November 25, 2010 Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

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?

November 21, 2010 The Lowland "Asset Purchase Agreement" (15- Page Contract)

 

Above this post is Page 1 and following are Pages 2-15 of the Lowland "Asset Purchase Agreement" that was negotiated by former City Administrator Jim Crumley and that was approved by the previous City Council in a 5-1 vote in February 2009. Voting YES: Mayor Barile, Claude Jinks, Frank McGuffin, Doc Rooney,and Kay Senter. Voting NO: Rick Trent. Click on each page to enlarge and read or to print the page. 

When two new councilmen were elected in May 2009, one of them--Gene Brooks--spearheaded the initiative to terminate Crumley who "retired" in the face of termination proceedings. This was probably the most important action of the new council. Everything else has been like peeling an onion as the true magnitude of Crumley's financial shenanigans have gradually come out layer by layer. 

After addressing the Crumley matter, Brooks turned to another major concern and campaign platform-- the Lowland Wastewater deal with MPLG (Mike Ball and Joe Fielden). After new City Administrator Tony Cox was in place, Brooks told Cox of his concerns about the Lowland purchase and requested copies of all Lowland documents. Brooks reviewed the documents, showed them to several people, and continued to have serious concerns not only about the Lowland Agreement but also other financial issues. 

Since the State Comptroller was already looking at city financial actions, Brooks went to Nashville to discuss his concerns about the Lowland Agreenent, illegal interfund "loans," and other financial questions directly with the Comptroller's Division of State and Local Finance. Carl Murphy and I accompanied Brooks. (Carl is Gene's father-in-law.) Shortly after that meeting, the Comptroller's Office sent a letter to the City in July 2010, pointing out discrepancies in the 2009 audit, raising questions about illegal interfund "loans," and perhaps most importantly raising serious questions about the Lowland Wastewater Plant Agreement. Click here to see the Comptroller's 5-page July 8, 2010, letter. Click here for a very brief discussion of just a few of the questions that surround the terms of the Lowland Agreement and its approval.  

November 17, 2010 Mayor, City Council, And the Nutty Lowland Sewer Contract

Yesterday, City Council approved ("ratified") City Administrator Tony Cox's hiring several weeks or maybe a month or more ago of an outside attorney (Mark Mamantov) to help the Council handle numerous financial issues with the State Comptroller's Office.  Click here for the State Comptroller's July 8, 2010, 5-page letter to the City.

[Cox did not have the authority to hire outside counsel.  A City Ordinance states that the Council, not the City Administrator, may hire outside counsel. Council's after-the-fact approval of what Tony had already done provided cover for Cox's violation of the City Ordinance. There is no doubt that Mr. Mamantov is an outstanding attorney.  Cox, however, jumped the gun and exceeded his authority in presuming to retain an attorney without a vote by Council.]

The big issue that Mamantov, City Attorney Dick Jessee, Mayor Barile, and City Councilmembers must deal with is the Lowland Sewer Contract ("Asset Purchase Agreement" is its title).

I'll put the contract on the blog soon. Yesterday, I spoke about the contract briefly during public comments. Much of the Lowland agreement is one-sided with just about every major term in favor of the Sellers (MPLG/Joe Fielden/Mike Ball).  Parts of the contract are outrageous/borderline outrageous. Former City Administrator Jim Crumley apparently negotiated the terms of the agreement and then brought the contract to Council in February 2009.

Crumley may have fed the Council a lot of bull when he presented the contract to them, but even with Crumley's sugarcoating, there is no doubt that several provisions in the contract should have raised serious questions and should have caused the current contract to be rejected by the entire Council in February 2009. Instead, five voted in favor of the contract (Mayor Barile, Councilmembers Rooney, Senter, McGuffin, and Jinks) and only one councilman (Rick Trent) voted "no."

Here are three of the contract terms that should have raised red flags and caused the contract to be revised or rejected:

1) Flow fees: The contract provided that the City would make a one-time payment of $750,000 to the Sellers and then pay "flow fees" of $182,500+ per year to the Sellers for 25 years. A total payout of about $5 Million.  Then a CPA came in for the City and converted the "flow fee" payments to a principal and interest schedule.  This 25-year flow fee/principal and interest schedule sent up big, red flags at the Comptroller's Office.  Apparently, the State Comptroller views the 25-year agreement (whether flow fees or principal and interest disguised as flow fees) as the equivalent of a long-term loan--the type of loan agreement that requires approval by the State Comptroller's Office. The City, of course, never requested approval of this contract/loan by the Comptroller's Office. Had it gone through that office as required, some of this mess might have been straightened out at the start.

2) Abandonment clause: This is a one-sided contract term that leaves you scratching your head.  The City paid $750,000 down for the plant and has already made the first $182,500 annual "flow fee" payment. The City will have to spend $50-$70 million or more in improvements to the plant. The "abandonment clause" says that if the City later decides to abandon or quit operating the Lowland Sewer Plant, the City must GIVE the Plant with the millions of dollars of improvements back to the Sellers AND still make all remaining payments for the 25-year term of the contract.  Sweet clause for the Sellers. Poison clause for the City.

That's like a businessman buying a small store, making a downpayment of $5,000, making payments of $10,000/yr, fixing it up at his expense, and then when he decides to quit operating the store, the contract says that he can't sell the store with the improvements he has made to the best bidder and pay off what he owes and keep the rest----no, he has to GIVE it back to the person who sold it to him AND STILL MAKE THE MONTHLY PAYMENTS to that person. No sane businessman would sign a contract with such a clause.

If you agree to make the payments NO MATTER WHAT, why would you ever agree to GIVE the plant back if you decide to quit operating it?  If you have to make the payments, for Pete's sake make sure the contract says that you get to keep the plant or that you can sell it to whoever you want to!!

And, no, this nutty abandon, give it back, and keep paying clause was not hidden in legalese in the 2009 contract. It was in plain English in black-and-white. It makes you wonder if the Lowland Sewer Contract was like the national healthcare bill. Nobody paid attention and read it.

3) Operating permit: Before approving the Lowland contract in 2009, the City knew that it would have to get a permit to operate the Lowland Wastewater Plant.  According to a statement made at yesterday's meeting by George Haggard,  the City does not have an operating permit. Sixteen months after purchasing the plant and $932,000+ later, the City doesn't have a permit to operate a plant that it "owns."

The City may get a permit --later.  The crazy part of the contract is that any businessman who was spending his own money would have held off on signing the contract or would have simply paid some earnest money and included a clause stating that the contract would not take effect and no further payments would be made until such time as the City obtained an operating permit. [Sort of like a real estate contract where you put down earnest money with the provision that you will make a good faith effort to obtain a loan, but if you are unable to get a loan, then the whole purchase agreement is void and you get your earnest money back.  The City, like any business or individual, should have had a clause stating that nothing would be paid until the City got its operating permit.]

Councilman Gene Brooks stated that he had been concerned about the Lowland deal before he was elected in May 2009. Brooks added that he got the Lowland documents, reviewed them, and went to Nashville to discuss this situation and other financial matters with the Comptroller. Carl Murphy and I went with Gene on that lengthy trip to discuss the legality of terms of the Lowland contract, the "flow fees" and principal/ interest schedule, and the illegal sewer fund to general fund loans that had been made in 07,08, and 09.

George Haggard, a local businessman, made some strong and important public comments yesterday.  Haggard noted that the City paid $750,000 down and has paid out over $182,000 more and still has no permit to operate the plant. Haggard added that the Lowland facility is in poor shape, that the Lowland contract was a bad deal, that Jim Crumley did not tell them the truth back in 2009, and that the City should try to get out of or renegotiate the Lowland contract now that the Comptroller has stepped in and everyone is looking more closely and questioning the original contract.

Although Councilman Brooks requested public discussion of this matter, the Mayor cut his remarks short. Brooks then added that Tony Cox has asked councilmembers to talk to Dick Jessee one-on-one about the Lowland deal. If Cox has his way, there will be little, if any, public discussion about the Lowland Contract and the huge costs that loom ahead if the City doesn't at least try to get out of this.

Once Cox decides that he has the magic number (four) in hand, then he'll put it on the agenda for a quick vote. There will be little or no public discussion because all the discussion will have taken place outside of the public eye.  Cox wants to minimize public deliberation by Council in regular meetings. and the Mayor and most councilmembers are going along for the ride with Cox just like they did with Crumley.  And we know where that got us!

Cox has made it clear that he prefers a tiny, cosmetic "patch" to the contract and then proceed down the $50-$70 million dollar path of more debt. Now the public is waiting to see if and when the Mayor or any councilmember has the courage to engage in public discussion of this important public issue.

November 11, 2010 Veterans Day

In honor and in remembrance of all who have served the United States of America in the armed forces at home and abroad...

In honor of all who currently serve the United States of America in the armed forces at home and abroad...

