Public Comments on Comptroller's Proposed Swaps Policy

Hello everyone,

Boy has it been hot outside! I hope you're all being careful about the heat. It doesn't take long for anyone to get into trouble when it's this hot- even those I-can-do-anything teens we all love so much. Make sure you're wearing a hat, drinking plenty of water, and taking regular breaks to cool off when you're working, or playing, out in this heat.

A few weeks ago I shared with you the letter I'd submitted to state Comptroller Justin P. Wilson in response to his request for public comment on proposed changes to state guidelines on the use of swaps by local governments. If you missed that, click here to read that post.

Several people submitted comments, locally, statewide, and even out of state. You can read all of them on the Comptroller's website by clicking here. I also thought it might help to post a few of those with local interest for you below.

Here's a submission by Ron Woody, our local representative for CTAS, the County Technical Assistance Service offered by UT to help local governments in all kinds of things. I've taken 3 classes on Debt Management taught by Mr. Woody, and found them very interesting. Because he works with several counties all over East Tennessee, I thought his perspective was of particular interest.

REMEMBER: Click on the small square icon in the upper right corner of each of these in order to toggle to a full screen view.

Ron Woody, CTAS, Swap Guidelines Input





Here's a submission by Morgan Keegan, the investment firm with whom we do the lion's share of our bond business.



Morgan Keegan Guidelines Input


Here's a submission by Blount County Finance Director and Assistant County Mayor David Bennett.


Dave Bennett's Input on Swap Guidelines

It's also helpful to go look at some of those submitted by other investment firms. Here's two samples, but as I said, you can read all of them at the comptroller's website. (Ok, it can get a little dry reading all those submissions by finance firms, but there are still some differences in tone and approach that you might find interesting.)


Public Financial Mgt Guidelines Input


And one more for good measure. (This one has 2 parts.)


Stephens- McAnulty Email Guidelines Input


Stephens- McAnulty Input into Swap Guidelines


There. That's enough for now. I'm really impressed by Comptroller Willson's active interest in the way debt is being handled across the state. Now he's seeking input on a broader scale into general debt management policies. I'll share a little about that in next week's post.

The Blount County Commission will be taking up these matters in July, so your input is essential. Be sure to drop a note to all of us with your recommendations on how we as a county handle these issues.

And again, at the risk of sounding like the mom that I am-- be careful in this heat! :-)

Until next time,

Wendy

Is This Really What We Mean by "Open Government"?

If this is how the game is played, I think it’s time for a change.

Your Blount County Ethics Committee came to the Commission in May with a unanimous proposal to open up the process for addressing complaints in a way that would have been unprecedented in Blount County history.

For the first time ever, we agreed to transform the committee into an all-citizen committee, composed strictly of at-large public citizens with no direct ties to county government. We developed a public application process, and agreed that all applications to serve would be placed in the Commission meeting packets. The Mayor would continue to appoint members as he does now, with final approval by the Commission, and the entire process would be public.


Here's a copy of the minutes from the April Ethics Committee meeting. (Click on the small square icon on the upper right corner to toggle to full screen mode.)

Ethics Committee Minutes, April 6, 2009



Here's the resulting Resolution we brought in May. (Note: The resolution states that we are replacing "Section 5" of the Ethics Policy, but we were actually only replacing the first paragraph, which speaks to committee membership. Thank you, Carol Ross, for pointing out that technical error.)


Ethics Committee Proposed Resolution, May 2009


And here's the Application Form we'd prepared.




Ethics Committee Application


Wouldn't you have been surpised -- and proud-- of your Commission, had they taken such a forward-thinking step?

For the past two years, the Ethics Committee, composed of five members appointed by Mayor Cunningham, has worked hard to create a process for receiving, reviewing, responding to and reporting on complaints. Along the way, we've worked out a number of kinks, evaluated what works and what doesn't, and revised procedures to ensure that the process is fair and balanced.

If you as a citizen had a concern that any county employee or elected official had violated or potentially violated ethical guidelines around the two areas our policy covers, you could file a complaint, and the entire process for dealing with that complaint would occur in open meetings.

Had our newest proposal passed, the entire process would have been handled by a truly independent panel of citizens who'd volunteered to serve in this important public capacity.

Now, two months later, that proposal is dead.

In it's place is an alternative presented Commissioner Holden Lail that shuts the entire process down.

Although the Daily Times described our actions last Thursday as "amending" the policy, I don't think we amended anything. We killed it outright. We have in effect shut down the Ethics Committee , and the complaint process, all together.

Thanks to the successful passage of Mr. Lail's proposal, you will no longer have access to any discussion on whether your complaint has merit, and what, if anything, should be done about it. There IS no discussion when the decision is made by one person.

If a lone attorney believes your complaint has merit, he or she will determine what should happen as a response. Period.


By tradition, the Commission will usually follow a committee's recommendation, especially if it's unanimous. And I've heard that we value open government in Blount County.



So I have to ask: do you think our actions support our words?

