Public Services Committee Rejects Ford's Resolution Asking that MUS Build-out in Populous Areas of Hamblen County Before Going into Other Counties

At the March 7, 2016, Public Services Committee meeting, Hamblen County Commissioner Stancil Ford introduced a resolution to request that MUS build out its Fibernet service in Hamblen County before entering into a plan to provide Fibernet outside of Hamblen County.

The resolution asking that MUS build out in Hamblen County before jumping county lines was voted down in a 6-3 vote. 

Commissioners Stancil Ford, Tim Goins, and Johnny Walker voted FOR the request.

Commissioners Howard Shipley, Rick Eldridge, Randy DeBord, Hubert Davis, Joe Huntsman, and John Smyth voted NO to the request.

Here are videos of the discussion:

Part 1

Part 2



September 3, 2014 City Council's Super Short Meeting; Chesney and the Sunshine Law

The Morristown City Council met yesterday, and it was over almost as quickly as it began.


If you blinked, you pretty much missed the meeting.


But don't worry. You didn't miss much.
A truck was purchased and some outdated language in the sign ordinance was deleted.


In the work session that followed the meeting, Parks and Rec Director Craig Price presented information on a playground for Wayne Hansard Park on the west end of the City.


The work session is where information is shared and items are discussed but no votes are taken.


During Price's presentation, however, Councilmember Paul LeBel decided to request a "show of hands" in support of the proposal.


This isn't the first time, LeBel has requested a "show of hands" at a meeting or work session.


LeBel requested a "show of hands" from councilmembers who would support CPA Glenn Thompson's appointment to the MUS Board at a council meeting in July. 


Six hands went up. LeBel's "raise your hands" vote came just two weeks after Councilmember Chesney announced on his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/GaryChesneyMorristown?ref=stream) that Thompson was the "consensus" of a majority of councilmembers.


How Chesney knew that a majority of councilmembers were in favor of Thompson raised the question of whether Chesney had been discussing the vote on the MUS appointment with fellow councilmembers in violation of the state "Sunshine" law that requires that all deliberations on public business occur in public.


Other posts by Chesney on the recent MUS appointment process also hint at possible "Sunshine" law violations.


In a recent (August 27) post, Chesney denied any Sunshine Law violations and said he got his information about councilmembers' preference for Thompson from MUS Board members and not from other councilmembers.


A little more information would clarify whether there was, in fact, any Sunshine violation.


Which MUS Board members discussed a possible Glenn Thompson appointment with Chesney? 


Who brought up Glenn Thompson's name? Chesney? Or the Board member(s)?


Who did Chesney talk to in order to get a "count" showing that a majority of council supported Thompson?


Who did the MUS Board member(s) talk to in order to get a "count" showing that a majority of council supported Thompson?


Was someone taking a "count" for Chesney in order to try and prevent a Sunshine violation by Chesney? 


Oh--and Gary decided to delete his post of July 2 that mentioned that a majority of council supported Thompson. Why?


To help Gary's recollection of his July 2 post, Attorney Link Gibbons re-posted Gary's July 2 entry as part of Gibbons'  "comments" on Chesney's August 27 post.

Link Gibbons Gary, I assume I am the concerned citizen you are addressing above regarding a possible violation of the Sunshine Law as I questioned how you seem to have knowledge of other council members' votes before the issue is addressed publicly. I also specifically asked how you knew a "majority" of council members' preference for Glenn Thompson for the MUS board as stated in the last paragraph of your July 2nd facebook post, some two weeks before the informal show of hands at council's July 16th meeting. Since this post appears to have been deleted from your facebook feed, I will repost it in full for your recollection:

COUNCIL REPORT: The Industrial Development Board (IDB) is good-to-go with a complete set of members, but the Morristown Utilities System (MUS) Commission has work to do.

Tuesday's Council meeting saw Dr. Jack Campbell, Tim Coley, Joel Hice, and Andy Smith reappointed to six year terms on the IDB. Terry Ball's term was also expiring but he withdrew his name from reappointment consideration after legal research determined Ball's recent appointment to the city's Planning Commission made him ineligible to also serve on the IDB.

IDB nominations traditionally come from the Chamber of Commerce, however, Council can make its own nominations - and did, by voting in local building contractor Ed Hale. The vote was 6-1 with Mayor Thomas dissenting.