In remembrance of all who, in service to the United States of America, gave the last full measure of devotion...

The American Soldier

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who gives us freedom.

October 27, 2010 Hamblen County Commissioner Guy Collins Passes Away

The longest serving county commissioner in the history of Hamblen County and in the State of Tennessee has passed away. [Update: Guy, according to the Tribune, was actually #2 to some other county commissioner somewhere in the state. No name or county was provided about the other commissioner. Guy was #1 in Hamblen County and #2 in the State in terms of total years of service on what was the old Quarterly Court which later became the modern Hamblen County Legislative Body or Hamblen County Commission.]

Guy, who represented the 11th District encompassing Witt and Roe Junction, died at home several weeks  after being released from the hospital after an extended stay. He attended the last Committee meetings on October 18.

Several years ago when I was on the Commission, we attended a meeting of the Tennessee County Commissioners Association in Knoxville, TN. Guy was honored back then for his long years of service.

Everybody knew then that Guy would keep on running and keep on being re-elected as long as wanted to.  I don't think anyone doubted that Guy would be serving on the Hamblen County Commission until the day he died. And that is exactly what happened.

I'm sure that there will be a special moment of silence and many well-deserved words of praise for Guy during tomorrow's County Commission meeting at the Courthouse at 5:00 PM and in the days to come.

More in a future post.

October 23, 2010 Rockwood, TN and Morristown, TN: Illegal Loans From Utility Funds

Morristown City government is not alone in violating state law in making illegal loans from one fund to another.   

Recently, the Utility Board of the City of Rockwood--in Roane County--got busted by the State Comptroller's Office for making illegal loans from its gas department to its sewer and water departments. Click here for the news article.

Rockwood city officials have now abolished their misbehaving Utility Board and City officials will oversee these departments and pay back the illegal loans of $1.3 Million--or officials could face ouster proceedings.

Morristown City officials have done the same thing for years! Illegal loans from the sewer fund to the general fund and from the sewer fund to the stormwater fund. The difference in Morristown is that it was the CITY ITSELF that was violating the law instead of some board that City officials could ceremoniously abolish to "solve" the problem.

The Comptroller's Office found out about Morristown's shenanigans in the last year.  Morristown's violations had gone on for several years before that, however, but were NOT reported as audit "findings" until the 2009 Audit was issued by the local auditors Craine, Thompson, & Jones in early 2010.  

With citizens' reviewing audits and asking questions, the gig was up in 2009, and an audit finding appeared.  As people became aware of the illegal loans, an auditor's e-mail was sent admitting that an auditor (Tom Jones) had been in a meeting with former City Administrator Jim Crumley and Finance Director Dynise Robertson during which Crumley directed that the illegal loans/transfers be made to cover up the poor financial situation of the City.

See Auditor's e-mail here. "Mr. Crumley suggested the entry due to the general fund's cash situation looking poor. He authorized the entry in a meeting with Dynise Robertson and Tom Jones." Both Terry Winstead, who wrote the e-mail, and Tom Jones, to whom Winstead refers, are auditors with Craine, Thompson & Jones, the city's longtime auditors. Winstead's take is that Jones was in the meeting and knew that Crumley ordered the loan/transfer, but, since Jones didn't actually pick up a pencil and make the entry for the illegal loan, there is no auditing independence issue.

But what about 2007 and 2008? Craine, Thompson & Jones were aware of and reported multiple fund loans/ transfers/switcheroos in the audits for those years.  Why did CTJ fail to issue audit "findings" on illegal loans/transfers/switcheroos in the 2007 and 2008 audits?  Click here for a fuller discussion of the illegal loans and other problems with the 2009 Audit.

Of course,  members of CTJ are not only the city's auditors but they are also members of Millennium Square Partners, a lucky group that recently received an $890,000+ grant from the City of Morristown to help Millennium Square Partners build stores on Main Street where the old Gazette-Mail used to be.

But I digress. The Millennium Square deal is enough fodder for several separate posts...as the public waits to hear that two of the Millennium Square partners (David and Tim Wild/Wild Contractors) have managed to submit the low bid and win the contract to build Millennium Square Partners' new stores on Main Street and the City will pay $890,000 of the costs through a grant.  Sweet!

October 21, 2010 How To Fix Congress ---Adaptable to State Legislatures, County Commissions, City Councils, School Boards, etc.

