There is a strong rumor from several sources that a last-minute addition will be made to a Hamblen County Commission Committee agenda today. [Maybe Finance Committee?]
It seems that a few officials and maybe a commissioner or two have been involved and have been "in the know" about the availability of some money for school capital improvements. Today, the rest of the commissioners may be let in on the information.
This looks like it may be one of those rush-rush deals that is thrown at commissioners with the dire warning that this must be done right away. You always wonder how decisions involving millions can be made on the spur-of-the-moment.
But, then again, our Congress passes bills involving billions and trillions without reading them, so why shouldn't our local county commissioners approve loans and refinancings and appropriate millions on the spur-of-the-moment?
[Post meeting update: Tennessee is to receive millions in stimulus funds and school districts across the state can apply for construction loans. The Hamblen County School Board is going to apply for about $13 Million in school construction loans. As it was presented, the loan has to be paid back but with no interest. The deadline for the application to be submitted in Nashville is around August 21. I believe it was mentioned that 1/10 of the funds received have to be spent within six months. You can bet your bottom dollar that school districts will be slapping loan applications together to get at all the money floating around.]
Showing posts with label school building program. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school building program. Show all posts
Monday, August 10, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
July 14, 2009 It All Depends on What the Meaning of "Repairs" Is...
County Commissioners and the School Board met on July 7 regarding East High repairs.
Weeks ago, the Commission offered the Board $5.3 Million to spend on repairs at East High.
According to news reports, the Board's proposed "repairs" (dubbed Phase I) included buying more property around East High, adding eight new classrooms, and putting a new roof on the existing building (with the exception of the new library and the old 1923 section. )
[The Board plans to continue patching the roof on the 1923 section and then come back and tear the 1923 section down altogether in Phase II of its 3-phase plan. ]
Tuesday night the commissioners said "whoa" and told the Board that buying property and building new classrooms and patching part of the roof doesn't match the commission's definition of repairs. Commissioners are saying that they're not handing over money intended for "repairs" to be used for other purposes.
Apparently, some commissioners learned something from the school board's gross mismanagement of the last big ($35 Million) building program (1998-2003).
The last building program was a total fiasco. The school board thumbed its collective nose at the commission (and taxpayers) and awarded around 35 one-bid construction contracts totalling millions. The Board also paid out more than a million dollars to its two construction managers whose biggest job was managing themselves. The Board hated the phrase, but it was clear that they were "paying people to manage themselves."
On top of the one-bid contracts, self-management payments, and waste, the Board was so inept that it couldn't calculate a management fee properly and ended up paying "fees"' and "fees on fees" to its builders/construction managers.
Yes, the Board of "Education" designed or got duped into a construction management contract that paid contractors fees to manage themselves AND also provided for payment of fees on fees. Sort of like having to pay sales tax on an item and then having the store charge you sales tax on the sales tax. This "fee on a fee" deal resulted in around $100,000 tax dollars being wasted because the Board didn't have a clue what it was doing and then didn't want to admit and correct the error when it was pointed out.
Math is pretty straight-forward. When I exposed this little School Board mathematical gem to county commissioners during 2000 and 2001, even Maudie Briggs, Commission Chairman at the time, couldn't ignore it. Maudie didn't DO anything about the fees on fees, but she did write the funniest line ever in a letter to Roger Greene (who was School Board chairman and STILL serves on the Board) about the school board's mathematical prowess.
Maudie told Roger that the Board's calculation of fees on fees was "mathematically impossible correctly (sic)," and she then encouraged the Board to avoid this. Sadly, her scolding didn't deter the school board at all from continuing to shovel out boatloads of taxpayer dollars to pay those "mathematically impossible" fees.
The whole deal was pathetic from start to finish. But then, as now, the School Board had lots of cover in the many family relationships and conflicts of interest among school board members and county commissioners. Commissioners Herbert Harville and Joe Spoone are numbers people. Herbert has headed up the Finance Committee in prior years and Joe is chair of Finance now. During 2000 and 2001 and 2002, neither of them would say anything about the fees on fees. Why? Herbert had, and still has, a son working for the school system. Joe had, and still has, a wife and brother working for school system and a sister who was, and still is, on the school board.
The last school building program was known for millions of tax dollars wasted on one-bid contracts, huge payments for self-supervision, and payment of fees on fees. Its crowning glory, however, was the fact that state law was changed as a result of the outrageous actions of the little old Hamblen County School Board.
While the locals hid and protected one another, I packed up all the information and went to Nashville to see the State Comptroller. I laid everything out. Two construction management contracts. Every no-bid contract. Every conflict of interest. Every self-management fee.
I answered every question, and within a few short months a revised state law was introduced.
The 2002 clarification of state law passed UNANIMOUSLY in the state house and state senate and made it crystal clear---to even the Hamblen County Board of Education---that school construction managers are supposed to manage and supervise only and they don't need to be paid to manage and supervise themselves.
At the time, the school board's attitude was "give me the money and get out of my way." Because of their bumbling of the last building program, the current commissioners realize that you better not hand over the money until there is a satisfactory plan in place.
Of course, the commission's insistence on seeing the plan first also means that commissioners will hear mighty screams and loud complaints emanating from the HCBOE's offices at 201 E. Morris Boulevard.
Speaking of HCBOE's renovated offices, a lot of East High parents and others have begun to notice that while the Board has let East High go to pot, they have spared no expense in upgrading Director Lynch and Company's digs in the old Junior High Building near East High at 201 E. Morris Boulevard.
If Dr. Lynch and staff really wanted to do something "for the children," they could move the Board of Education offices into a portion of the old section of East High and let the uber-nice HC Board of Education building be used for East High classrooms.
After all, the Board's current offices were originally classrooms (Junior High School) and this would be a perfect location for East High classrooms or the freshman academy. WARNING: Do not hold your breath waiting for Dr. Lynch to move out of his office suite for the children.
Weeks ago, the Commission offered the Board $5.3 Million to spend on repairs at East High.
According to news reports, the Board's proposed "repairs" (dubbed Phase I) included buying more property around East High, adding eight new classrooms, and putting a new roof on the existing building (with the exception of the new library and the old 1923 section. )
[The Board plans to continue patching the roof on the 1923 section and then come back and tear the 1923 section down altogether in Phase II of its 3-phase plan. ]
Tuesday night the commissioners said "whoa" and told the Board that buying property and building new classrooms and patching part of the roof doesn't match the commission's definition of repairs. Commissioners are saying that they're not handing over money intended for "repairs" to be used for other purposes.
Apparently, some commissioners learned something from the school board's gross mismanagement of the last big ($35 Million) building program (1998-2003).
