Will attempt to live blog...

Still discussing procedural issues regarding the types of ethics complaints the committee will handle, and whether they should be referred to the County Mayor's attorney for legal review before spending time investigating.

Action: Committee will not limit the scope of the type of ethics complaints it will hear, but will make the forms and procedures consistent. The committee also decided to refer all complaints to the County Mayor's attorney for legal review.

Once that decision was made, there was no further business because the ethics complaints against the Mayor must first be referred to the County Mayor's office for legal review.

The end.

A report in the Daily Times today on last nights budget meeting states that the sheriff needs more money to replace the School Resource Officers he transferred to other positions over a year ago.

Link

Request for SRO funds

"As Blount County Budget Committee ponders the shape of the proposed 2008-2009 fiscal year budget, Sheriff James Berrong is asking for more than $2 million extra to make deputy and correction officer pay more competitive and fund 13 new school resource officer positions.

Berrong is asking for about $400,00 in additional funds to hire new SROs. In the 2006-2007 budget, the sheriff's office had 22 people assigned to the SRO program on the books, but the number of SROs declined as they were transferred to other duties. In August 2007, there were about 10 or 11 officers in the schools.

Berrong said he moved the SRO officers to the patrol division to keep up with the demand for services caused by a growing population.

"That was a very unpopular decision," Berrong said.

"If you get this money, will there be a least one SRO in each school?" Commission Vice Chairman Steve Samples asked.

"Yes," Berrong said.

The SRO positions were "transferred" to the Patrol Division in order to cover VACANT, EMPTY, NOT FILLED positions.

That then left VACANT, EMPTY, NOT FILLED positions in the SRO Division.

Now he wants to fund these again?

Where did the previous funding go? Those positions were transferred and funded with existing vacancies.

At least that is how it works in the accountable institutions I have been around.

The sheriffs department has maintained ~25 vacancies for the last 3 years. Positions never filled. That equals ~$1,000,000 in salary and benefits.

Why, if they are not filled, do we keep allocating funds for them over and over and over?

How much were we looking for to fund Highway improvements?

A Wheel Tax is needed?

David Ballard
Blount County Commissioner

Faster than a missing police car!
More powerful than a zoning ordinance!
Able to leap Robert’s Rules of Order in a single bound

“Look, up on the platform! It’s a politician!”
“It’s a statesman!”
“It’s Supercommissioner!”

Yes, it’s Supercommissioner, strange visitor from Walland who came to the Courthouse with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal legislative body members.

Superman, who can change the course of rural arterial zoning, bend Democrats in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Mike Walker, mild-mannered commissioner for a great metropolitan urban growth area, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice and input on items not on the agenda.

(Submitted by a reader who wishes to remain anonymous.)