Congressional Reform Act of 2010 (Excellent ideas received in an e-mail)

1. Term Limits.

   12 years only, one of the possible options below..
   A. Two Six-year Senate terms
   B. Six Two-year House terms
   C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms

2. No Tenure/No Pension.

    A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

3. Congress (past, present, & future) participates in Social Security.

    All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future
funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/11.

   The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these
contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

October 20, 2010 Morristown Budget Mess: $116,000 Due for 2010 Appraisal Costs But ZERO Is in the Budget To Pay This

During the City Council work session yesterday, another city budget shoe dropped, putting the City Administrator, Mayor Barile, and Council in a pickle as they try to find $116,000 to pay for the 2010 re-appraisal costs!! 

The Hamblen County Assessor completed re-appraisal of all property in the City and County in early 2010. On July 30, 2010, Hamblen County billed the City of Morristown $116,000+ for the city's share of the re-appraisal costs. Yesterday, the City Council was told that the City budget that they passed in June 2010 contained exactly ZERO to pay this bill.

No one asked and no one offered an explanation as to why City Administrator Tony Cox and (former) Budget Director Brian Janish put ZERO in the 2010-2011 budget to pay for 2010 re-appraisal costs. No one asked why there was a delay of nearly three months (late July to mid-October) in bringing a bill for unbudgeted costs of $116,000 to council's attention!

Tony Cox was not at yesterday's meeting. He apparently took or was getting ready to take a trip to  California to attend a meeting. Hopefully, it is a meeting that tells City Administrators how to make unbudgeted bills go away! In fairness to Cox, he came here from Virginia in early 2010--maybe he didn't understand, didn't ask, and wasn't told that the City would get a bill from the County for the re-appraisal costs.

Everyone else involved in the budget process, however, knows how the re-appraisal process goes. Budget Director Brian Janish was around during the last appraisal cycle in 2005 and knew that the City would get a bill. Of course, Janish was not at yesterday's meeting. He resigned or was "let go" by the City a few months ago, taking his vacation days and officially leaving in August after coming under fire for harassing Finance head Dynise Robertson and for numerous budgeting errors through the years.

Buddy Fielder, assistant City Administrator, was present yesterday but said nothing about the failure to include re-appraisal costs in the budget. His major "job" seems to revolve around the local airport.

According to Finance head Dynise Robertson, failing to budget for re-appraisal costs is not exactly new around here. Former City Administrator Jim Crumley and his buddy Brian Janish apparently didn't put anything in previous budgets to pay for the 2005 re-appraisal costs.  Robertson said that when the bill for the 2005 re-appraisal costs came in, Crumley just miraculously "found" money to pay the bill in the Finance Department's budget. Of course, Crumley was always finding money or shifting money around and making illegal transfers between funds.

The Mayor, City Council, and City Administrator Tony Cox may have trouble  "finding" $116,000 to pay for the re-appraisal in the current budget. To make it easier, I know where some money--maybe as much as $80,000--can be "found" in the current budget.  Take $30,000 from the City Administrator's new slush/contingency fund (or whatever is left in that line item) and take approximately $50,000 from the Council's new $100,000 slush/contingency fund (or whatever is left in that line item) and put that money toward the City's re-appraisal bill. 

Then eliminate retreats and travel by the Administrator, Mayor, and Council for the rest of the year and apply that to the bill, too. These are the people who forgot to budget anything to pay the re-appraisal bill, so most or all of the money to pay for the re-appraisal ought to come out of their budget before they make other departments pay for their mistake.

MORE BACKGROUND: Re-appraisals in Hamblen County generally take place every five years. The previous re-appraisal year was 2005.  Back then, Hamblen County billed the City for its share of the 2005 re-appraisal costs (approximately $71,000) just like Hamblen County billed the City for 2010 re-appraisal costs ($116,000). If it's a re-appraisal year, everyone at the City knows this and knows that a bill will be coming! Yesterday, no one could explain why ZERO is budgeted to pay this bill.

Election years present the same situation. In election years, Hamblen County pays the election costs and bills the City for the costs of the City election. The City knows which years are election years and the City DOES put money in the budget to pay those costs. 

Why do you budget for elections in election years, but you don't budget for re-appraisals in re-appraisal years?

October 1, 2010 State Representative Candidates at CFA Debates

State Representative Candidates Don Miller (R) and Larry Mullins (D) are pictured with their #1 supporters after last night's debate at the VFW in Morristown.

The candidates gave opening statements, fielded approximately 11 questions, and then gave closing statements.

The debate was sponsored by Citizens for Accountability.  A video of the debate will be on the CFA website in just a few days.

