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! 

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.

August 10, 2009 Last-minute Addition to Today's Hamblen County Committee Agenda?

There is a strong rumor from several sources that a last-minute addition will be made to a Hamblen County Commission Committee agenda today. [Maybe Finance Committee?]

It seems that a few officials and maybe a commissioner or two have been involved and have been "in the know" about the availability of some money for school capital improvements. Today, the rest of the commissioners may be let in on the information.

This looks like it may be one of those rush-rush deals that is thrown at commissioners with the dire warning that this must be done right away. You always wonder how decisions involving millions can be made on the spur-of-the-moment.

But, then again, our Congress passes bills involving billions and trillions without reading them, so why shouldn't our local county commissioners approve loans and refinancings and appropriate millions on the spur-of-the-moment?

[Post meeting update: Tennessee is to receive millions in stimulus funds and school districts across the state can apply for construction loans. The Hamblen County School Board is going to apply for about $13 Million in school construction loans. As it was presented, the loan has to be paid back but with no interest. The deadline for the application to be submitted in Nashville is around August 21. I believe it was mentioned that 1/10 of the funds received have to be spent within six months. You can bet your bottom dollar that school districts will be slapping loan applications together to get at all the money floating around.]

February 21, 2009 Maybe, Just Maybe, the 2009-2010 Hamblen County Budget Will Be On-Line This Year

During the visitor's comments portion of the Hamblen County Commission meeting on February 19, 2009, I again asked that Hamblen County budget documents be made accessible to the public on the Hamblen County website.

I've been pushing for this from the time I served on commission in 2002-2006 and afterward. This time, there was a mini-breakthrough and a glimmer of sunshine.

Commissioner Nancy Phillips turned to Chairman Stancil Ford and stated she thought that the proposal was a good idea. She asked that the request be placed on the agenda for March committee meetings.

[While I was serving on Commission, Commissioner Phillips and I along with several others pushed to get a Hamblen Government website up and running. She and I also led the push for televising commission meetings. She has a track record of being a proponent of open government.]

After the meeting, Commissioner Tommy Massey came over and said that he, too, thinks this is a good idea. I asked him to please support this when it comes up in committee meetings.

Thank you, Commissioner Phillips, for getting this placed in committee for consideration. Thank you, Commissioner Massey, for expressing your support.

Sharing detailed information with taxpayers about how their taxes have been and are being spent should be a no-brainer. And making information like this available on the government website is a simple process of feeding papers into a scanner and then posting it.

It's time to open up and expand the local government-to-taxpayer information pipeline. As Larry says, when he's not working on cable repairs, Git 'r done!

April 27, 2008 A Request for More Openness and Taxpayer-Friendly Meeting Times

In an earlier post, I discussed the April 24 Hamblen County Commission Meeting.

I did not mention in the earlier post two suggestions that I made to the commission during the public comments portion of the meeting. In my remarks, I asked the Commissioners to consider (1) making budget data and documents for the upcoming budget process available online and (2) setting committee meetings at more "taxpayer-friendly" times.

The following is what I submitted for consideration:

1. I asked the commissioners to have budget data and documents for the upcoming 08-09 budget placed on the county's website. http://www.hamblencountygovernment.us/

The county has the capability to do this. The County Clerk has commission minutes on the county's website, and the Purchasing Department has bids and RFP's (Requests for Proposals) on the county's website. The technology is there.

With the county budget process for the 08-09 fiscal year (July 1, 2008-June 20, 2009) beginning in early May, this is the time to put the entire budget out there for the taxpayers. For those who come to budget meetings as well as for those who can not attend budget meetings, the budget documents should be accessible online.

This is an easy way to let interested citizens--who may or may not be able to attend all the budget meetings in person--see the details of where the money is coming from and where it is going.

2. Next, I asked that the commission move its committee meetings to the late afternoon. Committee meetings currently begin at 11:30 A.M. on the second Monday of each month. The purpose of moving the meetings to a much later time would be to set these meetings at a time that provides the greatest opportunity for interested citizens and taxpayers to attend.

Committee meetings are where the real discussion, if there is any, takes place. Committee meetings are a little more open to informal discussion and even letting a citizen speak up if he or she has an idea. Commission meetings are dominated by button-pushing.

The current commission which took office in September 2006 moved the starting time for committee meetings to 11:30 A.M.

When I inquired about this change, Commission Chair Stancil Ford told me that the committee times were moved to allow people to attend on their "lunch hour." I told Mr. Ford then, and I repeated on Thursday, that I don't think 11:30 A.M. meetings are for the convenience of working taxpayers or average citizens. Let's be honest. Mid-day meeting times exclude the average working citizen/taxpayer.

First of all, there really aren't that many working taxpayers who have a "lunch hour." And even if a taxpayer had a job with a "lunch hour," an 11:30 A.M. meeting would probably require at least 15 minutes travel to the Courthouse and 15 minutes back to work--and those times assume that the citizen/taxpayer works fairly close to the Courthouse.

Second, since the taxpayer would probably also want to use some of his "lunch hour" to eat lunch, he wouldn't have much time left for the committee meetings anyway.

Finally, surely commissioners realize that one's lunch break--no matter how long--would seldom coincide with the committee meeting times. In fact, only one committee has a "set" meeting time. That is the Finance Committee which begins at 11:30 A.M.

