This will be a quick post--with more detailed information to come.
Walters State Community College, which has been taking the tapes of county commission meetings and airing them on Ch. 7 (cable gov/ed channel) on Tuesday and Saturday nights at 9:00 pm, recently informed the City and County that the college will no longer provide this service when its contract to manage the "City of Morristown's government and education channel (Channel 7)" expires on June 30, 2008.
History: Hamblen County Commission meetings have been taped and played on the cable government/education channel since 2002. Morristown City Council, however, has consistently refused to videotape and air its meetings.
During the 2002 county commission elections, several candidates--including me--pushed for televising commission meetings for those who could not attend meetings.
After the 2002 elections, newly-elected commissioner Nancy Phillips talked with Charter and secured a large equipment donation.
Nancy and I then obtained and donated microphones and other equipment at no cost to the county.
Nancy, Tom Lowe, and I and other private individuals personally paid for the taping costs of the first meetings---before the City turned "its" channel over to WSCC.
Good news (hopefully). It is my understanding that the plug will not be pulled on airing county commission meetings.
It is hoped that Charter--and perhaps even MUS--will continue to air the meetings on the respective cable channels that have always been set aside for government/education programming.
Showing posts with label Televised County Commission Meetings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Televised County Commission Meetings. Show all posts
Monday, June 09, 2008
Friday, August 25, 2006
August 25, 2006 Thank You to the Voters of the 14th District
At yesterday's August meeting of the Hamblen County Commission, I shared my thoughts and feelings about my decision not to run for re-election and my hopes for the future.
I want to share with my blog readers the statement that I read aloud and that I asked to be included in the official minutes:
Linda Noe Statement of August 24, 2006
I would like to express my gratitude to the voters of the 14th district for their support in electing me in 2002.
I have remained true to every campaign promise I made.
While I chose not to run again for personal reasons, I am still concerned about the handling of public money.
Accountability was my focus then and accountability is my focus today.
We have made some positive strides, but there is a long way to go.
Our system of government provides for a system of checks and balances to prevent abuse of power by any of the three branches of government—executive, judicial, legislative.
The Hamblen County Commission should be a vital part in promoting accountability and ensuring that our system of checks and balances works to protect our tax dollars.
I encourage the incoming commission to reject the title of “rubber stamp commission.”
Work with the Mayor but expect the Mayor to work with you as well.
Co-operation is a two-way street. Ask questions and expect and demand answers.
You can’t do your job if you don’t know what’s going on with county finances. Listen to the answers and let common sense be your guide.
If the answer doesn’t pass the smell test, don’t hold your nose and go on. Ask more questions and get rid of the smell.
It is your duty to be a part of the system of checks and balances, not an elected spectator or puppet for power mongers.
I am proud that with the support of other commissioners, many of my goals were achieved over the past four years such as:
Hiring state auditors to handle the county audit and saving the county $72,000.
Airing commission meetings on local cable TV.
Opening up the bidding process in many areas to save the county money.
Using an open and fair process for hiring architects and engineers.
During part of the time that I served on commission, I attended law school, graduated, and passed the bar exam. The law license has my name on it, but it was achieved with the support of a loving family.
I thank my husband Ron, my son Will and his wife Katie Kanipe-Noe, and my twin daughters Jenny and Katie for their patience and encouragement over the past years.
I thank my mother Helen Catron for her support as well, and I gratefully honor my late father Bill Catron for his encouragement through the years.
Now with the support of a loving family, it is time for me to use that degree.
I will always be proud of having served on the Hamblen County Legislative Body.
As a citizen and taxpayer, I will remain concerned and involved in the public’s business.
To the new commissioners: the people have elected you. You owe them your loyalty and faithful service.
I hope that above all else that you believe in and will support open government.
Support Tennessee’s Open Meetings and Open Records Laws.
Keep the TV camera running at your commission meetings.
Tape and show your committee meetings---you know that that is where the most discussion of issues and deliberation occurs.
There are some goals that weren’t fully achieved in the past four years. I hope you will consider making more use of the county website. Put commission agendas, minutes of committee and commission meetings, and financial records on the web.
Consider having meetings at times that are most convenient for the largest number of working people.
Open the government up to the people you were elected to serve.
Encourage other elected officials--the Morristown City Council and the Hamblen County School Board—to put their meetings on TV.