Raul Rangel will fill another IDB slot created when banker Jennifer Schuchart vacated. The 15 board members are required to be city property owners. It was recently discovered three did not which delayed the reappointments by two weeks while corrections were made.

The vacancy on the MUS Commission will remain empty a while longer. Mayor Thomas nominated Max Biery from the three names served up for consideration by MUS. Council voted 6-1 against. The process repeats with three new names at either at the next meeting, or could be delayed until the first August meeting.

CPA Glenn Thompson appears to be the preference of the majority of Council members.
 

August 20, 2014 City Council Unanimously Approves the Mayor's Appointment of Rod Isaacs to the MUS Board To Replace Gene Jolley

The latest MUS appointment saga/fiasco is over.


Yesterday, Mayor Thomas nominated Rod Isaacs to the MUS Board. Bob Garrett seconded the appointment, and the full council unanimously voted "yes."


Previously, the council rejected the Mayor's nomination of Max Biery and Jack Kennerly from three-person slates sent to the Mayor by MUS.


Then the MUS Board (George McGuffin, Harold Nichols, Gene Jolley, Lynn Elkins, and Bryan Dickerson) sent two slates to the Mayor that included individuals who were not qualified to serve on the MUS Board because they served on other city boards.


Finally, MUS figured out the qualifications for service on the MUS Board and sent the three-person slate of Jolley, Rod Isaacs, and Jay Smith to the Mayor.


On the surface yesterday, the six city councilmembers (LeBel, Garrett, Bivens, Senter, Chesney, and Alvis) had a different attitude and tone toward the Mayor and in regard to the Mayor's nomination of Isaacs.


Just a few weeks ago, these same six rejected the Mayor's nomination of Jack Kennerly.  LeBel then asked all those in favor of Glenn Thompson to raise their hands. Six hands went up. LeBel asked City Administrator Tony Cox to send a letter to MUS telling them that council supports and wants MUS to include Glenn Thompson on its slate of MUS nominees.


MUS ignored LeBel's suggestion--or maybe Thompson didn't want to be involved in the whole MUS mess and declined to let his name be included.

August 18, 2014 Industrial Board Meets This Wednesday (8/20/14)

This week, the Industrial Board holds a special meeting on Wednesday, August 20, at 7:30, in the basement of the Chamber building.


On the City website, it says the meeting is for the election of officers, more action on the TIF at Popkin Center (the Food City on part of the Berkline site), and any other business that may properly come before the Board.


In addition to placing notice of this meeting on the City website, the Industrial Board put notice of this meeting in the "news"paper owned by the Industrial Board Chair Jack Fishman.


Let's see if the "news"paper changes its practice and sends one of Jack's reporters to cover this meeting.

More on the Industrial Board later---what you don't see in the "news"paper that is controlled by the IDB Chair Jack Fishman.


It was interesting to read the "news"paper's report on the special MUS meeting last week. The meeting was described as being the "second revision" of the third list of nominees for the Board seat currently held by Gene Jolley last week. Why an original list followed  by two revisions?


Because the MUS Board with five members with over 80 years experience apparently didn't know that MUS Board members can't serve on any other city board and/or didn't bother to check (TWICE) whether its nominees were on other Boards.


Scroll down for the two posts on the MUS nominees. The second revision of the third list goes to the Mayor and council tomorrow.

August 15, 2014 Hopefully, MUS Now Understands the Qualifications for MUS Board Membership

The Morristown Utilities Systems (MUS) Board held a special called meeting yesterday (see post below) and nominated Gene Jolley, Rod Isaacs, and Jay Smith for the Board seat currently held by Gene Jolley.


Four members were present (McGuffin, Jolley, Nichols, and Dickerson). Jolley abstained from the vote, and Lynn Elkins was absent.


These names will be sent to Mayor Danny Thomas who will submit one of the names to the full city council for approval or rejection.


The MUS Gang That Can't Shoot Straight thinks it finally has a three-person slate where all three are qualified to serve.


The next hurdle for any nominee is city council which has the ultimate decision on approval or disapproval. 


In a council meeting weeks ago, Councilman Paul LeBel stated that Glenn Thompson was council's choice. LeBel then asked for a "show of hands" of those in favor of Thompson. Six hands went up--LeBel, Senter, Bivens, Alvis, Garrett, and Chesney. 