October 1, 2010 State Senate Candidates at CFA Debate

State Senate Candidates Steve Southerland (R) and Jack West (D) are pictured with several family members and supporters after last night's debate at the VFW in Morristown.

Each candidate gave an opening statement, fielded approximately 11 questions, and then gave a closing statement.

The debate was sponsored by Citizens for Accountability. Video of the debate will be available for viewing on the CFA website in just a few days.

September 30, 2010 Miller-Mullins and Southerland-West Debates Tonight at VFW at 6:00 PM

State Representative Candidates Don Miller (R) and Larry Mullins (D) will face each other tonight in a debate in the VFW Community Room (2503 East A. J. Highway) beginning at 6:00 PM.

State Senate Candidates Steve Southerland (R) and Jack West (D) will participate in a debate beginning at 7:15 PM in the VFW Community Room.

Citizens for Accountability is the sponsor of these debates.

September 29, 2010 State Senate and Representative Candidates Debate at VFW Tomorrow

Tennessee State Representative candidates Don Miller (Republican) and Larry Mullins (Democrat) will participate in a public debate at the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Community Room at 6:00 PM on Thursday, September 30.

A debate between Tennesssee State Senate candidates Steve Southerland (Republican) and Jack West (Democrat) will follow at approximately 7:15 PM.

Citizens for Accountability (CFA) is sponsoring the debates. These debates are open to the public, and there is no charge to attend.  There will be a short intermission between each debate. The Community Room is located upstairs at the VFW building at 2503 East Andrew Johnson Highway..

The CFA press release is here.

September 16, 2010 Pilot Ejects Just Seconds Before His Jet Crashes

Click on the link below to see an amazing video of a pilot ejecting just seconds before his fighter jet crashes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYFqXPUgeog

September 10, 2010 Mayor Barile: Do As I Say, Not As I Do

If a picture is worth a thousand words, these two pictures must be worth two thousand words.

DO AS I SAY.
Mayor Barile and Chamber of Commerce: Spend your money and sales tax dollars in Morristown! Click to enlarge and read the banner: Buy Local.  Shop Chamber

NOT AS I DO
Everybody goes out of town on personal business or to shop or eat from time to time. But it is offensive and insulting to the citizens and taxpayers of Morristown when Mayor Barile, five of the six Councilmembers, and City Administrator Tony Cox travel to JOHNSON CITY and spend their own money AND City taxpayer dollars at a 2-day "City retreat" in a luxurious JOHNSON CITY HOTEL.  The City Chambers at the Morristown City Center are not shabby and are free for council use, but the Mayor and five Councilmembers decided they would spend some taxpayer money to help them get away from MORRISTOWN and Morristown taxpayers and go to JOHNSON CITY on August 27-28 for their discussions of CITY OF MORRISTOWN finances, sewer problems, and other issues. Councilman Gene Brooks did not participate in the JOHNSON CITY retreat.

Click here to see pictures of Mayor Barile, City Administrator Tony Cox, and Councilmembers Bob Garrett, Claude Jinks, Frank McGuffin, Doc Rooney, and Kay Senter discussing CITY OF MORRISTOWN business while spending City of Morristown taxpayer dollars on food and a "conference room" at the luxurious and pricey Carnegie Hotel in JOHNSON CITY.

September 6, 2010 The State Comptroller Requests Explanations from the City and the City Auditors about Violations of State Law and Problems with 2009 Audit

The above letter to the Mayor and City Council from the State Comptroller's Office was one item briefly discussed at the Council's August 2010 "retreat" in Johnson City. Audits and cozy auditors and conflicts of interest.

I have maintained for a long time that the City of Morristown should get a fresh set of auditing eyes to perform its annual audits. This 5-page letter (click each page to enlarge, read, or print out) from the State Comptroller's Office provides more proof that new eyes are needed. In addition, the GFOA reommends that auditors be changed periodically as a "best practice."

In the 2009 City audit, the Comptroller points out that certain figures don't match up. Lowland Wastewater debt was taken on for 25 years without approval from the Comptroller's Division of State and Local Finance. MUS loans to the telecom fibernet system were also apparently not approved in advance by the Division of State and Local Finance.

Lots of problems with reporting requirements and reported amounts that don't agree. Improper categories. Grant reporting is questioned.

Notes to the financial statements did not include or had incomplete disclosures. And on and on.

