December 5, 2006 Hamblen-Jefferson Financial Problems

The new Jefferson County Mayor Alan Palmieri made the front page of the Sunday newspaper expressing concerns about the fact that Jefferson County has been making interest-only payments on the county debt and shuffling money all around.

Hamblen County has been doing the very same thing---and more. See recent posts here and here.

Here are some bits and pieces of Palmieri's discussion of the type of financial sleight-of-hand that occurs when power is centralized, checks and balances are ignored, and no one asks and no one answers tough financial questions.

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Palmieri took office as county mayor Sept. 1, replacing Gary Holloway (sic) who had served in the office for 20 years. The issues, according to Palmieri, include the justice center which is $2 million over budget...

...the planning for the $14 million center did not take into consideration staffing and utilities issues. "Those issues should have been handled up front," he said.

Although the sheriff was told initially that the bond issue included funding for those areas, he now says "the money was spent for other things."

Palmieri points out that the county also is facing a school building project...

He says the cost of the school expansion project has ranged from $18 million to $70 million and "somehow we are going to have to deal with how we’ll fund that project and how soon we’ll get it off the ground."....

The county mayor will make a proposal for a 12-year plan to eliminate the county’s current $63 million debt, take care of the school building needs and develop an industrial park without raising the county property tax rate.

Palmieri is tight lipped about his financing plan or how much he will propose for the various needs of the county, but he is critical of the past practice of "making interest payments but no payments on the principal of the debt."

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Hamblen County? Same financial story, but no newspaper articles.

There won't be a front-page story with the truth from an elected official or from an investigative reporter about what's going on here.

There won't be a picture of the County Mayor and an article where he expresses concern about years and years of interest-only payments and switching money around.

There won't be a story where the paper or commissioners ask questions and report the Hamblen County Mayor's role and actions in bypassing county commission in making an appropriation of money.

The Mayor just takes a county matching funds spending resolution, signs it, has his employee sign it, and then sends it to the state along with a letter falsely telling the state that the matching funds resolution he signed was voted on and approved by the commission.

Who needs a commission to make an appropriation of money as required by law when the Mayor just signs, seals, and delivers it without bothering to get a vote?

There won't be a story where the Hamblen County Mayor is asked to explain why he enrolled the director of one local non-profit organization, his close personal and political friend, on the county's insurance but didn't offer the same enrollment/payment deal to other non-profit directors.

No questions about whether it was legal to put the friend on in the first place. No questions about, if it was legal, why weren't other non-profits given the same opportunity?

The 11-year shell game has gone ka-put. Now what?

Where is the man or woman on commission--or anywhere else--who is prepared to insist that the Mayor answer truthfully to allegations of falsifying documents, putting friends on the county insurance, and shifting money around without authorization?

Where is the man or woman on commission--or anywhere else--who is prepared to publicly say that such actions, if true, show abuse of office and contempt for our system of checks and balances?

Where is the man or woman on commission--or anywhere else--who will start to ask questions and really watch the county's finances closely.

A newly-elected official in Jefferson County is opening up the information pipeline, admitting problems, and using common sense to address the issues.

Anything less than that in Hamblen County, and you're just rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic.