state law right away. The motion to stop unauthorized car allowances passed 12-1. Guy Collins voted no. I'm not sure if Collins' "no" vote meant that he wanted to keep paying unauthorized car allowances or if he just didn't understand what was going on. Tommy Massey was absent.

I appreciate Commissioner Wampler for doing the right thing. I'm guessing that he took some flak for that after the meeting. Stancil Ford doesn't really like for the public to have any input. He doesn't like a lot of discussion by commissioners at the full commission meetings, and he doesn't like to have changes from the original script.

When you watch the tape of the meeting, Ford turns to County Mayor David Purkey and to County Attorney Rusty Cantwell. Ford is not really happy with the question and comments and amendment by Commissioner Wampler, but in the end he can't stop the amendment and he himself votes for the amendment. Why? Because the amendment brings Hamblen County into compliance with state law and saves taxpayer money, too. How could you oppose that?

The real question is, why did it take four months to get a vote on coming into compliance with state law on the floor at a county commission meeting? Many thanks to Commissioner Wampler for doing "the right thing." Commissioner Wampler showed that one commissioner can make a difference when he or she just does "the right thing" and puts it out for a vote.

Joe Powell tapes the meetings for the county and they are shown on Charter Ch 7 (goverment/education channel) at 9:00 PM on Tuesday? and Saturday nights. [I watch on Saturdays, and I think Tuesday is the other day that the tape is shown.] You can call the county mayor's office (586-1931) to find out what other day the tape is aired.

August 11, 2009 Taxpayers Will Have To Continue To Pay for Unauthorized Car Allowances

Hamblen County is not authorized to pay car allowances to county officials. But Hamblen County pays them anyway.

Hamblen County is not authorized to provide a car or vehicle for full-time use of salaried county officials. But Hamblen County provides vehicles anyway.

And yesterday, despite state law and an attorney general's opinion, the county commission took no action to stop the unauthorized payment of car allowances and/or the unauthorized provision of vehicles for the full-time use of salaried county officials.

Instead, Hamblen County Commissioners voted to continue using taxpayer dollars to make car allowance payments while they "study" the issue.

State law regarding cars and car allowances has been on the books for years. The attorney general's opinion on cars and car allowances was made public in April 2009. The county attorney gave his opinion on cars and car allowances in May 2009. But in June 2009, the county budget was passed----WITH UNAUTHORIZED CAR ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS.

In July 2009, I asked the commission to stop the unauthorized payments. They did not do so. They sent the issue back to the August Finance Committee.

Yesterday the Finance Committee met and did not resolve the issue. Unauthorized taxpayer dollars continue to be spent while commission "studies" the situation. How long does it take to stop unauthorized payments? How many taxpayer dollars will be wasted while a study is made?

Who gets car allowances? Well, according to the county attorney, only three people get a car allowance: Assessor of Property Keith Ely ($169.32/month); Marsha Hopkins, an employee in Ely's office ($224.36/month); and Planning Director Danny Young ($350.00/month).

In the opinion of the county attorney, County Mayor David Purkey's $600/month "car allowance" is not really a car allowance. Why? Because when the Mayor requested a "car allowance," the "car allowance" was paid as a salary increase. So, in the county attorney's opinion, if someone requests a "car allowance" and if you make the "car allowance"/car expenses payment as a salary increase, suddenly it is not a "car allowance" at all.

Of course, to accept this line of reasoning, you have to totally ignore all the documents that say the $600/month is a "car allowance." The county attorney would even ignore the budget amendment-- prepared in the Mayor's office--that says "budget amendment for salary adjustment for car allowance at $600 per month."

UPDATE: See Post for September 5, 2009, for county commission's August 20 vote to stop unauthorized "car allowances" in order to come into compliance with state law.

Yep, in today's world of government entitlement and perks, in Hamblen County it all depends on what the meaning of car allowance is. It's a crying shame that a man making $83,000/year who rarely shows up in his office is so greedy that he demands an extra $7,200 taxpayer dollars so he can buy a car for himself, increase his retirement take, and make over $90,000/year plus insurance and other benefits.

Why can't the Mayor drive himself to work---like most workers do---and then check out a county car if he has county business to attend to? Or why can't he drive himself to work and then charge the county for mileage---like many county employees do---when he uses his own car for county business? Or, instead of giving the Mayor a $600/month car allowance, why doesn't the county use that $600/month ($7,200/year) to buy the county another car that can be checked out by the Mayor or others as needed?

And through it all Stancil Ford, the protector, runs interference for the County Mayor. Stancil and many other commissioners just don't understand what the average person in Hamblen County faces every day. The commission blithely gives $7,200/year of taxpayer dollars as a car allowance to a County Mayor who is already making $83,000/year so he can top off at $90,000/year and boost his already cushy state retirement.