There may be explanations for some of the questioned items and some may be the result of mistakes. But there is no doubt that the auditors knew or should have known that "loans" from one fund to another required city council AND state approval. There is no doubt that the auditors knew in recent years that the City was in poor financial shape but failed to call specific attention to this.

Apparently, the auditors thought that if the City could figure it out, OK.  And if the City didn't bother to look at the audits (which is what happened) or couldn't figure it out, then the auditors could say "No, I didn't point out that you were broke or making illegal loans/transfers, but it was in the audit." Sort of like your doctor giving you a blood test and handing you the results to figure out for yourself--even though he knows that you have a specific disease that needs immediate treatment.

Besides the quality and accuracy of the 2009 audit and the failure of the local auditors to disclose the illegal loans and transfers and switching of money, one has to consider the coziness of the auditors (Craine, Thompson & Jones) with the entity (City of Morristown) that they are auditing.

The auditors are local businessmen who have failed repeatedly in recent audits to report that the City was violating state law in swapping/loaning money from fund to fund without a vote from City Council and without obtaining the required approval of the Comptroller's Division of State and Local Finance. The state is pointing out numerous problems by just looking at the 2009 audit. There is no telling what a true detailed examination of the city's books for the year 2009 (Former City Adm. Jim Crumley's last full year) would show or what a thorough look at prior audits would show.

The current auditors (Craine, Thompson & Jones) have been the city's sole auditing firm for about three decades. The local auditors claim that they perform an "independent" audit of the City. However, the fact that the auditors are local business people who have very strong social and economic ties to the same organizations, clubs, churches, sports groups, business groups (Chamber and Industrial Board), and schools as do the individuals (City Administrator, Mayor, City  Council) who represent the City of Morristown creates an  obvious "independence" problem. It may be an "independent" audit from the auditors' technical  perspective, but ethically and in a world of common sense, it's not "independent."  The auditors are aware of "independence" questions, and but they have atempted to explain away their involvement and knowledge of illegal loans/transfers between funds, putting all blame on Crumley AFTER Crumley was fired. Click here to see a copy of the auditor's e-mail message sent to Interim Administrator Lynn Wampler many months AFTER Crumley was fired.

It's not bad that the auditors belong to the same groups and organizations as do Morristown city officials. However, true auditing "independence" is questionable when strong social and economic ties exist between auditor and auditee and when the auditors have already been shown to have failed to call attention to violations of state law by the City and dire financial problems in City government.

Another new "independence" problem has arisen recently because members of the auditing firm apparently have about a 1/3 interest in an entity (Millennium Square Partners) that is receiving $890,000 from the City through a grant. Who/what auditor is going to bite the hand that is feeding it $890,000? Who/what auditor is going to point out the poor financial status of the City or violations of state law by the very people (City officials) who have just given you $890,000? In next year's City audit (FY 2011), the auditors will be auditing their own $890,000 grant!

This potential conflict of the auditors as recipient of an $890,000 grant was discussed briefly when the City was voting on whether to hire new auditors or renew its audit contract with Craine, Thompson & Jones. One of the local auditors who was present at that meeting, Tom Jones, told the City Council that there was no conflict and that the auditors only had a very small interest in Millennium Square Partnership.  Apparently, however, members of the auditing firm have as large an interest as anyone else (David and Tim Wild) in the Millennium Partnership and have a larger interest than the other two remaining members of the Millennium Partnership--Dr. Sidney Boyd and William (Bill) Young).

I guess it all depends on what the meaning of a "small interest" is and it all depends on the meaning/ interpretation of true auditor "independence."

The City needs fresh eyes looking at its financial reports. The current auditors have contributed directly or indirectly to continual violations of state law by their failure to report violations and by their willingness to let these violations slide by.  The City needs to follow accounting best practices, hire outside auditors, and then rotate auditors at least every five years.

August 31, 2010 Mayor Barile and Five of the Six City Councilmembers Meet in JOHNSON CITY To Discuss Morristown Finances, Beautification, Sewer, Increasing Revenue (Taxes, Fees, etc)

Mayor Barile and five of the six City Councilmembers met with City Administrator Tony Cox at the elegant Carnegie Hotel (above) in Johnson City on Friday, August 27, and Saturday, August 28. Councilmember Gene Brooks did not attend. Pictured above (L-R) are Mayor Barile, Kay Senter, Doc Rooney, and Tony Cox. The other picture (L-R) shows Bob Garrett, Claude Jinks, and Frank McGuffin.

Over the course of two days, these seven individuals spent around 10 hours discussing City of Morristown financial woes, unemployment, sewer problems, and their Morristown wish lists.