Until next time,
Wendy

UPDATE: Click here to go to the County Commission Video Archives. On the drop down menu, select "Work Session, June 9, 2009" to hear a recording of the Work Session where most of the discussion on this took place. The relevant portion starts at approximately 13 minutes into the meeting. You'll hear several Commissioners expressing their thoughts; my own comments are around the 30 minute mark in the recording.

Haven House Needs Our Help

Hello everyone--

This article appears in today's Daily Times and I wanted to share it with you. Throughout 25+ years of working in the mental health community of East Tennessee, I've repeatedly witnessed the amazing courage and strength shown by those fighting to escape violence at home.

I once knew a woman who lived with her 3 children in her car for over a month in order to hide from her husband, a man we both feared could kill her. The shelters were full at the time, and there was literally nowhere for her to go, so she just kept moving. Her children never missed a day of school--or a counseling session--and I doubt anyone knew what their lives were really like. Yet, with determination and grace she managed to provide stability for them in the midst of chaos. Today, they're solid, stable adults, and she's happily married to a loving, supportive man.

Haven House offers sanctuary to women and children who face a kind of terror most of us will never know. Domestic violence can happen to anyone. It doesn't matter what race you are, where you go to church, what political party you're in, how much education you have, or how much money you have: you probably know someone who's lives have been touched by this issue. It crosses all boundaries and infects all kinds of households, here in Blount County and all across our state.

Without that shelter, women and families in our county who already face tremendous odds have to find a way to leave the county to find help. We are incredibly fortunate to have this service here at home.



They help us, now we need to help them.

Here's the article. I hope you'll be moved to help in whatever way you can.

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Haven House: Help!

By Bob Norris of The Daily Times Staff
Originally published: June 17. 2009 3:01AM
Last modified: June 16. 2009 11:18PM

At first it was downright scary. Flames rose from the stove top at Haven House. Smoke filled the kitchen of the domestic violence emergency shelter in Maryville.

“A client was cooking and the stove was left unattended and the grease caught on fire. Then it exploded,” said Joani Shaver, the shelter’s executive director.

Later it didn’t seem so bad. The scorched area was limited.

Then the insurance company claims adjuster arrived and reality set in — “You need to get this dried out right away.”

Fire didn’t devastate the kitchen. Water blasting from the powerful sprinkler system did.

“It was the sprinkler that ruined the floor and cabinets and counters and all the appliances. Our entire kitchen is basically gutted,” Shaver said Tuesday.

The recent fire has Haven House crying out for help.

Insurance should cover the cost of putting the kitchen — a room designed for one family — back the way it was. But that kitchen was never adequate for the shelter’s needs, according to Shaver.

Now the Haven House Board of Directors and staff are asking the community for help in turning this near disaster into an opportunity fulfilled.

“We’re trying to find some folks in town who will help us put this back — who will do our renovation for us and not cost an arm and a leg,” Shaver said.

The ultimate goal is to put Haven House’s kitchen back better than before.
“We’re going to totally redo the kitchen so it’s functional. We have 32 beds here. We could never have more than 20 (clients) because of the kitchen. They can’t even cook and eat together. It’s not been good.”

On Thursday the shelter had to turn away five victims of abusive situations because the kitchen is unusable. Shaver said Tuesday that since Haven House’s occupancy is already severely limited due to the damage, there is an opportune chance to do more than a minimal fix.

“The fact is — renovating this kitchen — there would never be a good time. If we have to redo it, let’s do it right. If we can’t, when are we going to have time to do it over?”

There is a bit of good luck from this flaming mess. It came from another disappointment. Last winter Shaver applied for a $72,000 HUD grant to renovate the kitchen and also to make the shelter’s empty basement usable. Funding was denied.

While Haven House didn’t get the money, it did get a plan. To help with the grant application, Clayton Homes volunteered to prepare an architectural design for the kitchen renovation. Manufactured home designers are experts at maximizing living space.

“This plan utilizes every square inch of that kitchen. Not only that, but the refrigerator is going to be put right through the wall, so it is not sticking out into the room. When Clayton Homes developed it, I told them we need storage and all the space we can get,” Shaver said.

That space will allow more food for more meals.

“People are so generous. We get so many donations of food, but we have no capacity to store as much food as we are given. With the renovation, we’ll have 10 times as much storage in our kitchen, so we can take more of the good will of the people and put it to good use.”

The Clayton Homes design also creates a pass-through, so mothers cooking in the kitchen will be able to watch their children in the dining/play area.

As word about the fire has spread, some have already talked about helping.
“We’ve got some people who seem to be stepping up,” Shaver said.

But Haven House needs more. Not that the abused women and the children housed at the shelter are pleading for contractors and wholesalers and retailers and citizens to reach out to them. They’ve already felt the grip of a helping hand.

“Our clients are so grateful to have a place that’s not abusive and violent that they all are overwhelmed just to be here and be safe. There’s no complaint from the clients,” Shaver said.

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Whether you have a handy way with carpentry, plumbing or electric wiring, could write a check, or just have a word of encouragement, I hope you'll reach out to Haven House today.

Thanks,

Wendy