If you want to attend the Public Services Committee meeting, you still have to get there around 11:30 A.M. because Public Services has no set meeting time--it simply starts whenever the Finance Committee adjourns --and that could be 11:40 A.M. or 12:30 P.M.

In the spirit of serving the public, I hope that the commission will discuss moving committee meetings to the late afternoon hours that are convenient for most working taxpayers.

The previous commission had a policy of referring public comments issues to a committee for consideration and then either taking action or issuing a report of some kind. No commissioner said a word about either suggestion, so I don't know if these proposals will be discussed in May committee meetings during the working taxpayers' "lunch hour" or not.

May 30, 2007 The Public Is Invited (sort of) To a City Retreat at 8:00 AM Tomorrow

I was looking through the Tribune tonight and happened to see a rather interesting public notice in the classifieds.

The notice said that the City of Morristown is having a "retreat" at 8:00 am in the morning at Windswept.

My guess is that the retreat is at Windswept, the house, and not Windswept, the gated subdivision.

For people who are new to the area, people who don't know what or where Windswept is ...well, maybe they can ask somebody really early in the morning.

The City schedules a public retreat for 8:00 am in the morning. The county schedules public committee meetings at 11:30 am.

It looks like there's not really much interest in scheduling meetings for times when the public can actually attend and hear public discussions, recommendations, and decisions being made.

Schedule public meetings at a convenient time for the majority of people? What an old-fashioned, democratic idea!

Schedule public meetings at inconvenient times for the majority of people? What a modern, elitist idea!

Wonder if a taxpayer-provided breakfast will be served?

October 5, 2005 Accountability and openness

Accountability was the theme of my campaign for County Commission just over three years ago.

Now you see the word everywhere!

Citizens everywhere are bringing their cries for more accountability and openness to their local governments--city and county. Citizens also bring their ideas and proposals and their thank-yous and complaints to their local governmental bodies as well.

Meetings of the Hamblen County Commission are probably the most open and citizen-friendly of all government meetings at the local level. I sincerely hope that they remain so.

When the current Commission took office in September 2002, one of the first proposals was to allow public comments at the beginning of each meeting. If citizens sign up in advance of the meeting through the County Mayor's Office at 586-1931, they can have up to 5 minutes to speak to the Commission. Even if they do not sign up in advance, they can still speak at the meeting, but they are limited to 3 minutes.

Any time you open up a part of a public meeting as the Commission has, you will have a number of speakers with comments on a wide range of topics. The comments obviously need to be civil and should relate to Commission business.

Allowing the public to speak at the Commission meetings (and at Committee meetings as well) is an important way of serving the public and increasing citizen involvement. This policy is very important, and I will continue to support allowing public comments at the beginning of our meetings.

Another important initiative of this commission has been taping and televising the regular monthly meetings of Commission on Charter and Comcast cable channels. This, too, has sparked citizen involvement and has increased awareness about what the County Commission does.

Although televising Commission meetings had not been done before, Commissioner Nancy Phillips, Commissioner Tom Lowe, and I made it a central proposal of our campaigns in 2002. When we started the taping in late 2002, Commissioner Phillips and I secured the sound equipment and microphones at no cost to the county.

We still use that equipment today, but now we have added two special (and expensive) cameras that Commissioner Phillips helped secure from Charter Cable at no cost to the county.

PS: The meetings are taped from an elevated area at the rear of the courtroom that was especially built to provide a good vantage point for the cameras. This elevated platform was built at no cost to the county after I asked a very special constituent (my husband Ron) to provide the materials and labor for this.

I would like to see and I am going to continue to push for the taping of committee meetings as well. Most of the discussion about county business takes place in committee meetings which are held on the second Monday of each month, beginning at 3:00 pm. These meetings are open to the public, but many people can't attend meetings that begin that early in the afternoon.

With cameras and equipment already in place, I think committee meetings should be taped and televised. Then, if citizens watched a committee meeting and realized that a topic of concern to them was being considered in committee, they could be sure to come to the Commission meeting 10 days later and let their opinion(s) be known before any vote was taken.

July 11, 2005 Response to Financial Questions: SILENCE

The Hamblen County Commission has committee meetings today--finance, personnel & policies, public services, and audit. All meetings are open to the public. They begin at 3:00 in the large courtroom on the 2nd floor in the old portion of the courthouse.

Silence. That is the response thus far to my June request for a review of the recently completed Russellville sewer grant, for documented verification of the total costs of capital improvements/building projects, for a revised (accurate) list of county-owned vehicles to address vehicles that have not been reported in the past or that were placed in the wrong department, and for an answer to what county money was switched around in 2004 and why this was done without authorization by county commission.

Silence is not an appropriate answer to financial questions, but that is the response thus far and that is exactly what I expected. Silence or attacking the messenger has been the favorite tactic of various individuals every time an audit, accounting, or financial question has been asked.

Both of these responses tell us that (1) there is a lot of financial information that no one is willing to talk about or explain openly, (2) there must be a lot to hide if no one is willing to answer questions about county finances, and (3) there are no or, at best, very inadequate controls over county spending.

Our new state auditors have done a terrific job in their first two financial audits (2003 and 2004). However, it's been a struggle to get some of the county officials at the local level to be open and transparent in discussing the state auditors' findings and to be open and transparent in answering questions about the handling of county funds.

The hallmark of accountability is openness. We're not there yet, but we're on the way.