Last month this editor received a royal pen lashing from Gaye Bradley-Ogle for daring to cast aspersions in the direction of the Cleveland Creative Arts Guild. She thought it proper for the guild not to pay property or fire tax and evidently the county commission agreed with her. They voted unanimously to recommend the exemption. They also approved a recommendation by the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce to give a tax break to one of it's members and to give financial support to the Small Business Development Center who are experiencing difficulties due to state grant cuts. 
Even if all the agencies and services which have and will be requesting help are indispensable to the community or are the most worthy of causes, can the commission hope to balance an already strained budget without raising taxes if they continue to give money to everyone. County Commissioners ether don't grasp the fact that allowing a tax exemption is appropriating money that could be used to balance the budget - or the rhetoric about not wanting to raise taxes is a sham. To avoid raising taxes requires allocating only an amount equal or less than total income.
County Executive Gary Davis advised department heads not to increase requests for funding this year and to try to make cuts where possible. Apparently some departments have made a heroic effort while others have conducted business as usual. (The People News will publish the rankings as soon as they become available.)
Consider for a moment that every county department complies with Davis'  request, it will all be in vain if the county commission keep spending the way they have. This editor cannot remember one recent example when the commission denied a request for money. They are aware of pressing needs within the school system and the increase cost of running the new justice center yet with one voice they say no tax increases and with the other they run up the tab. It is hard to trust their sincerity when they act the way they do.
Also many members of the commission have a conflict when voting for a department's funding. There seems to be a prevailing consensus that declaring ones conflict makes it OK. Some though, have conflicts they don't declare, which seems especially true of those associated with the sheriff's department. To be fair to Ralph Creel, he states before voting that he is employed by the Sheriff but to genuinely avoid conflict he should abstain as Ben Atchley has done on a number of occasions. It could be that the county attorney's approval of the conflict policy could be challenged. Their are members of the commission that are "sleepers," whose conflict is not as obvious as Creels when it comes to the Sheriff's department. There is evidence that some who serve on the Law Enforcement Committee and County Commission have been secretly deputized apparently as a reward for support. Sheriff Gilley has not responded to a legitimate request by The People News for details of individuals  deputized which adds to the possibility of a cover-up. Also non-disclosure by the Sheriff could leave the individual commissioner liable for undisclosed conflict. 
Time will reveal the sincerity of individual commissioners in regards to tax increases but integrity demands that those with even minor conflict abstain when the money is being handed out.

Sunshine Law

The question of what constitutes a violation of the sunshine law rears it's ugly head again with the disclosure of another secret meeting of the Bradley County School Board and a similar gathering of the County Commission.  Local officials meeting in private to discuss public business is not a new phenomenon in Bradley County - it has been going on for decades, but in the last few years abuses seem to have increased. It is difficult to gauge the extent of the violations because a meeting wouldn't be secret if it were common knowledge but occasionally word leaks out. The problem seems to stem from lack of oversight and prosecution by the District Attorney's Office coupled with erroneous advice from board attorneys. Without any fear of prosecution, abuses will continue. County School Board attorney Gerald Kirksey sanctioned secret meetings during the Walker Valley  construction controversy under the guise of attorney/client privilege, which almost cost the taxpayer millions in cost overruns - To our knowledge the violations were never investigated and continue. The board still hold a closed and unrecorded pre-meeting meeting before each public appearance.  School Board member Steve Bivens, in a statement thumbing his nose at the law believes it is perfectly OK to hold private sessions- "I've been in government a long, long time" "What we did as a board did not break the Sunshine Law. It is not inappropriate for commissions and boards to meet and discuss things. It's done all the time." (Cleveland Daily banner, April 27 2003.)  Tennessee code doesn't back up his assumption but does in fact state the opposite. Bivens, a Nashville lobbyist representing some large local companies and the City of Cleveland should know better. His statement could reasonably be considered an admission of guilt.
Do you think public officials should meet in private?
Do you think Bivens should be summoned before a Grand Jury to answer for his admission? Do you think the District Attorney should investigate and prosecute Sunshine Law violations. What do you think?

Cable

The Bradley News Weekly's continual griping about Charter Communications service..... Enough already!!!  What do you think?

Still waiting

The terrible Nashville twins Bunch and Miller, still haven't made good on their threat to wipe out free newspapers in Bradley County or had the courage to admit to a silly mistake. Maybe they plan to sneak the legislation through while no one is watching... that is of course if they are there long enough.
What do you think?