The Council Gang of Six asked City Administrator Tony Cox to send a letter to the MUS Gang of Five letting MUS know of council's preference. Apparently, the Gang of Five didn't get the memo from the Gang of Six or decided to ignore it.


That leads us to another twist to the MUS saga. This is MUS' third submittal of three qualified names to the Mayor. The 2012 (George) McGuffin Law provides that if Council rejects the Mayor's third nominee, then MUS and the Mayor are out of the picture, and Council can make its own nominations.

So, if the Gang of Six really wants Glenn Thompson, the Gang just has to reject the nominee that the Mayor selects, and then the Gang can nominate and appoint Thompson.


[Scroll down for yesterday's post on how the self-nominating MUS Board twice nominated unqualified persons for the Board and had to back up and revise its slate of candidates.]

August 14, 2014 Morristown Gang of Five That Can't Shoot Straight

Thank you to the many people who kept coming to the blog during the past 9-month hiatus and who called periodically and asked when I would post again.


It's time to start posting again and we'll start with The Gang That Can't Shoot Straight (aka the Morristown Utilities System Board). The 5-member MUS Board is having a special called meeting today at 11:30.




They have to have a special called meeting to see if they can finally come up with THREE names of QUALIFIED individuals to nominate for the board seat now occupied by Gene Jolley whose term expired a few weeks ago.




You would think that would be easy. Not for MUS. In their previous two attempts at the three-person nomination process, they have selected two qualified individuals and one unqualified individual.




The nominees have to meet the very simple and basic qualifications to serve on the MUS Board, but the MUS Board (a) doesn't know that you can't serve on the MUS Board if you are on any other City Board and/or (b) doesn't bother to ask their proposed nominees if they serve on any other Board.


Bizarre.


Especially since the MUS Board is made up of 5 individuals who have collectively served on the Board for over 80 years and the nominees they are proposing are friends and business associates.


The five current members are Chairman George McGuffin (with 40 years on the MUS Board) along with Harold Nichols (over 20 years on the MUS Board), Gene Jolley, Lynn Elkins, and Bryan Dickerson.




In their previous two strike outs:


1) MUS nominated Gene Jolley, Ray Campbell, and Jerry Isaacs. Problem: Isaacs serves on a City Board and so was not able to serve on the MUS Board, too. New meeting required.




2) MUS then held a special meeting with its attorney Dick Jessee present and nominated Gene Jolley, Rod Isaacs, and Joel Hice. Problem: Hice serves on the Industrial Board for the City and was ineligible to serve on the MUS Board, too. [Jessee is also the City attorney and is McGuffin's brother-in-law.]




So, MUS is holding another special called meeting today to see if they can possibly come up with three nominees--all of whom are not serving on another City Board--to send to the Mayor who will then select one name for consideration by the full City Council.




It's good to be back...Enjoy! 

August 21, 2013 Council Approves Mayor's Nomination of Bryan Dickerson to MUS Board

There is a new member on the five-person MUS Board of Commissioners.

After councilmembers rejected the first two mayoral nominations (Max Biery and Jim Sexton) to the Morristown Utility System Board of Commissioners,  Mayor Thomas made a third pick yesterday, and the full council then approved his appointment of Bryan Dickerson to the MUS Board in a 7-0 vote.

Dickerson will take the seat currently held by Max Biery who was nominated by the Mayor from a list of three persons provided to him by MUS but whose re-appointment to the MUS Board was rejected by a majority of councilmembers (Garrett, LeBel, Alvis, and Bivens) on July 16.

August 19, 2013 MUS Sends Another Slate of Three Names to the Mayor to Replace Max Biery on the MUS Board of Commissioners

The MUS Board of Commissioners met last Friday, August 16, to prepare a third slate of names to submit to Mayor Danny Thomas for his recommendation of one of those individuals to the full council to replace MUS Commissioner Max Biery.  [Biery's re-appointment to the MUS Board by the Mayor was rejected on July 16 by the council.]

 

The five MUS Commissioners recommended that the names of Bryan Dickerson, Steve Isaacs, and Wally Long be submitted to the Mayor.