There is never a thought to the fact that part of the Mayor's car allowance and salary comes from the widow living on a fixed income of $550/month ($6,600/year) in social security benefits, from the recently laid-off worker, from the individual who has no health insurance, and from the family that scrimps and saves to get by while the government throws more money and more perks at the richest government officials and employees.

In October 2006, only one person on the commission opposed giving the Mayor an extra $7,200/year. That person was Ricky Bruce. Ricky and I have disagreed and still disagree on many spending issues, but this is one where Ricky clearly got it right.

When the county commission said "no" to raises for county employees this year, they said "yes" once again to giving the Mayor $7,200 for a car allowance. IF that money is to be spent at all, take away the car allowance and buy the county a car instead of giving the Mayor money to buy himself a car at taxpayer expense.

Oh, and the county attorney added that the Mayor and others who get a car allowance don't even have to drive their own car on county business. They can take the car allowance and do what they want with it and then check out a county car and drive it on official business. That's one heck of a deal. The Mayor gets a car allowance salary increase but he can still use county cars or have others--like Eric Carpenter in his big new county Ford Expedition--drive him to Nashville and other destinations unknown.

May 6, 2009 Two New City Council Members Are Elected and Sales Tax Increase Is Now Countywide

Morristown City Council will have two new faces and one familiar face.

Bob Garrett defeated former assistant City Administrator Jack Kennerly to take the vacant Ward 1 seat. Gene Brooks took the at-large seat, prevailing in a crowded field over former MUS head Bill Swann and incumbent councilman Rick Trent. Kay Senter retained her Ward 3 seat over challengers Charles Cook and Larry Lane.

As I predicted on Monday, the sales tax increase referendum passed yesterday. Only Hamblen County voters living outside the city limits could vote in this referendum.

Governments will not give up on getting more and more tax money as shown by the mutiple sales tax referenda held in Hamblen County in 15 months.

A single countywide sales tax increase referendum failed in February 2008.

After the countywide tax increase was rejected, the governments (Mayor Barile/city council and Mayor David Purkey/county commission) decided to go with a split-vote tactic, separating the failed countywide sales tax referendum into two separate referenda (inside the city and then outside the city) with two separate goals.

The city voters passed the sales tax increase inside the city limits in June 2008 after being offered a 15-cent property tax reduction in exchange for a YES vote on the sales tax. The city's pick your poison referendum was: Either pay the 40-cent tax property tax increase OR pay a 25-cent property tax increase and an increased sales tax!

Yesterday, the county voters passed the sales tax increase outside the city limits after being told that they had to pass the sales tax increase in order to get some of the tax dollars being collected by the city flowing to the county schools.

[NOTE: The city had previously used the "for the children" mantra in trying to get support for the first (countywide) sales tax referendum in February 2008. Click here to see Morristown Mayor Sami Barile's letter expressing concern for the children and education. When that referendum failed, the city held a city-only referendum which passed in June 2008.

After passage of the city-only referendum, the city's concern "for the children" evaporated. The City considered giving some of its "excess" sales tax money to Hamblen County Schools but decided not to. The city's concern for education boiled down to this message to the county and school system: "You'll have to pry that money from my cold, dead hands."]

With a referendum on a sales tax increase, the government never gives up. With Hamblen County's initial rejection of an increase, it then became a "divide and conquer" battle. Offer one group (city voters) one thing and then hold another referendum and offer another group (county voters) something else.

Just get those higher taxes passed! Anyway. Someway. Every which way.

April 27, 2009 Sevier County Voting on Sales Tax Increase (Again)

The News-Sentinel has an article and interesting comments on a second sales tax increase referendum in less than a year in Sevier County. Hamblen County also has a second sales tax increase referendum on the May ballot.

There are many similarities between the Sevier and Hamblen sales tax increase referenda. The article and online comments on the Sevier referendum are here.

Sevier County voters defeated a sales tax increase about 10 months ago. Hamblen County voters defeated a sales tax increase a little over a year ago.

The powers-that-be in Sevier (school board, county commission, etc.) have put the sales tax increase referendum back on the ballot in Sevier. Ditto for Hamblen County.

The leaders in Sevier think that the voters didn't understand the issue the first time. Ditto for Hamblen.

This time, the powers-that-be in Sevier are trying to better educate the public in order to get the voters to vote in favor of the sales tax increase. Ditto for Hamblen.

The sales tax increase in Sevier is, of course, for the children. Ditto for Hamblen.

There is one interesting difference, however, between Sevier and Hamblen.

Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters says he has agreements from the cities of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg to give all the sales tax that would normally belong to each city to the schools.

Hamblen County Mayor David Purkey has never gotten an agreement from Morristown--the only city in Hamblen County--to give all or a large part of the sales tax that would normally belong to the city to the schools.

The City of Morristown goes on and on about education when the City is trying to garner votes for a sales tax increase. Click here.