You have been given a great honor by being elected to the Hamblen County Commission.
Serve openly, listen carefully, avoid conflicts of interest, and control spending and taxes.
I wish you well.
Linda Noe
I want to share with my blog readers the statement that I read aloud and that I asked to be included in the official minutes:
Linda Noe Statement of August 24, 2006
I would like to express my gratitude to the voters of the 14th district for their support in electing me in 2002.
I have remained true to every campaign promise I made.
While I chose not to run again for personal reasons, I am still concerned about the handling of public money.
Accountability was my focus then and accountability is my focus today.
We have made some positive strides, but there is a long way to go.
Our system of government provides for a system of checks and balances to prevent abuse of power by any of the three branches of government—executive, judicial, legislative.
The Hamblen County Commission should be a vital part in promoting accountability and ensuring that our system of checks and balances works to protect our tax dollars.
I encourage the incoming commission to reject the title of “rubber stamp commission.”
Work with the Mayor but expect the Mayor to work with you as well.
Co-operation is a two-way street. Ask questions and expect and demand answers.
You can’t do your job if you don’t know what’s going on with county finances. Listen to the answers and let common sense be your guide.
If the answer doesn’t pass the smell test, don’t hold your nose and go on. Ask more questions and get rid of the smell.
It is your duty to be a part of the system of checks and balances, not an elected spectator or puppet for power mongers.
I am proud that with the support of other commissioners, many of my goals were achieved over the past four years such as:
Hiring state auditors to handle the county audit and saving the county $72,000.
Airing commission meetings on local cable TV.
Opening up the bidding process in many areas to save the county money.
Using an open and fair process for hiring architects and engineers.
During part of the time that I served on commission, I attended law school, graduated, and passed the bar exam. The law license has my name on it, but it was achieved with the support of a loving family.
I thank my husband Ron, my son Will and his wife Katie Kanipe-Noe, and my twin daughters Jenny and Katie for their patience and encouragement over the past years.
I thank my mother Helen Catron for her support as well, and I gratefully honor my late father Bill Catron for his encouragement through the years.
Now with the support of a loving family, it is time for me to use that degree.
I will always be proud of having served on the Hamblen County Legislative Body.
As a citizen and taxpayer, I will remain concerned and involved in the public’s business.
To the new commissioners: the people have elected you. You owe them your loyalty and faithful service.
I hope that above all else that you believe in and will support open government.
Support Tennessee’s Open Meetings and Open Records Laws.
Keep the TV camera running at your commission meetings.
Tape and show your committee meetings---you know that that is where the most discussion of issues and deliberation occurs.
There are some goals that weren’t fully achieved in the past four years. I hope you will consider making more use of the county website. Put commission agendas, minutes of committee and commission meetings, and financial records on the web.
Consider having meetings at times that are most convenient for the largest number of working people.
Open the government up to the people you were elected to serve.
Encourage other elected officials--the Morristown City Council and the Hamblen County School Board—to put their meetings on TV.
You have been given a great honor by being elected to the Hamblen County Commission.
Serve openly, listen carefully, avoid conflicts of interest, and control spending and taxes.
I wish you well.
Linda Noe
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
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.
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.
Monday, August 08, 2005
August 8, 2005 If you can't stand the heat...
We had commission committee meetings today. These are the pre-meeting meetings (like a work session) where we discuss items that will come up at the regular Commission meeting on August 18. Nothing big came up although there was a lot of good debate and exchange of ideas.
We will ask Charter Cable Company to dedicate a channel to the county for use in televising county commission meetings. Currently, we deliver tapes to Walters State Community College and lately there have been problems with the airing of those tapes. Sometimes, no tape was shown at all. Sometimes, the meeting was not shown in its entirety. (Once , this was because the entire meeting was not filmed. Other times, however, part of the tape would be shown on one day and the other part on another day instead of the full meeting being aired in one sitting).
If you can't stand the heat...
The last meeting of the day was the Audit Committee. Edwin Osborne is chairman. Members present were Maudie Briggs, Herbert Harville, Linda Noe, and Joe Spoone. (Ricky Bruce was present for an earlier meeting, but he left before the Audit Committee meeting began).