The City was just barely able to pay its bills last month, and that led to discussion of ways to raise more revenue (translation: dip into YOUR pocket and take more of YOUR money to cover for years of excessive spending and mismanagement). Some ideas for revenue enhancement included adding additional "user fees" on top of the new $10/month garbage user fee that will start in September, increasing property taxes, and increasing sewer fees.

Bob Garrett won the prize for one-liners: Now we know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck.

If ever the "news"paper should have covered a meeting, this was it. But, alas, no one from the "news"paper was there on either day even though these were open meetings.  Bob Moore, the "news"paper's city government reporter, didn't make it to either meeting.

Of course, the intent of having a meeting of the MORRISTOWN City Council in JOHNSON CITY was to keep the pesky public out of the way. On keeping the public away from these meetings, Mayor Barile, the five councilmembers in attendance, and new City Administrator Tony Cox can say "mission accomplished." Almost. 

Citizens for Accountability which tapes local meetings had representatives in Johnson City on both days. Both meetings were taped, and the tapes will be available for viewing in 1-2 weeks. I'll provide info and a link to where the tapes can be viewed at a later date.

City Administrator Tony Cox plans to prepare a summary report of the Johnson City discussions and will no doubt provide it to the "news"paper.  Maybe the "news"paper will use the City's summary/press release to write an article or a series of articles about the Morristown City Council's retreat in Johnson City.

I'll post documents and handouts from the meetings in the next few days.

August 29, 2010 Citizens for Accountability To Host Debates Featuring TN State House of Representatives Candidates and TN State Senate Candidates

Citizens for Accountability (CFA) is sponsoring two debates on September 30. There is no charge, and the public is invited to attend.  Here is the CFA press release which can also be viewed at the website for Citizens for Accountability: www.morristownhamblencfa.com

PRESS RELEASE
Citizens for Accountability will be hosting two debates on September 30, 2010. The first debate will be between State Representative candidates Don Miller (R) and Larry Mullins (D). The second debate will feature State Senate candidates Senator Steve Southerland (R) and challenger Jack West (D).

The debates will take place in the Community Room at the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Post 5266 located at 2503 East Andrew Johnson Highway in Morristown, TN. Attendance is free and open to the public.

The debate for State Representative for Tennessee’s 10th district will begin at 6:00 PM on September 30th. Republican nominee Don Miller and Democrat nominee Larry Mullins will each give an opening statement before fielding questions from the debate moderator. AtCit the conclusion of the debate, each candidate will give a closing statement. Questions will be chosen from those submitted to Citizens for Accountability by the public.

Following a short break, the State Senate candidates will take the stage at approximately 7:15 PM. State Senator Steve Southerland, Republican, is seeking re-election to Tennessee’s 1st district which encompasses Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, and Unicoi Counties. He is being challenged by Jack West, Democrat. The Senate candidates will give an opening statement, field questions from the debate moderator, and give a closing statement.

Residents of Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, and Unicoi Counties may submit debate questions by e-mailing questions to Citizens for Accountability morristownhamblencfa@gmail.com or mailing questions to Debate Questions, P.O. Box 165, Morristown, TN 37815. All submissions are confidential, and selected questions will not be available to the candidates or to the public until the debate.

Citizens for Accountability is a local group that works in a non-partisan manner to inform, educate, and advise citizens about local government meetings and government actions that affect the livelihood and liberty of citizens.

In June, Citizens for Accountability hosted its first-ever debates featuring the Mayoral and Sheriff candidates in Hamblen County. Citizens for Accountability co-founder and debate organizer Charles Cook stated: “With the county debates this summer, attendance was close to double the expected 150. Since we anticipate an even larger crowd for the state senate and state representative debates, we are hosting these debates in the large community room at the VFW.” The VFW staff will operate a refreshment stand with soft drinks and bottled water with all proceeds going to benefit local area veterans.

The website for Citizens for Accountability is www.morristownhamblencfa.com

CONTACT:
Charles Cook, CFA co-founder
cfcook1968@aol.com
423-748-9670

August 4, 2010 Stancil Ford: Too Sick To Stop after Hit-and-Run, Well Enough To Preside at County Commission Meeting 90 Minutes Later as Though Nothing Had Happened

Yesterday's News-Sentinel story on Stancil Ford's hit-and-run on June 30, 2010, is still available to online readers by clicking here.

The paper quotes Stancil and MPD Chief Roger Overholt as saying Stancil wasn't charged because he hit the people due to a "medical condition."