The last building program was a total fiasco. The school board thumbed its collective nose at the commission (and taxpayers) and awarded around 35 one-bid construction contracts totalling millions. The Board also paid out more than a million dollars to its two construction managers whose biggest job was managing themselves. The Board hated the phrase, but it was clear that they were "paying people to manage themselves."
On top of the one-bid contracts, self-management payments, and waste, the Board was so inept that it couldn't calculate a management fee properly and ended up paying "fees"' and "fees on fees" to its builders/construction managers.
Yes, the Board of "Education" designed or got duped into a construction management contract that paid contractors fees to manage themselves AND also provided for payment of fees on fees. Sort of like having to pay sales tax on an item and then having the store charge you sales tax on the sales tax. This "fee on a fee" deal resulted in around $100,000 tax dollars being wasted because the Board didn't have a clue what it was doing and then didn't want to admit and correct the error when it was pointed out.
Math is pretty straight-forward. When I exposed this little School Board mathematical gem to county commissioners during 2000 and 2001, even Maudie Briggs, Commission Chairman at the time, couldn't ignore it. Maudie didn't DO anything about the fees on fees, but she did write the funniest line ever in a letter to Roger Greene (who was School Board chairman and STILL serves on the Board) about the school board's mathematical prowess.
Maudie told Roger that the Board's calculation of fees on fees was "mathematically impossible correctly (sic)," and she then encouraged the Board to avoid this. Sadly, her scolding didn't deter the school board at all from continuing to shovel out boatloads of taxpayer dollars to pay those "mathematically impossible" fees.
The whole deal was pathetic from start to finish. But then, as now, the School Board had lots of cover in the many family relationships and conflicts of interest among school board members and county commissioners. Commissioners Herbert Harville and Joe Spoone are numbers people. Herbert has headed up the Finance Committee in prior years and Joe is chair of Finance now. During 2000 and 2001 and 2002, neither of them would say anything about the fees on fees. Why? Herbert had, and still has, a son working for the school system. Joe had, and still has, a wife and brother working for school system and a sister who was, and still is, on the school board.
The last school building program was known for millions of tax dollars wasted on one-bid contracts, huge payments for self-supervision, and payment of fees on fees. Its crowning glory, however, was the fact that state law was changed as a result of the outrageous actions of the little old Hamblen County School Board.
While the locals hid and protected one another, I packed up all the information and went to Nashville to see the State Comptroller. I laid everything out. Two construction management contracts. Every no-bid contract. Every conflict of interest. Every self-management fee.
I answered every question, and within a few short months a revised state law was introduced.
The 2002 clarification of state law passed UNANIMOUSLY in the state house and state senate and made it crystal clear---to even the Hamblen County Board of Education---that school construction managers are supposed to manage and supervise only and they don't need to be paid to manage and supervise themselves.
At the time, the school board's attitude was "give me the money and get out of my way." Because of their bumbling of the last building program, the current commissioners realize that you better not hand over the money until there is a satisfactory plan in place.
Of course, the commission's insistence on seeing the plan first also means that commissioners will hear mighty screams and loud complaints emanating from the HCBOE's offices at 201 E. Morris Boulevard.
Speaking of HCBOE's renovated offices, a lot of East High parents and others have begun to notice that while the Board has let East High go to pot, they have spared no expense in upgrading Director Lynch and Company's digs in the old Junior High Building near East High at 201 E. Morris Boulevard.
If Dr. Lynch and staff really wanted to do something "for the children," they could move the Board of Education offices into a portion of the old section of East High and let the uber-nice HC Board of Education building be used for East High classrooms.
After all, the Board's current offices were originally classrooms (Junior High School) and this would be a perfect location for East High classrooms or the freshman academy. WARNING: Do not hold your breath waiting for Dr. Lynch to move out of his office suite for the children.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
May 19, 2009 Who Will Take Joe Swann's Seat on the Hamblen County Commission?
All is quiet on the news front as Hamblen County Commissioners prepare to select a replacement for Joe Swann in the 5th District. I haven't seen any news in the Tribune about those who are interested in the position.
[Swann was elected to the county commission in 2006 but resigned in April 2009 to take a position on the Hamblen County Election Commission---a post he said that he had always wanted. ]
At least two individuals have apparently expressed an interest in the appointment to take Joe's place. Louis "Doe" (sp?) Jarvis is interested in the position as is Ernie Horner. I don't believe Mr. Jarvis has ever run for office---which should be a plus.
Ernie Horner, on the other hand, is a politician and longtime school board member. He was chairman of the Hamblen County School Board during the last school building program. As a teacher at West View Middle in an "open" classroom, I supported school renovations and improvements in 1997-1998.
The problems in the building program that surfaced later were brought about by a school board that took $35 million dollars for a needed building program and wrote up contracts that permitted conflicts of interest, that wasted money paying people to manage themselves, and that even paid the construction managers "fee on fees." While my support of the building program was well-documented, I spoke up to oppose the conflicts of interest and fees on dees and that's when the personal attacks began.
When you are confident in what you are doing, political and even personal attacks don't matter much and don't really faze you. I started out trying to use logic and common sense with the local school board. That was a waste of time. When that didn't work, I went straight to the State Comptroller and ended up getting state law changed to address the conflicts and craziness of paying people to manage themselves.
Yes, I remember several things about Ernie and the 1998 school building program.
I remember that Ernie didn't see a conflict of interest in paying someone under one a construction contract to build a school and then paying them a second time under a construction management contract to manage their own construction work.
Ernie also thought it was OK to pay a construction manager a 4% fee plus a little bonus "fee on a fee." Back in 1998 when the school board hired construction managers, the contracts said that the managers would get a fixed fee of 4% of the estimated cost of each project. But those same contracts miscalculated the fixed fee.
When it came time to pay the managers, Ernie and the school board ended up paying the 4% fee of estimated costs and then kicked in an additional 4% of the 4% fee. When you're talking about millions of dollars of construction, paying an extra 4% of the contractual 4% fee meant that tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars were wasted--money that could have been spent on schools went to managers as a bonus for the difficult job of largely managing themselves!
Another thing I remember about Ernie is a press conference he called in November 1999 right after I first raised questions about Hamblen County School Construction Managers being paid to build schools and also being paid to manage themselves. The board always hated the term "paying people to manage themselves" but that's what happens when you allow a conflict of interest.
[I also had questioned the illegal West High Baseball Stadium bidding where an advertisement for bids ran in the local paper, but potential bidders--all except the firm that was the only bidder--were told by the architect that there were no plans. Later it was discovered that the "plans" that the one bidder had been allowed to have were stamped with the same date as the bid date. With the West High Baseball Stadium bidding, Ernie had to admit that the school board had made a "mistake" but then came the spin explaining that it was a really good bid and no one could have bid lower even if there had been one of those silly old, time-consuming, legal and competitive biddings.]
When Ernie tackled the sticky question of construction managers getting 17-18 no-bid contracts and being paid to build schools while they were also paid a management fee to manage their own construction work, Ernie proudly announced that the School Board's attorney Scott Reams had reviewed everything and had given everything his seal of approval. Ernie even had a letter from the attorney to back him up. When Ernie was asked to provide the Reams letter that presumably supported the board's version of construction management and paying people to manage themselves, Ernie claimed that the letter was attorney client privileged. In other words, Ernie would TELL you his version of what Reams said, but Ernie would NOT let anyone see the actual letter.
A Judge later ruled that the letter was attorney-client privileged communication, but the question always remained as to why Ernie would "use" the letter to say everything was OK but would not agree to release the letter. The attorney-client privilege can be waived, but the School Board voted unanimously to keep secret what its attorney really said about the construction management arrangement.
If you are a School Board member who has a legal opinion that says that what you have done is on the up-and-up, wouldn't you want people to see that opinion? Even if you could hide the opinion behind attorney-client privilege, why would you do that? Government attorneys give opinions all the time--sometimes publicly in meetings and sometimes in writing at the request of a government official. Most of those written opinions are public record. And the opinion is made public---especially if it actually supports the opinion or actions of the requester.
Just about everybody--except those involved--knew that paying people hundreds of thousands of dollars to manage themselves didn't pass the smell test and at that time the question of paying a "fee on a fee" was not even being discussed.
Ernie left the School Board in September 2002--but I believe he was still around in the summer of 2002 when the state legislature unanimously passed a clarification to the school construction management law that made it clear to the Hamblen County School Board --and to any other Board that might have been thinking of the same thing--that you can't use public dollars to pay people to manage themselves.
The clarification of the law came about after I had gotten tired of talking to the Board and had gone to the State Comptroller's Office in August 2001 to explain exactly what was going on in Hamblen County. At the beginning of the very next legislative session, the Comptroller introduced the clarification that stopped the sham no-bid construction contracts and the paid self-management that was taking place in Hamblen County (paying people to manage themselves!). The legislative vote was unanimous. The Hamblen County School Board didn't see a problem but every legislator in the state did--including the state representative and state senator for Hamblen County!
Ernie was also closely involved with the dismissal of former superintendent Sam Shepherd and the confusion surrounding the handling of the evaluations of Dr. Shepherd.
As I recall, Ernie moved out of the school board district (13/14) that he represented before his term was up but did not resign his school board seat.
I can just imagine the behind-the-scenes deals and contracts that Ernie will engineer or be involved in if he is appointed to serve on the county commission. Time will tell if there are commissioners who have forgotten or simply don't care about these and other things that Ernie has been involved in.
Of course, everything may change between now and Thursday. We'll just have to wait and see who ends up being nominated and who ends up getting the appointment.
[Swann was elected to the county commission in 2006 but resigned in April 2009 to take a position on the Hamblen County Election Commission---a post he said that he had always wanted. ]
At least two individuals have apparently expressed an interest in the appointment to take Joe's place. Louis "Doe" (sp?) Jarvis is interested in the position as is Ernie Horner. I don't believe Mr. Jarvis has ever run for office---which should be a plus.
Ernie Horner, on the other hand, is a politician and longtime school board member. He was chairman of the Hamblen County School Board during the last school building program. As a teacher at West View Middle in an "open" classroom, I supported school renovations and improvements in 1997-1998.
The problems in the building program that surfaced later were brought about by a school board that took $35 million dollars for a needed building program and wrote up contracts that permitted conflicts of interest, that wasted money paying people to manage themselves, and that even paid the construction managers "fee on fees." While my support of the building program was well-documented, I spoke up to oppose the conflicts of interest and fees on dees and that's when the personal attacks began.
When you are confident in what you are doing, political and even personal attacks don't matter much and don't really faze you. I started out trying to use logic and common sense with the local school board. That was a waste of time. When that didn't work, I went straight to the State Comptroller and ended up getting state law changed to address the conflicts and craziness of paying people to manage themselves.
Yes, I remember several things about Ernie and the 1998 school building program.
I remember that Ernie didn't see a conflict of interest in paying someone under one a construction contract to build a school and then paying them a second time under a construction management contract to manage their own construction work.
Ernie also thought it was OK to pay a construction manager a 4% fee plus a little bonus "fee on a fee." Back in 1998 when the school board hired construction managers, the contracts said that the managers would get a fixed fee of 4% of the estimated cost of each project. But those same contracts miscalculated the fixed fee.
When it came time to pay the managers, Ernie and the school board ended up paying the 4% fee of estimated costs and then kicked in an additional 4% of the 4% fee. When you're talking about millions of dollars of construction, paying an extra 4% of the contractual 4% fee meant that tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars were wasted--money that could have been spent on schools went to managers as a bonus for the difficult job of largely managing themselves!
Another thing I remember about Ernie is a press conference he called in November 1999 right after I first raised questions about Hamblen County School Construction Managers being paid to build schools and also being paid to manage themselves. The board always hated the term "paying people to manage themselves" but that's what happens when you allow a conflict of interest.
[I also had questioned the illegal West High Baseball Stadium bidding where an advertisement for bids ran in the local paper, but potential bidders--all except the firm that was the only bidder--were told by the architect that there were no plans. Later it was discovered that the "plans" that the one bidder had been allowed to have were stamped with the same date as the bid date. With the West High Baseball Stadium bidding, Ernie had to admit that the school board had made a "mistake" but then came the spin explaining that it was a really good bid and no one could have bid lower even if there had been one of those silly old, time-consuming, legal and competitive biddings.]
When Ernie tackled the sticky question of construction managers getting 17-18 no-bid contracts and being paid to build schools while they were also paid a management fee to manage their own construction work, Ernie proudly announced that the School Board's attorney Scott Reams had reviewed everything and had given everything his seal of approval. Ernie even had a letter from the attorney to back him up. When Ernie was asked to provide the Reams letter that presumably supported the board's version of construction management and paying people to manage themselves, Ernie claimed that the letter was attorney client privileged. In other words, Ernie would TELL you his version of what Reams said, but Ernie would NOT let anyone see the actual letter.
A Judge later ruled that the letter was attorney-client privileged communication, but the question always remained as to why Ernie would "use" the letter to say everything was OK but would not agree to release the letter. The attorney-client privilege can be waived, but the School Board voted unanimously to keep secret what its attorney really said about the construction management arrangement.
If you are a School Board member who has a legal opinion that says that what you have done is on the up-and-up, wouldn't you want people to see that opinion? Even if you could hide the opinion behind attorney-client privilege, why would you do that? Government attorneys give opinions all the time--sometimes publicly in meetings and sometimes in writing at the request of a government official. Most of those written opinions are public record. And the opinion is made public---especially if it actually supports the opinion or actions of the requester.
Just about everybody--except those involved--knew that paying people hundreds of thousands of dollars to manage themselves didn't pass the smell test and at that time the question of paying a "fee on a fee" was not even being discussed.
Ernie left the School Board in September 2002--but I believe he was still around in the summer of 2002 when the state legislature unanimously passed a clarification to the school construction management law that made it clear to the Hamblen County School Board --and to any other Board that might have been thinking of the same thing--that you can't use public dollars to pay people to manage themselves.
The clarification of the law came about after I had gotten tired of talking to the Board and had gone to the State Comptroller's Office in August 2001 to explain exactly what was going on in Hamblen County. At the beginning of the very next legislative session, the Comptroller introduced the clarification that stopped the sham no-bid construction contracts and the paid self-management that was taking place in Hamblen County (paying people to manage themselves!). The legislative vote was unanimous. The Hamblen County School Board didn't see a problem but every legislator in the state did--including the state representative and state senator for Hamblen County!
Ernie was also closely involved with the dismissal of former superintendent Sam Shepherd and the confusion surrounding the handling of the evaluations of Dr. Shepherd.
As I recall, Ernie moved out of the school board district (13/14) that he represented before his term was up but did not resign his school board seat.
I can just imagine the behind-the-scenes deals and contracts that Ernie will engineer or be involved in if he is appointed to serve on the county commission. Time will tell if there are commissioners who have forgotten or simply don't care about these and other things that Ernie has been involved in.
Of course, everything may change between now and Thursday. We'll just have to wait and see who ends up being nominated and who ends up getting the appointment.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
April 21, 2009 Open Meetings Act in Hamblen County: Now Meetings Are Announced That Aren't Taking Place!
On Sunday, the Tribune announced in a front-article that "Hamblen County commissioners and school board members will meet in a work session Monday to continue their discussion on the future of the school building program."
According to the paper, the work session was set for 6:00 PM in the old East High library.
The only commissioner present for the "commission-school board work session" was Ricky Bruce.
We've gone from no public notice of meetings to front-page notice of meetings that don't take place! [The "green" link to the Tribune's Sunday front-page notice of the meeting is working now but don't expect it to work for very long--for some reason, the Tribune doesn't leave permanent links up to its stories. My "blue" blog link is still good.]
The rumor is that the county called or attempted to call the meeting off last Friday, but the school board/Tribune either didn't get the message or ignored it and went ahead and announced the meeting in the paper.
At the "joint" meeting, Dr. Lynch discussed the commission's refusal to fund purchase of the McCorkle property on 25E for a new East High. He then passed out info to Board members and the press and discussed properties that could be purchased around the existing East High.
City Administrator Jim Crumley has apparently given the following estimated sales prices to Lynch: Talley-Ward could be sold to the school system for $810,000; Long-Reel track for $505,000; and King Park for $160,000.
Lynch said other private properties available have an estimated purchase price of around $692,000.
Then talk of one high school v. two came up. School Board Chair Janice Haun said she opposed one high school. Carolyn Spoone Holt (Commissioner Joe Spoone's sister) said most parents want two high schools.
Clint Harrison said he had never heard of one high school until recently, and added that one high school should not be built just to save money.
Carolyn Wolfenbarger said she was "adamantly" against one high school.
Former Morristown High and West High School teacher Coach Gene Quarles talked at length about maintaining two high schools and said he could see the benefits of a third high school in order to keep the population of each high school at around 900 students.
He said that some of those behind one high school are driven by a desire to have the top athletic program rather than a top education program.
According to the paper, the work session was set for 6:00 PM in the old East High library.
The only commissioner present for the "commission-school board work session" was Ricky Bruce.
We've gone from no public notice of meetings to front-page notice of meetings that don't take place! [The "green" link to the Tribune's Sunday front-page notice of the meeting is working now but don't expect it to work for very long--for some reason, the Tribune doesn't leave permanent links up to its stories. My "blue" blog link is still good.]
The rumor is that the county called or attempted to call the meeting off last Friday, but the school board/Tribune either didn't get the message or ignored it and went ahead and announced the meeting in the paper.
At the "joint" meeting, Dr. Lynch discussed the commission's refusal to fund purchase of the McCorkle property on 25E for a new East High. He then passed out info to Board members and the press and discussed properties that could be purchased around the existing East High.
City Administrator Jim Crumley has apparently given the following estimated sales prices to Lynch: Talley-Ward could be sold to the school system for $810,000; Long-Reel track for $505,000; and King Park for $160,000.
Lynch said other private properties available have an estimated purchase price of around $692,000.
Then talk of one high school v. two came up. School Board Chair Janice Haun said she opposed one high school. Carolyn Spoone Holt (Commissioner Joe Spoone's sister) said most parents want two high schools.
Clint Harrison said he had never heard of one high school until recently, and added that one high school should not be built just to save money.
Carolyn Wolfenbarger said she was "adamantly" against one high school.
Former Morristown High and West High School teacher Coach Gene Quarles talked at length about maintaining two high schools and said he could see the benefits of a third high school in order to keep the population of each high school at around 900 students.
He said that some of those behind one high school are driven by a desire to have the top athletic program rather than a top education program.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
March 28, 2009 Commission Polled on One High School
According to a little birdie, a county official recently suggested to a Tribune reporter that he "poll" some or all county commissioners to see what their position is on one unified high school for Hamblen County.
I don't know if the poll of county commissioners is complete yet or if the results of the "one high school" poll will be reported to the public.
If the reporter does release the poll results, it will be interesting to see if he includes the identity of the official who suggested the poll and includes the position of that official on one high school.
I don't know if the poll of county commissioners is complete yet or if the results of the "one high school" poll will be reported to the public.
If the reporter does release the poll results, it will be interesting to see if he includes the identity of the official who suggested the poll and includes the position of that official on one high school.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
March 17, 2009 School Board "Invitation" To Commissioners Makes Tribune Headlines Just Hours Before the Meeting
As mentioned in a previous post, the School Board invited county commissioners, County Trustee Bill Brittain, and County Mayor David Purkey to meet last night with the Board at its 6:00 PM work session.
The Board wanted some "direction" from the commission about the proposed $80 Million school building program--or $140-$160 Million if you include interest that the Trustee has projected.
As I speculated in the March 15 post, the Tribune reported the March 11 invitation in a front-page article that ran yesterday, March 16, just hours before the meeting.
It was a very interesting work session. If you listen closely at these meetings, various comments hint at what is going on behind-the-scenes and what is yet to be revealed to the public--about the building program and other local projects.
Since this is Sunshine Week. I just have to add a plug for more SUNSHINE in local government. The School Board really should tape and let its work sessions and meetings be televised on the government-education cable channels.
The Board has cameras, all kinds of technology gadgets, and a very capable technology staff. What an "education" to let the cameras roll and put the taped meetings and work sessions of the Hamblen County Board of "Education" on the government-education cable channels.
More on the work session in future posts.
The Board wanted some "direction" from the commission about the proposed $80 Million school building program--or $140-$160 Million if you include interest that the Trustee has projected.
As I speculated in the March 15 post, the Tribune reported the March 11 invitation in a front-page article that ran yesterday, March 16, just hours before the meeting.
It was a very interesting work session. If you listen closely at these meetings, various comments hint at what is going on behind-the-scenes and what is yet to be revealed to the public--about the building program and other local projects.
Since this is Sunshine Week. I just have to add a plug for more SUNSHINE in local government. The School Board really should tape and let its work sessions and meetings be televised on the government-education cable channels.
The Board has cameras, all kinds of technology gadgets, and a very capable technology staff. What an "education" to let the cameras roll and put the taped meetings and work sessions of the Hamblen County Board of "Education" on the government-education cable channels.
More on the work session in future posts.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
March 15, 2009 School Board Wants Commission Chair Stancil Ford To Meet about High School Building Program
The Hamblen County School Board has invited County Commission Chair Stancil Ford to attend the board's work session on Monday, March 16, at 6:00 PM in Room 204 at the Central Office on E. Morris Boulevard. School Board Chairman Janice Haun wants Ford to provide the school board with some direction in regard to the high school building program.
It is my understanding that the letter of invitation went out on or around March 11 and was copied to all Commissioners, School Board Members, County Mayor David Purkey, and Trustee Bill Brittain.
As reported in a previous post, the Commission's Education Committee, which is composed of all commissioners, voted 10-3 on March 9 to reject the school board's proposal to purchase property near Wal-Mart and across from Walters State for a new East High School.
It looks like the School Board letter to Ford was not copied to the press, and I haven't seen any mention of the invitation in the main section of the paper. Of course, it could be down inside some other story or I might have just plain missed it.
If it hasn't been reported yet, maybe it will be in tomorrow's edition in the afternoon right before the meeting.
It is my understanding that the letter of invitation went out on or around March 11 and was copied to all Commissioners, School Board Members, County Mayor David Purkey, and Trustee Bill Brittain.
As reported in a previous post, the Commission's Education Committee, which is composed of all commissioners, voted 10-3 on March 9 to reject the school board's proposal to purchase property near Wal-Mart and across from Walters State for a new East High School.
It looks like the School Board letter to Ford was not copied to the press, and I haven't seen any mention of the invitation in the main section of the paper. Of course, it could be down inside some other story or I might have just plain missed it.
If it hasn't been reported yet, maybe it will be in tomorrow's edition in the afternoon right before the meeting.
Friday, September 19, 2008
September 19, 2008 T-FIRE Asks Commission To Support Proposal To Prohibit Use of Illegal Immigrants on Local Government Projects
At yesterday's meeting of the Hamblen County Commission, Wayne Dollar of T-FIRE (Tennesseans for Immigration Reform Education/Enforcement) asked the commission to require that contractors on local government and school construction projects sign or "attest" that they will not knowingly use illegal immigrants on a government contract that they are awarded.
Several months ago, the City of Morristown passed a somewhat similar proposal that applies to city contractors.
The document that contractors would sign can be compared to a "drug-free" workplace and other routine documents that are part of the process of submitting a bid on government work.
Here are excerpts from the T-FIRE proposal:
The Contractor...does hereby ...certify... and assure Hamblen County Government and/or Hamblen County Board of Education that the Contractor shall not knowingly utilize the services of an illegal immigrant in the performance of the above Contract....
The Contractor in undertaking measures to ensure that no employees working on this Contract are illegal immigrants shall, at a minimum, utilize E-verify as a means of determining the immigration status of employees who shall work...on this Contract. Further, the Contractor...will require that all subcontractors...utilize E-verify to verify the immigration status of (their) employees....
Hamblen County Government and/or Hamblen County Board of Education reserves the right to review the Contractor’s and his subcontractors' E-verify information to determine compliance with the above Attestation.
The proposal was sent to Committee for review and discussion in October. If passed by county commission, can this "no illegal worker" certification apply to school construction? Yes.
How? Either before or at the time that school construction money is appropriated by commission, commission can include a condition that the "no illegal worker" certification document must be a part of bid packages for school construction.
[Wayne and I are T-FIRE officers who are concerned as are many people across Hamblen County and across the state of Tennessee about the impact of illegal immigration on burgeoning crime and law enforcement costs, healthcare, jobs, education, etc.]
Several months ago, the City of Morristown passed a somewhat similar proposal that applies to city contractors.
The document that contractors would sign can be compared to a "drug-free" workplace and other routine documents that are part of the process of submitting a bid on government work.
Here are excerpts from the T-FIRE proposal:
The Contractor...does hereby ...certify... and assure Hamblen County Government and/or Hamblen County Board of Education that the Contractor shall not knowingly utilize the services of an illegal immigrant in the performance of the above Contract....
The Contractor in undertaking measures to ensure that no employees working on this Contract are illegal immigrants shall, at a minimum, utilize E-verify as a means of determining the immigration status of employees who shall work...on this Contract. Further, the Contractor...will require that all subcontractors...utilize E-verify to verify the immigration status of (their) employees....
Hamblen County Government and/or Hamblen County Board of Education reserves the right to review the Contractor’s and his subcontractors' E-verify information to determine compliance with the above Attestation.
The proposal was sent to Committee for review and discussion in October. If passed by county commission, can this "no illegal worker" certification apply to school construction? Yes.
How? Either before or at the time that school construction money is appropriated by commission, commission can include a condition that the "no illegal worker" certification document must be a part of bid packages for school construction.
[Wayne and I are T-FIRE officers who are concerned as are many people across Hamblen County and across the state of Tennessee about the impact of illegal immigration on burgeoning crime and law enforcement costs, healthcare, jobs, education, etc.]
Sunday, June 29, 2008
June 29, 2008 That Was the Month That Was
The month of June has not ended, but it has been a busy month thus far. Local government and other events...in no particular order...include
County Commissioner Frank Parker, under indictment for two Class E felonies (theft over $500 and official misconduct), filed for pre-trial diversion (June 18) and then resigned his commission seat on June 19. In his letter of resignation, Parker made no mention of the indictments, instead saying that he was resigning because he was "uncomfortable" having to abstain from votes involving Cherokee Park where he continues to serve as Park Director.
Morristown City Administrator Jim Crumley was honored as City Manager of the Year. The Tribune links usually don't stay up very long so catch it while you can. This type of award--with an "administrator" telling elected officials and the public (2006) that city finances are great followed by the revelation of the true financial disaster the next year (2007) and then getting a wonderful award for his superior "management" from his peers (2008)--is so commonplace as to be laughable.
County Commissioner Frank Parker, under indictment for two Class E felonies (theft over $500 and official misconduct), filed for pre-trial diversion (June 18) and then resigned his commission seat on June 19. In his letter of resignation, Parker made no mention of the indictments, instead saying that he was resigning because he was "uncomfortable" having to abstain from votes involving Cherokee Park where he continues to serve as Park Director.
Morristown City Administrator Jim Crumley was honored as City Manager of the Year. The Tribune links usually don't stay up very long so catch it while you can. This type of award--with an "administrator" telling elected officials and the public (2006) that city finances are great followed by the revelation of the true financial disaster the next year (2007) and then getting a wonderful award for his superior "management" from his peers (2008)--is so commonplace as to be laughable.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, upheld the Second Amendment and the individual's right to bear arms. In a lengthy opinion with a vigorous dissent, the Supreme Court issued an historic ruling that overturned Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns and on self-defense in the home. Here's a shortened version of the holding in District of Columbia v. Heller. I was pleased with the ruling and the analysis of the majority but find it distressing that the vote was so close (5-4).
The Hamblen County School Board tossed out figures of $68-$81 million to address building costs for local high schools--depending on whether a new East High is built or whether the old East High is renovated. Commissioner Stancil Ford wants to meet with Director Dale Lynch, Mayor David Purkey, and Trustee Bill Brittain to see how much more debt the county can service. The School Board then added Board member Roger Greene to the group.
How much more debt can the county service? Well, right now we have close to $70 million of debt and for years we've been making interest-only payments on a large part of that debt. Maybe the first thing Stancil and other members of the group should address is "truth-in-debt."
The figures tossed out by the School Board--$68-$81 Million--do NOT reflect the true and complete cost to the taxpayers of these projects. Interest will also have to be paid on that "debt." Conservatively, the county will likely obligate itself to pay the principal back over 20 years + or -(based on past bond issues). This means that the "true" cost to the taxpayers of borrowing $68-$81 Million could be as much as a $110-$125 Million payback or more depending on the interest rate!
And even that staggering payback could be higher if the county (like the 1998 commission on which Stancil Ford served) again sets up the school bonds with interest-only payments for the first 8-9 years, thus passing the entire principal debt and still accruing interest onto our children. Again, it's a Tribune link so it may not be active very long.
Stancil and other members of the group, you can tax, license, and "fee" the poor and middle-class residents of Hamblen County into oblivion if you want---and you, with help from the City, the state, and the national government, are doing a great job of that.
People are already taxed when they earn, taxed when they spend what's left of what they've earned, taxed for stormwater, taxed when they operate a business, taxed when they own property, taxed when they sell property, taxed for licensing a car (wheel tax and state license), and taxed when they buy $4/gallon gas for their car (if they can afford the gas at all). Taxed, taxed, taxed! "Tax, fee, license, permit"--it's pretty much the same.
Speaking of county debt, the county's financial advisor Cumberland Securities told the county this month that most of the county's bonds are with companies whose financial ratings are being downgraded---meaning the county's interest rates will likely go up. Joe Ayres of Cumberland Securities recommended that the county refinance $59 Million of its $69 Million of bond issues.
County Mayor David Purkey is quoted as saying, "We are in a good position to deal with our debt." Oh, yeah, sure we are. And Mayor Purkey probably thinks that if the lenders would just let the county make interest-only payments forever, we'd be in an absolutely great position with our debt! [The Mayor's quote is in a Tribune link, so catch it while you can. Updated information on continuing interest-only payments by the county as found in the 2007 audit can be found in a previous noe4accountability blog post.]
Statewide, the federal corruption trial of former State Sen. John Ford is finally set to get underway in Nashville on June 30. Ford, a Memphis Democrat, is accused of taking $800,000 in consultant payments from TennCare contractors to promote those private companies' interests while he held elected office. [Last year Ford was convicted of bribery for taking $55,000 in the 2005 Tennessee Waltz scandal to promote legislation for a fictitious FBI company.]
After a major change in pro-tax campaign tactics, the sales tax increase referendum passed in the City of Morristown. Morristown businesses will now charge customers 9.75% sales tax on top of the product purchase price. The City has now maxed out the local sales tax rate---at least until the state legislature raises the limit in the future.
Already, individuals only get to keep a portion of what they earn after payment of social security, medicare, and income taxes. Now when they go to spend what they were allowed to keep, they have to pay an additional 9.75% sales tax. Pretty soon the government will tax you when you breathe in and again when you breathe out! Already on the horizon: a "county only" referendum in November to max out the county's sales tax rate as well. If at first you don't succeed, do an end-run and force it down their throats.
The Tennessee Open Records Act was updated to provide that records custodians have seven days to provide records or explain why there is a delay. It also provides that the Office of Open Records Ombudsman will be funded and will operate within the State Comptroller's Office.
An editorial appeared in the local paper supporting the addition of a paper trail to voting machines to preserve the integrity of the ballot. Well, it wasn't really a local editorial. Like most editorials in the Tribune, it had been copied from some other newspaper, in this case the (Sevierville) Mountain Press. Technology and touch screen voting have their benefits, but having a verifiable paper trail is vital. Hamblen County faced problems with new voting machines and discrepancies in reporting vote tallies in 2006. [Tribune links are usually deactivated quickly. Catch it while you can.]
June---quite a busy month.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
May 4, 2008 Hamblen County Audit 2007 Is Available
The most recent audit of Hamblen County Government can be accessed at the State Comptroller's website. If you don't want to maneuver through the Comptroller's website, here is the direct link to the Hamblen County audit.
Good news in one major area.
Hamblen County Government's unreserved General Fund balance is up to just over $2,300,000. This is a major improvement from the unreserved General Fund balance of $83,000 FY 2003. A healthy Fund Balance is extremely important. It is sometimes called the county's "rainy day fund" or "savings account" for emergency needs.
1998 School Construction bonds. Of course, this is not a surprise for regular readers of this blog.
The 1998 School Construction debt was set up for a lengthy period of "interest-only payments." Now 10 years and many millions of interest-only payments later, the county taxpayers still owe the whole $40 million principal and will still be paying out lots more interest for many more years!
The Audit Committee of the Hamblen County Commission will meet to review the audit.
Good news in one major area.
Hamblen County Government's unreserved General Fund balance is up to just over $2,300,000. This is a major improvement from the unreserved General Fund balance of $83,000 FY 2003. A healthy Fund Balance is extremely important. It is sometimes called the county's "rainy day fund" or "savings account" for emergency needs.
There is a lot of history behind the Fund Balance reaching a low point in 2003 and then gradually increasing over the next four years. Explaining how the county ended up with a dangerously low FY 03 fund balance is simple. The county was spending more than it took in and doing so by pulling from its find balance/savings account.
When I took office on September 1, 2002, the previous commission had already approved the FY 03 budget.
My first major proposal to the new (2002-2006) commission was to have state auditors come in and perform Hamblen County's annual audit. This proposal passed in October 2002.
The reasoning behind this proposal was two-fold. First, the state auditors would charge approximately $13,000 for the annual audits where the private auditors had been charging $31,000. That meant an immediate $18,000/year savings! Over the past five audits (2003-2007) this one change has resulted in a savings of $90,000 to the county.
Second, I felt a fresh set of eyes should go over the books. I had observed that the county had been spending down its fund balance over a 10-year period, and I had also noticed several questionable financial transactions in previous audits.
The state auditors' first audit of Hamblen County involved FY 2003. When the 2003 audit was presented to the audit committee and county commission in the spring of 2004, there were 29 findings of irregularities and/or violations of state law--more than any other county in the state.
In addition to the findings, one of the most distressing revelations in the FY 03 audit was that more money was spent out of the general fund than was taken in (again). This time the problem was so serious that money from other funds and sources had to be dumped into the county's general fund just to keep the general fund afloat and to keep it from being declared officially "broke."
The public was never officially informed of this dire situation because the auditors had allowed the county to switch the money around and close out certain funds and dump that money into the general fund to keep it from ending in the red.
Even with all the dumping of money into the general fund in FY 03, the unreserved/ available general fund balance as of June 30, 2003, was at its lowest point in recent history--a dangerously low $83,000.
That is why I was always pushing to build up the fund balance and to encourage commissioners to think about the long-term consequences of various spending proposals during the four years that I served.
It was a slow 4-year climb out of a low-point of $83,000 (2003) to a fund balance of over $2.3 M (2007). Hopefully, the new commissioners will keep their budgets on an even-keel and maintain healthy fund balances.
Next, a bit of bad news.
After 10 years, nothing has been paid toward the principal of the $40 million debt on the1998 School Construction bonds. Of course, this is not a surprise for regular readers of this blog.
The 1998 School Construction debt was set up for a lengthy period of "interest-only payments." Now 10 years and many millions of interest-only payments later, the county taxpayers still owe the whole $40 million principal and will still be paying out lots more interest for many more years!
The Audit Committee of the Hamblen County Commission will meet to review the audit.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
January 20, 2008 $40M Hamblen County Debt: Interest Only Payments
The image above is Page 131 from the 2006 Hamblen County Audit. At the very bottom, it shows that the county issued $40M of debt in 1998-99-00-01. It also shows that as of June 30, 2006, NOT ONE PENNY OF THIS DEBT HAD BEEN PAID DOWN.
Most of this debt (about $35 Million) was for the 1998 School Building Program. The rest was for the Courthouse Addition and other small projects.
You can link to the entire Audit and scroll down to Page 131 to get a much better view of this page and the debt information.
The State of Tennessee is moaning about an impending "revenue shortfall." With the government, it's never "overspending." It's always a "revenue shortfall."
Morristown and Hamblen County? Same story. "Revenue shortfalls." We can manage to pay for new cars, SUV's, fancy trucks, computers, free (taxpayer-provided) lunches, and other perks for elected and appointed officials. But what does the lowly taxpayer get? Property tax increases, wheel taxes, new fees, increased fees, new permits, more costly permits.
And now just a few months after city officials zapped city taxpayers with a 40-cent property tax increase and county officials zapped county taxpayers with a 10-cent property tax increase, they are encouraging taxpayers to vote for a .25% sales tax increase to go with the 9.5% sales tax rate we already pay.
Is anyone minding the store at the city or the county?
The City of Morristown doesn't have a clue about its revenues, but the City has a really nifty $100 million dollar "wish list" according to a December Tribune headline and article.
Hamblen County muddles along adding more spending for SUV's and other vehicles, $600/mo car allowances, salary increases close to 10% for a few select employees, and on and on.
The School Board is asking for $57 Million or more for another school building program when we haven't even paid a dime on the old $35 Million building program. See the Audit above.
Who devised this brilliant "interest only" plan? The old 1998 county commission.
It's sort of a fiscal Ponzi scheme--nobody is quite sure who will get left holding the bag, but the idea is to pay interest only, postpone paying the debt itself, and hope someone else is left holding the bag.
While the School Board is talking about $57 Million or more for renovations to East and West High, County Commission Chair Stancil Ford apparently thinks the total may be $70-$100M. Nobody is quite sure what the plan really is or what the cost will be. A new East High? A new East High and renovations to West High? Renovations to East and West?
And, of course, nobody has asked why the School Board--just four years ago--built a new library that just sticks out like a sore thumb at East High for about $1.3 million and now that same Board is contemplating building a totally new East High somewhere else. Who is doing the planning at the Board offices?
[NOTE to anonymous commenters-to-be. Yes, I discovered and know a lot about the 1998 school building program. I was a teacher, pushing for school improvements in 1997, and then I saw it become a money grab, a bidding set-up, and a give-away of taxpayer dollars. When two entities---and it doesn't matter who they are---get 35 of 36 contracts where they "bid" for the work, something's going on and that something is not competitive bidding.
Besides, if the Board was so sure that it was all legal, why in the world wouldn't they let anyone see the 1999 letter that their lawyer Scott Reams wrote to them about letting the construction managers bid and get paid two, three, or even six ways on a school job? Surely that letter just explained how very legal it all was. Or did it?
The whole thing was a bidding set-up that circumvented the requirements of competitive bidding, so I met with the State Comptroller in August 2001 to explain face-to-face what was going on. The construction managers were set up with a huge bidding advantage by the Board--the construction management fee and reimbursables. Because the Board didn't provide this money/bidding cushion to other bidders, no other bidder wasted his time trying to bid against the (favored) construction manager. The managers knew they had an advantage. That's why they bid for lots of work but never tried to bid against each other. Result: The "managers" got paid to do the work under one or several contracts and got paid handsomely to manage themselves under another contract.
Stancil Ford was at the August 2001 meeting as our State Representative and Commissioner Larry Baker was there, too. The Comptroller prepared the new legislation, and the General Assembly UNANIMOUSLY passed the new law at its next session, making it clear to even the Hamblen County School Board that you don't let the fox guard the henhouse--and you sure don't pay the fox to guard the henhouse!]
Well, what are county commissioners saying now about taxes? Nothing. The only official who has mentioned the "T" word (taxes) is the county trustee who has said that it will take a 45-cent tax increase just to make INTEREST payments on a new $100 million dollar school building program. Yes, the trustee is talking about making INTEREST ONLY PAYMENTS AGAIN. Is that a great plan, or what? Is anyone ever going to pay the debt off?
The county goes 8+ years making "interest only" payments on a $35 Million dollar school building program, and now there is talk about borrowing $100 Million with "interest only" payments again. Who thinks up this stuff?
Spend, Spend, Spend! Tax, Tax, Tax!
Voters may have a short memory, but it really hasn't been that long since the infamous 2002 "pick your poison" wheel tax referendum. County officials tricked voters into voting "YES" in the wheel tax referendum by telling them via a Tribune article that it was either the wheel tax or a property tax increase. Then, just three months after the voters made their "choice" and voted for the wheel tax, the county enacted a 15-cent property tax anyway.
Today, there's a sales tax referendum on the ballot. And officials, just as they did in 2002, are telling taxpayers to vote YES in the sales tax referendum. If you vote YES, you will have the privilege of paying another 1/4 cent sales tax on top of the 9-1/2 cents in sales tax that you already pay for every $1 purchase. I think I'll vote NO.
Of course, some people will listen and respond to the city's version of "pick your poison." The city is telling its taxpayers that if the sales tax increase passes, then the City will take away 15-cents of last year's 40-cent increase. Really? For how long?
The county commission isn't offering to take away any of last year's 10-cent property tax hike. Commissioners are encouraging county taxpayers to vote YES to more sales tax (1) so the county can help boost city revenues and give city taxpayers tax relief and, of course, (2) to help the School Board get more money to shift all around "for the children."
You really can't make this stuff up!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
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.
---------------------------------
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."
-----------------------------
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.
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.
---------------------------------
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."
-----------------------------
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.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
November 29, 2006 Local taxes: Going UP!
If you could just sit on the outside and watch, local tax discussions would be entertaining.
But when higher tax payments constantly hit you in the pocketbook, it's no longer amusing.
The spectre of much higher taxes for Hamblen Countians is just a few months away. East and West High need repairs and new construction.
How to pay for that work raises questions about the county's total debt and debt repayment schedule.
Can the county pay for the proposed school construction without raising taxes? Hasn't the debt from the last major school construction program (1998) been paid down some?
Well, let's start with a few basics.
How much does the county owe?
About $40 million. (And that figure does not include the hospital debt that the county is responsible for if M-H Hospital is at some point not able to make its debt payments).
What was the $40 million spent on?
Most of the $40 million was spent on two new middle schools and renovations to about 14 other schools in the 1998 school building program. Some of the debt was for other county projects like the courthouse addition and jail annex, etc.
Haven't we paid off at least some of this debt by now?
Well, the answer would be yes IF the county had been paying principal and interest on this debt for the past 8 years (like most people do with a car loan or mortgage).
But the county didn't pay principal and interest on this debt over the past 8 years.
Instead, the county made interest-only payments. The County Mayor, Trustee, and Commissioners that were serving in 1998 set up this "interest-only" payment plan.
So it's 2006, and the county taxpayers still owe that same $40 million.
Now there is a request for more borrowing---- $20 million (+ or -) for school construction and who knows what else.
And if you live in the City of Morristown, you've got all that county debt coupled with your existing city debt and a bajillion-dollar city sewer construction bill that just keeps climbing.
And if a new 200 to 500-inmate jail is tossed in there, just hold on to your hats and your pocketbook.
When former Commissioner Dennis Alvis took office in 2002, he said: "We've been robbing Peter to pay Paul and now Peter has left town." I'm not sure that Commissioner Alvis was aware of how true those words were.
You always hear that everything is "for the children." That seems to be especially true with the county debt.
I thought you were supposed to try and leave your children something--and debt is not that something!
I guess I didn't get the "borrow, spend it, and pass the debt on" memo.
But when higher tax payments constantly hit you in the pocketbook, it's no longer amusing.
The spectre of much higher taxes for Hamblen Countians is just a few months away. East and West High need repairs and new construction.
How to pay for that work raises questions about the county's total debt and debt repayment schedule.
Can the county pay for the proposed school construction without raising taxes? Hasn't the debt from the last major school construction program (1998) been paid down some?
Well, let's start with a few basics.
How much does the county owe?
About $40 million. (And that figure does not include the hospital debt that the county is responsible for if M-H Hospital is at some point not able to make its debt payments).
What was the $40 million spent on?
Most of the $40 million was spent on two new middle schools and renovations to about 14 other schools in the 1998 school building program. Some of the debt was for other county projects like the courthouse addition and jail annex, etc.
Haven't we paid off at least some of this debt by now?
Well, the answer would be yes IF the county had been paying principal and interest on this debt for the past 8 years (like most people do with a car loan or mortgage).
But the county didn't pay principal and interest on this debt over the past 8 years.
Instead, the county made interest-only payments. The County Mayor, Trustee, and Commissioners that were serving in 1998 set up this "interest-only" payment plan.
So it's 2006, and the county taxpayers still owe that same $40 million.
Now there is a request for more borrowing---- $20 million (+ or -) for school construction and who knows what else.
And if you live in the City of Morristown, you've got all that county debt coupled with your existing city debt and a bajillion-dollar city sewer construction bill that just keeps climbing.
And if a new 200 to 500-inmate jail is tossed in there, just hold on to your hats and your pocketbook.
When former Commissioner Dennis Alvis took office in 2002, he said: "We've been robbing Peter to pay Paul and now Peter has left town." I'm not sure that Commissioner Alvis was aware of how true those words were.
You always hear that everything is "for the children." That seems to be especially true with the county debt.
I thought you were supposed to try and leave your children something--and debt is not that something!
I guess I didn't get the "borrow, spend it, and pass the debt on" memo.
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