The main agenda item was a letter that had been prepared by Chairman Osborne and that was addressed to Finance Chairman Herbert Harville. The letter remarked on the difficulty (impossibility?) in getting answers to 2004 audit questions from the County Mayor or Finance Director. It said that the Audit Committee is at an impasse and noted that County Mayor David Purkey had "willfully" encouraged other elected officials and departments heads not to respond in writing to the Audit Committee and not to attend Audit Committee meetings.
The Mayor's statement urging officials and departments heads to boycott Audit Committee meetings a couple of months ago was very effective. No one attended the Audit Committee then, and no one attended the Audit Committee today. Today, as the Audit Committee prepared to meet, the Mayor told county employee Jeff Atkins and local news person Paul Meador, "let's go," and they did. They skeedaddled out of there, so you probably won't hear anything about what happened at the Audit Committee on tomorrow's radio news.
The boycott game appears to be part of a power play. Commissioner Osborne is in for a rough time as he starts to ask questions. It'll be even rougher if he actually insists on answers.
Of course, Harville stated that this was "political." Apparently, asking for financial information about the county is "political," but withholding financial information is not. The vote was 4-1 to send the letter that asks Harville, who is chairman of the Finance Committee, to try and get some response out of County Mayor David Purkey and the Finance Department in connection with audit questions that have been asked but never answered.
Harville was the lone dissenting vote.
Since he voted against sending the letter in the first place, I asked Commissioner Harville if he would have any conflict or difficulty in trying to resolve the audit situation and getting some answers from the County Mayor. Harville said "no." I didn't want to see Harville placed in an uncomfortable situation doing something that he really didn't want to do.
Harville then asked Commissioner Osborne if Osborne really thought that he (Harville) could get answers to audit questions when Osborne and the committee had been unable to do so in numerous prior attempts. That was a very good question. I guess only time will tell whether Herbert Harville can succeed in getting Mayor Purkey to provide financial answers where others have been unable to do so.
If Harville can get answers to the 2004 audit questions that have been ignored for months by the County Mayor and Finance Director, we'll have to make him the official liaison between the Hamblen County Commission and the Hamblen County Mayor/Finance Department.
Stay tuned...
We will ask Charter Cable Company to dedicate a channel to the county for use in televising county commission meetings. Currently, we deliver tapes to Walters State Community College and lately there have been problems with the airing of those tapes. Sometimes, no tape was shown at all. Sometimes, the meeting was not shown in its entirety. (Once , this was because the entire meeting was not filmed. Other times, however, part of the tape would be shown on one day and the other part on another day instead of the full meeting being aired in one sitting).
If you can't stand the heat...
The last meeting of the day was the Audit Committee. Edwin Osborne is chairman. Members present were Maudie Briggs, Herbert Harville, Linda Noe, and Joe Spoone. (Ricky Bruce was present for an earlier meeting, but he left before the Audit Committee meeting began).
The main agenda item was a letter that had been prepared by Chairman Osborne and that was addressed to Finance Chairman Herbert Harville. The letter remarked on the difficulty (impossibility?) in getting answers to 2004 audit questions from the County Mayor or Finance Director. It said that the Audit Committee is at an impasse and noted that County Mayor David Purkey had "willfully" encouraged other elected officials and departments heads not to respond in writing to the Audit Committee and not to attend Audit Committee meetings.
The Mayor's statement urging officials and departments heads to boycott Audit Committee meetings a couple of months ago was very effective. No one attended the Audit Committee then, and no one attended the Audit Committee today. Today, as the Audit Committee prepared to meet, the Mayor told county employee Jeff Atkins and local news person Paul Meador, "let's go," and they did. They skeedaddled out of there, so you probably won't hear anything about what happened at the Audit Committee on tomorrow's radio news.
The boycott game appears to be part of a power play. Commissioner Osborne is in for a rough time as he starts to ask questions. It'll be even rougher if he actually insists on answers.
Of course, Harville stated that this was "political." Apparently, asking for financial information about the county is "political," but withholding financial information is not. The vote was 4-1 to send the letter that asks Harville, who is chairman of the Finance Committee, to try and get some response out of County Mayor David Purkey and the Finance Department in connection with audit questions that have been asked but never answered.
Harville was the lone dissenting vote.
Since he voted against sending the letter in the first place, I asked Commissioner Harville if he would have any conflict or difficulty in trying to resolve the audit situation and getting some answers from the County Mayor. Harville said "no." I didn't want to see Harville placed in an uncomfortable situation doing something that he really didn't want to do.
Harville then asked Commissioner Osborne if Osborne really thought that he (Harville) could get answers to audit questions when Osborne and the committee had been unable to do so in numerous prior attempts. That was a very good question. I guess only time will tell whether Herbert Harville can succeed in getting Mayor Purkey to provide financial answers where others have been unable to do so.
If Harville can get answers to the 2004 audit questions that have been ignored for months by the County Mayor and Finance Director, we'll have to make him the official liaison between the Hamblen County Commission and the Hamblen County Mayor/Finance Department.
Stay tuned...
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
June 29, 2005 Reappraisals and State Certified Tax Rate
We had a budget meeting yesterday. We were given agendas as we arrived along with additional, updated information on some funds--like highway and sanitation. Right at the start, Commissioner Guy Collins moved for a 2% increase for some employees (about 9) in the sanitation department. Some commissioners were concerned about picking out some employees for a raise and not others and trying to give a raise when we don't yet have the certified tax rate from the state.
The motion passed with Herbert Harville, Nancy Phillips, and I voting "no." My no was not in opposition to the raise--I agree with Guy that these employees and all other county employees deserve a raise. I just didn't want to start picking out some employees for a raise and not others. It's a matter of fairness. Also, I want to see what the "certified" rate is before voting on any budget and raises.
If you are wondering what the "certified" tax rate is, it is the adjusted tax rate that the state will provide to us in the next few weeks. 2005 is an appraisal year, and most property in Hamblen County increased in value. After appraisals and appeals are complete, the state takes the new appraisals and adjusts the tax rate downward to get the certified rate. The purpose is for the new higher appraisals and the new lower certified tax rate to bring in the same amount of money to the county as the old lower appraisals did with the old higher tax rate.
When you apply all this to an individual taxpayer, it can be summed up like this---If your property increased in value more than the county average of about 12%, then you will likely be paying more property tax dollars to the county in 2005 than you did in 2004 just because of your appraisal increase. But be aware that Commission can also take the certified tax rate and increase it, regardless of the appraisals. Any increase above the state certified tax rate is a tax rate increase and that, too, can result in a higher tax bill for most people.
The Budget Committee will meet again on Thursday, July 7, at 4:00 in the Hamblen County Courthouse, large courtroom. These are open meetings, and visitors are welcome. Just a reminder to those who have cable TV- Tapes of county commission meetings are shown on Charter Cable channel 7 at 9:00 pm on Tuesday and Saturday evenings and on Adelphia Cable channel 73 at 1:30 and 7:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Have a wonderful Fourth of July! We have much to be thankful for.
Stay tuned...
The motion passed with Herbert Harville, Nancy Phillips, and I voting "no." My no was not in opposition to the raise--I agree with Guy that these employees and all other county employees deserve a raise. I just didn't want to start picking out some employees for a raise and not others. It's a matter of fairness. Also, I want to see what the "certified" rate is before voting on any budget and raises.
If you are wondering what the "certified" tax rate is, it is the adjusted tax rate that the state will provide to us in the next few weeks. 2005 is an appraisal year, and most property in Hamblen County increased in value. After appraisals and appeals are complete, the state takes the new appraisals and adjusts the tax rate downward to get the certified rate. The purpose is for the new higher appraisals and the new lower certified tax rate to bring in the same amount of money to the county as the old lower appraisals did with the old higher tax rate.
When you apply all this to an individual taxpayer, it can be summed up like this---If your property increased in value more than the county average of about 12%, then you will likely be paying more property tax dollars to the county in 2005 than you did in 2004 just because of your appraisal increase. But be aware that Commission can also take the certified tax rate and increase it, regardless of the appraisals. Any increase above the state certified tax rate is a tax rate increase and that, too, can result in a higher tax bill for most people.
The Budget Committee will meet again on Thursday, July 7, at 4:00 in the Hamblen County Courthouse, large courtroom. These are open meetings, and visitors are welcome. Just a reminder to those who have cable TV- Tapes of county commission meetings are shown on Charter Cable channel 7 at 9:00 pm on Tuesday and Saturday evenings and on Adelphia Cable channel 73 at 1:30 and 7:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Have a wonderful Fourth of July! We have much to be thankful for.
Stay tuned...
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