 

 

BACKGROUND

The Mayor nominated Biery for re-appointment back on July 16, 2013, but four members of the council voted to reject the re-appointment. Those opposed to Biery's nomination were councilmembers Bob Garrett, former head of the MUS Water Department; Paul LeBel; Dennis Alvis; and Chris Bivens. The video and vote is here. 

 

MUS submitted another list of three names, and five councilmembers then rejected the mayor's nomination of Jim Sexton of MAHLE to the MUS Board on August 6, 2013. Voting to reject Sexton's nomination were Bob Garrett, former head of the MUS Water Department; Dennis Alvis; Chris Bivens; Kay Senter; and Gary Chesney. The video and vote is here

 

There is a power struggle for control of the MUS Board of Commissioners--especially with steps being taken ever more rapidly to transfer city sewer operations to MUS.

September 9, 2012 (Another) Morristown Sewage Spill into Cherokee Lake

The City of Morristown dumped raw, untreated sewage into Cherokee Lake on Monday (Sept 3) after a power outage at its wastewater treatment plant.[Correction: The outage this time was at the Spring Creek lift station this time.] About 94,000 gallons of raw sewage went into the lake.  [Last year, the outage was at the main plant and resulted in a dump of over one million gallons of raw sewage into Cherokee Lake. See below for links].

With the life station, there are two power feeds. However, both power sources (MUS-Morristown Utilities and AEC-Appalachian Electric) come into the lift station on the same poles for at least part of the way. When there is a wreck or storm or falling tree that hits a shared pole, both utilities are affected and there is no back-up power. Sewage backs up and is then released into the lake.

Monday's power outage is not the first power outage in the city sewer system. And Monday's raw sewage dump is not the first--or even largest--sewage dump by the City of Morristown into Cherokee Lake.

A massive spill of over a million gallons of untreated sewage into the lake occurred in June 2011. That spill was also caused by a power outage--but in 2011 it was at the main wastewater treatment plant. As with the life station, power to the main treatment plant comes from two sources (MUC and AEC), poles are shared, and in the case of a storm or wreck or other event, both utilities are affected and there is no back-up power at the main plant. Click here. At that time, City Administrator Tony Cox said of the power outage and sewage dump, "we're taking it seriously." There was also a spill of about 250,000 gallons of raw sewage in 2008. Click here.

[And then there was the Witt sewer lawsuit that cost the city megabucks in attorney fees (for part of its own TML attorneys' fees plus a negotiated payment to Plaintiff's attorney for his fees) and the City ended up under a federal court order to spend over a million dollars to fix the Witt situation and address repeated overflows. Click here and on the Witt Sewer search labels on the right.]

Under the headline "E. Coli levels off the chart at spill site," the Tribune reports that "concentrations of the bacteria (E. Coli), which has been linked to disease, remained so high (as of Tuesday) that they exceeded the ability of Veolia Water...to measure them." Veolia operates Morristown's wastewater treatment facility.

Knowing about the problem for quite some time, the City has been talking about back up generators.

The City Administrator sent a plan for generators to TDEC (Tennessee Dept of Environment and Conservation) months ago.

Apparently it's not economically possible to separate the two power feeds or address the problem in other ways. This latest spill makes the case for generators NOW! 

Morristown and other area communities rely on Cherokee Lake for tourism and recreational activities like swimming, boating, and fishing, and, most importantly, as a source of drinking water.

The repeated dumping of raw sewage into the lake from which the City gets its drinking water is ridiculous--especially when the problem has been known for YEARS and there is a way to prevent it from happening. 

Hospitals have back-up generators that can be used to make sure that vital health services are maintained for patients in the event of a utility power outage.

Four-plus years is long enough for the City of Morristown, which handles the city's sewer, to address its repeated raw sewage dumps--whether from lift stations or the main wastewater plant.

And MUS, which handles the city's water, should be highly concerned about the City dumping sewage into the lake from which MUS pulls water for treatment and sale to its customers. [According to the MUS website, MUS gets water from two sources. Water comes from Cherokee Lake and Havely Springs and is then mixed together before being treated. Click here]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paul's schedule for everyone is here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The full opinion is here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Abstaining: Gene Brooks.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The link to the report is here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November 24, 2010 Morristown Sends Bill for New $10/Month Garbage Fee To Some City Residents But Not To Others

I asked a simple question at the Morristown City Council meeting on November 16.

