And We Wonder Why...

…we can’t get good people to run for office.

Hello, everyone,

Let's take a look at an emerging pattern in the current county mayor's administration.

On Conflicts of Interest: Last July (2007), I asked the Commission to seek a legal opinion before appointing a Commissioner to the Purchasing Committee who appeared to have a fairly serious conflict of interest with that appointment. The Commission said no. Later I personally called the Commissioner in question as a matter of courtesy (he was absent that night), to tell him he might want to look into the issue for himself, and I moved on.

The Mayor’s Response: For the next six months, the Mayor and “several Commissioners”, most of whom have yet to be named, engaged in a lengthy attack on my private practice, questioning who my patients were (in possible violation of HIPAA laws) and whether I had the right to see the 2 or 3 county employees I may see in a year. Other than two accusatory statements read by Commissioners Burchfield and Helton at the August 2007 meeting, none of this was ever addressed with me directly or during any meeting of the County Commission.

On Citizen Harassment: In January, I learned that a private citizen, who was elderly and in poor health, had been severely harassed at the County Commission meeting and afterwards. At the February meeting, I asked Assistant Chief Deputy Jeff French- the highest ranking law enforcement officer in the room- to keep an eye on him, maybe walk him to his car, make sure no one gave him a hard time. I did not get the response I sought, and quite frankly, got a little irritated.

The Sheriff’s Office Response: Jeff French never even spoke to the citizen I’d asked him to protect. Instead, he turned around and filed an ethics complaint against me.

On Towing Practices: Two different citizens complained about a bad experience with two different towing companies within a short period of time. One of those citizens gave me a copy of a receipt on which the towing company had written “BCSD (Blount Co. Sheriff’s Department) Commission”, and said her understanding was that that was why the cost was so high.

Having had no previous experience in such matters, I assumed this was perfectly legal, but agreed to find out a little more about it. And quite honestly, I just wanted to know where such commissions or fees (if that’s what they were) would show up in the county budget! So, I put the matter on the Commission agenda and asked Assistant Chief Deputy Jimmy Long about the practice.

The Mayor’s and the Sheriff’s Office Response: According to the papers, both Mayor Cunningham and Sheriff Berrong called District Attorney Mike Flynn’s office within hours of my asking about towing. Neither of them ever spoke to me about any of this, as usual, but the Sheriff was quoted in the press release he sent out the next day. He said that- when the TBI investigation was complete- he would “deal with Commissioner Reeves’ false and slanderous remarks”. I had been told that he’s already threatened a private citizen with a lawsuit for making critical remarks at Commission meetings. Was this a similar threat? I don’t know.

On the 2007 Blount County Audit: About a month ago, another citizen approached me and asked if I could arrange an audience for him with the State Comptroller, John Morgan. He had information relevant to the 2007 Blount County Audit published in December that he felt was important enough to present in person. He also wanted to invite a few other commissioners to hear his presentation.

Though I couldn’t get him in to see Mr. Morgan himself, I was able to arrange an audience with Jim Arnette, Director of the Division of County Audit, along with two other staff members in the Comptroller’s department. And because I care deeply about the Open Meetings Act (commonly called the “Sunshine Law”), I asked Mr. Arnette from the beginning if it was appropriate for this citizen to invite other commissioners. He said that depended on the objectives of the meeting. I assured him that the sole objective was to allow this citizen to make a presentation, and to ask a couple of questions about the 2007 audit. He said other commissioners were welcome. (More about that in a moment.)

On Wednesday, April 23, I traveled with Jim Folts and Kenny Anderson (a citizen from my district) to Nashville to meet with Mr. Arnette. When we arrived at his office, we met Commissioners Graham and Murrell, who had each traveled on their own to hear the presentation as well. Mr. Folts began his presentation around 10:05 or so, and it lasted about an hour. There was perhaps 10-12 minutes worth of conversation afterwards, mostly consisting of questions about how audits were conducted, what certain accounting terms meant, and how other counties (like Knox or Davidson) were handling audits these days.

Personal Note: In February, I myself sent a 3-page letter to Assistant County Mayor David Bennett with my own questions about the audit. Soon after, Mayor Cunningham responded with a lengthy letter stating that all requests for information now had to go through him. Not surprisingly, my own questions were never answered.

The Mayor’s Response: Less than 24 hours later, I began getting calls from all kinds of reporters. Robert Wilson of the Knoxville News Sentinel started calling at 10 a.m. on Thursday. Throughout the day, while I was at work, I got repeated calls from Joel Davis of the Daily Times, Anthony Welch of WBIR, and one from Lance Coleman of Blount Today. I didn’t mind, because the information Mr. Folts shared in that presentation is important and something I think everyone needs to hear. However, and as usual, the Mayor’s response has been to go on the attack. Now I’m being accused of breaking the law.

So what do these have in common?

Each of these situations has been about a problem, yet each response has been about a person. And I haven’t even mentioned the public attacks on private citizen Linda King, the Blount County Children’s Home, the South Blount Utility District Board of Directors, the Public Building Authority, the Board of Zoning Appeals or the Russian scientists and teenagers visiting through the Sister City program.

Leaders should spend their energy attacking the problems, and thanking the people who bring those problems to light.


Now About That Sunshine Law…

The following is taken from a document entitled “Review of Legal Requirements for Open Meetings and Records and Conflicts of Interest”, published by Douglas Berry and Karen Beyke of Weed, Hubbard, Berry & Doughty (law firm) in Nashville in 2003. Emphasis added for clarity.

***
“Does the Act apply only to a formal meeting?

The courts look at whether a meeting has taken place to determine if the Act has been violated. First, the phrase “meeting” has not been defined in the Act in terms of formality, time or place, instead, “meeting” has been defined in terms of its purpose. If a public body convenes for one of two purposes: (1) in order to make a decision or (2) in order to deliberate toward a decision, then it is a meeting within the scope of the Act. Neese v. Paris Special School District, 813 S.W.2d 432, 435 (Tenn.Ct.App.1990).

Do the requirements of the Act apply if we do not deliberate? What does it mean to ‘deliberate?’

The court used the definition of ‘deliberate’ from Black's Law Dictionary and said, "To deliberate is 'to examine and consult in order to form an opinion.... [T]o weigh arguments for and against a proposed course of action.' "Neese, 813 S.W.2d at 435. Deliberation under the Open Meetings Act ‘refers to discussing, debating, and considering an issue for the purpose of making a decision and does not include a discussion solely for the purpose of information gathering or fact finding.’ The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society, Inc. v. The City of Oak Ridge, slip op. (E.S. Tenn. Ct. App. 1983), permission to appeal denied (August 29, 1983).”

***

There are no secrets here, and no violation of the sunshine law, in spite of what the Mayor would like you to believe. He has also done his best to destroy the reputation of Jim Folts, a man I have found to be honorable, intelligent, and deeply concerned about our county. Everything Mr. Folts shared with the Comptroller’s Office should and will be shared with the public. And when he chooses to do that, we should all tell him thank you for his service to this county.

On the other hand, this particular quote in a recent news article suggests something else entirely.

“There’s talk among commissioners about some possible condemnation, or censure, of the action or a vote of ‘no confidence’ in their fellow commissioners,” Cunningham said.

So, some commissioners are “discussing...an issue for the purpose of making a decision”? Some commissioners are "deliberating towards a decision?

Interesting.

Until next time,
~Wendy