But Morristown-- unlike Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg--quickly forgets about education once the sales tax increase passes. If a sales tax increase passes, Morristown keeps every penny that it can instead of giving all or a large portion of its share of the sales tax increase to the schools. Click here for more information.

Whether the current sales tax increase passes or not, Maybe Mayor Purkey and Director of Schools Dale Lynch ought to contact Morristown Mayor Barile and see if she can get the City to donate all or a large portion of the City's sales tax to education.

April 22, 2009 More Questions on the "Joint Meeting" That Was Announced But Didn't Take Place

Well, things just get curiouser and curiouser.

The Tribune reported on Sunday, April 19, that there would be a joint work session meeting of the Hamblen County Commission and School Board on Monday, April 20, at 6:00 PM. That joint work session didn't happen.

Yesterday, the Tribune reported that County Commission Chair Stancil Ford and County Mayor David Purkey told Director of Schools Dale Lynch "last week" that the county commission wouldn't be attending. Click on Tribune for yesterday's explanation of why the joint meeting that was a front-page story on April 19th didn't happen. [And if the Tribune links above aren't working, call the Tribune 581-5630. For some reason, they are very quick to take down links to their stories.]

Here are the unanswered questions. If county commission cancelled out of the joint meeting "last week," why in the world did the Tribune go ahead and announce on April 19 that the joint meeting was still taking place on April 20? If the County Mayor and Commission Chair Stancil Ford told Dr. Lynch that commissioners would not be attending, why didn't the Tribune report that on April 19?

I know the county has trouble providing notice of meetings to the public. Now, it looks like the county, the school board, and the press are just plain confused about what's going on.

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%?

April 8, 2009 City Council Meeting: Accountability vs. Micromanaging

Morristown City Council met yesterday.

The official meeting was routine. The work session that followed was anything but.

On the work session agenda were "car allowances, raises, and appraisals."

During the discussion that followed, Rick Trent said that increases in car allowances for City Administrator Jim Crumley and other staff were apparently negotiated in the past by Crumley and former City Mayor Gary Johnson without the knowledge of City Council. Crumley shot back that these increases were in the budgets that were approved by City Council.

Based on the back-and-forth at the meeting, it appears that the increases were in the budget, but Council didn't know that the increases were in the budget figures that they approved.

Then there was a lengthy but quite civil debate about money spent on appraisals at Walters Drive intersections. Councilmembers claimed that they had indicated in work session that they did not want to proceed with the Walters Drive work while Crumley said it was his understanding in work session that the Council wanted him to spend money on an estimated rather than a full-blown and costly appraisal of right-of-way costs.

Discussion of these items resulted in Mayor Barile accusing councilmembers of trying to "micromanage" the operations of the city---"micromanage" being the Mayor's way of chastising council members who disturb the smooth flow of government business by asking too many questions about what is going on.

Councilmembers Rick Trent and Claude Jinks took offense at the Mayor's characterization of their concerns as micromanaging.

Claude Jinks said the public is fed up. He added that that is the reason there are so many people running for city council and that is the reason he had an opponent last time.

Jinks made it clear that he resented the Mayor's derogatory use of the term "micromanage" to describe what he views as responsible representation of the people who elected him.

Councilmember Kay Senter said it's a lack of communication. She also expressed some concerns about the current authority that the City Administrator has to spend or shift up to $10,000 of budgeted funds without prior Council approval.

It looks like some councilmembers are suddenly and belatedly finding out that spending and raises and increased car allowances--and who knows what else--are being doled out and they don't even know that these items are in the budget because they have been "negotiated" outside of official council meetings or allegedly "authorized" at work sessions without a vote.

Some councilmembers are starting to see that granting authority to the City Administrator to move money around in increments of up to $10,000 means there is very little accountability for city spending. The Council approves a budget and then the City Administrator --through multiple money transfers--can change a lot of things.

Of course, Mayor Barile is not the first politician to scream "micromanage" when questions are asked. County Mayor David Purkey and former Commission Chair Maudie Briggs used to throw that word around liberally when I or anyone else came to county commission meetings to ask about county or school spending and money being shifted around without authorization.

The micromanage epithet is a convenient one-word criticism of those who dare demand accountability from government officials. It sounds ominous and demeaning, but it's nothing more than political code for "don't be up here asking us about how we spend your money."

Another neat political code word that is thrown out when questions are raised is "vendetta." When legitimate questions are raised about the conduct of government business, the mere mention of the work "vendetta" is supposed to make people look at the questioner rather than the question.

But back to City Council and Mayor Barile. Labeling those who ask questions as micromanagers is childish and was clearly meant to be dismissive of legitimate concerns. Jinks rightly took offense at the Mayor's use of this word.

Elected government officials and citizens SHOULD be asking questions--lots of them. In fact, elected officials, above all others, have a DUTY to ask questions. It's not micromanaging, and it's not a vendetta. It's called doing your job.