Short Question: Are some city residents paying the garbage fee while other city residents are not?

Short Answer: Yes. 

My question and City Administrator Tony Cox's response were not reported in the "news"paper, but two days later Bob Moore had a front page article trying to provide cover for the fact that the City of Morristown is charging the new $10/month garbage fee to some city residents but not to others.

After this came out on November 16, Moore talked to Asst. City Administrator Buddy Fielder. Fielder apparently said that the city's billing system is 95% complete and added that the City is resolving all MUS-related bills before addressing billing difficulties in the Alpha-Talbott, Witt, and Russellville-Whitesburg  utility districts.

For some reason, Moore didn't describe the billing difficulties that the City needs to address in AT, Witt, and RV-WB utility districts. Why?

As soon as Fielder said there were billing difficulties with AT, Witt, and RV-WB, a reporter would ask certain obvious questions especially for a front-page news article: What are the billing difficulties with AT, Witt, and RV-WB? What are you doing to address these difficulties? When will these difficulties be resolved?

But IF Moore had asked the obvious questions, then Fielder's statement about billing difficulties in the Alpha, Witt, or RV-WB utility districts would have unraveled. 

There are no current billing difficulties to address with the Alpha, Witt, and RV-WB utility districts. Alpha, Witt, and RV-WB have NOT sent a single bill for the city's garbage fee to city residents in their areas  because the City has NOT yet asked or authorized them to add the city's garbage fee to water bills of city residents.

Moore, in my opinion, wrote the article solely or primarily to allow the City to provide front-page "spin" for its actions in billing some residents and not others. To make sure that the City had free rein to "spin" its response, Moore adopted a new journalism standard that could be described as "don't ask (the obvious questions) and don't tell (what's really going on)."  Just front-page governmental "spin."

What we have is the City directing MUS to jump in and add the $10/month garbage fee to water bills for city residents in September 2010, but the City did NOT and still has NOT (as of November 16) directed or authorized AT, Witt, or RV-WB to add the $10/month garbage fee to water bills for city residents in September or in October or in November. Why start billing some but not others?

Assistant City Administrator Buddy Fielder said that City residents who weren't billed for September, October, and November won't be charged for past service. "Those were issues on our part, not on their part....I don't think it makes sense to do that."

As a matter of fairness, Fielder is probably right that the City should not go back and try to collect past garbage fees from city residents who didn't receive a garbage fee on their utility bill because of the city's "issues."  Especially when the "issue" in this whole thing is that the City didn't even try to bill city residents served by AT, Witt, or RV-WB.

But what do Fielder and City Administrator Tony Cox and Mayor Barile and City Councilmembers think about the flip-side of this mess? What about those city residents who did receive a bill and who did pay the $10/month garbage fee for a service that others didn't pay for? What's fair for them? 

Just looking at what's fair and addressing some potential legal problems in this "charge some/don't charge others" situation, the City should stop billing the garbage fee to city residents served by MUS until the city residents served by Alpha, Witt, and RV-WB utility districts have been billed an equal number of months.

After all city residents served by Alpha, Witt, RV-WB utilities have been billed for the same number of months that MUS customers have already been billed for, then billing of city customers thru MUS would resume. 

Sadly, this post is about proper billing of a new garbage fee instead of the fee itself.  The new garbage fee is the city's poster child for years and years of financial mismanagement and an almost total lack of accountability.

The new garbage fee is nothing more than a way for the Mayor and City Council to take more money from the citizens and use that money for pet projects--like brick pavers on city roads--while providing financial cover for the problems brought about by years of financial mismanagement, sweetheart deals, and illegal money switcheroos.  

It's not rocket science. Mayor Sami Barile and City Council wanted more of "other people's money" so they decided to make city residents start paying a separate and new "fee" for garbage pick-up, a service which used to be provided thru property taxes and other city revenues.

[The only person to vote against the new $10/month garbage fee was Councilman Gene Brooks.]

Of course, making the taxpayers shoulder the financial burden created by the Mayor and City Council's years of financial mismanagement, neglect, and lack of accountability is nothing new.

Let's see...property tax increase in 2007, sales tax increase in 2008, red light cameras, sewer increases almost every year, and now a new garbage fee!  Next year?