Well, the "medical condition" that prevented Stancil from being charged in the incident did NOT prevent him from ignoring his victims and going on about his important business on June 30 as if nothing had happened.

This picture (above) is of Stancil talking to Larry Baker before the start of the 5:00 meeting of the county commission on June 30, 2010.  Does Stancil look concerned about the two elderly people that he had hit 90 minutes earlier and left on the side of the road? There is another picture of Stancil at the meeting on my original post of July 17. 

He hit and left two elderly people on the side of the road and went to a county commission meeting. In the News-Sentinel article, Stancil tells just how concerned he was about the elderly couple.

FORD: "The only thing that bothers me is that it's being used politically."

Me. Me. Me. Stancil never mentions any concern for the victims of his hit-and-run! Stancil never offers an explanation to the public or to the victims of why he left the scene only to show up at a county commission meeting?

Readers of the News-Sentinel can make online comments. If you go to the story and continue to scroll down past the article to the comments, there are some interesting and pointed comments such as:

Mr. Ford's medical condition is commonly referred to as: "hitandrunism".

Usually not recognized by most law enforcement unless you are a politican in need of some excuse for bad behavior. Apparently the Morritown Chief thought it was good for this occasion. The voting public is suppose to buy anything thrown at them I suppose!
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Sometimes, when you 'absolutely, positively' have to be there....well, a little rear ender is nothing...
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But yet he went to the county commission meeting. Stancil Ford is the biggest loser ever. I vote for ANYONE that is running against the main.

August 3, 2010 Run, Stancil, Run! (Hit-and-Run!)

While the local "news"paper is still protecting County Commission Chair Stancil Ford from any local  coverage of Ford's hit-and-run on June 30, 2010, there is a brief report in today's Knoxville News-Sentinel. Click here for the News-Sentinel article.

I provided info on Stancil's hit-and-run on July 17 with copies of the Traffic Crash Report and Impound Form. Click here for the blog post and documents.

Thankfully, Stancil didn't hit the older couple head-on and no one was killed. But just like Teddy Kennedy's cut-and-run at Chappaquiddick, what Stancil did and said after the accident is telling.  According to the News-Sentinel, Stancil said, "The only thing that bothers me is that it's being used politically."

No concern for the victims. No explanation of why he went to a meeting right after the accident. It's all about Stancil! It's all about power. It's all about protecting the powerful. FORD: "The only thing that bothers me is that it's being used politically."

Stancil and MPD Chief Roger Overholt say that Stancil wasn't charged with hit-and-run because there was a medical problem.  Overholt then admits knowing that Stancil went to a county commission meeting after the wreck! 

Overholt never explains what kind of medical condition prevented Stancil from being charged with leaving the scene of an accident but didn't prevent Stancil from showing up at a county commission meeting immediately after the crash.

Stancil doesn't comment at all about showing up at a county commission meeting immediately after the wreck and apparently driving right past the people he had hit so he could do what he wanted to do instead of what he was legally and morally required to do.

Click here for a picture of Stancil at the county commission meeting 90 minutes after the crash. Too sick to be charged with hit-and-run but healthy enough to make it a county commission meeting? 

When the cover-up starts, it never ends.  And, in typical political fashion, protect yourself and blame someone else. FORD: "The only thing that bothers me is that it's being used politically."

Jacko Fishman and Miko Fishman own Stancil and don't want to damage their puppet. Jacko and Miko and crack reporter Bobby Moore know that it's pretty near impossible to explain--with a straight face--how Stancil was too sick to be charged with hit-and-run but was plenty healthy enough to drive past his victims and show up at a county commission meeting.  There is no local "news"paper or "news"radio.  Both are controlled by the Fishmans and simply ignore any "inconvenient" news and facts about political friends.

Stancil is part of the good old boys ruling class, so he can flee the scene of an accident involving $6,000 property damage and personal injury to others, go to a county commission meeting, and not be charged and not have it even mentioned in the local "news"paper.

[Sometimes the local "news"paper is forced to report "news" after the Sentinel or some other outlet breaks the story. After totally ignoring the story for over a month, we'll see if there is some little "all is well" report in today's or tomorrow's "news"paper.]

According to one of the victims, 73 year-old Betty Eldridge, her car still hasn't been repaired. Well, of course not.  Stancil has more important things to take care of--like making sure that HIS truck has been fixed and re-painted and doesn't show any evidence of his hit-and-run. 

It's all about Stancil. The little people? They don't count.