No WhiteWash!

Ben Mallicote stated in the Rotary Club debate that he was humbled to serve as Vice Mayor of Kingsport.  Well, that is what he would like for you to believe.

The real story is that Ben Mallicote thought so much of himself that he nominated himself to be Vice Mayor and Mayor Phillips cast the deciding vote to break the tie.

I know of only one vote that Ben Mallicote has voted differently from Mayor Phillips.  He has stated in the past that Mayor Phillips is like a 2nd father to him.

Ben Mallicote would like for people to think he is an independent voice on the BMA.  But, with the exception on one vote that I am aware of, he votes the same as Mayor Phillips.  That is what Mayor Phillips wants, he gets!

Those city residents that go to the BMA meetings or watch on TV have more than likely observed the abrasive nature of Mr. Mallicote’s comments when other BMA members present a different viewpoint.  On this blog I have used the words “attack”, “anger”, “hissy fit” in describing the comments coming from Mr. Mallicote.  It is interesting to note that I have not seen any “hissy fits” coming from Ben Mallicote while he is running for re-election.

Clearly, Ben Mallicote has earned the title of “Tax, Borrow, and Spend” specialist by his voting record.

Below are the July 3, 2007 Regular Business Meeting Minutes for the Vice Mayor vote.

III.A SWEARING-IN ELECTED BOARD MEMBER OFFICIALS. City Recorder Jim Demming swore in the re-elected Mayor Dennis R. Phillips (joined by his wife and son), along with re-elected Alderman Larry A. Munsey (joined by his wife) and newly elected Alderman, Jantry Shupe (whose mother was in the audience). Alderman Marsh was not present and chose to be sworn in at the next business meeting rather than telephonically.

III.B ROLL CALL: By City Recorder Demming. Aldermen Marsh and Shull joined the meeting telephonically at this time.

III.C SELECTION OF VICE-MAYOR. Mayor opened the floor for nominations for vice-mayor. Mr. Marsh moved to postpone this action for two weeks in light of the physical absence of himself and Aldermen Shull, who seconded the motion. Mayor Phillip read from the City Charter stating that selection is required to be made at the first meeting in July, following an election and City Attorney Billingsley confirmed. Alderman Shull nominated Mr. Marsh, if the action is not deferrable. City Attorney Billingsley stated that no second is necessary. Alderman Mallicote offered his services as vice-mayor and Alderman Marsh moved that nominations cease, with Alderman Shull seconding. Board discussion followed whether to limit the nominations.

A vote was taken regarding ceasing nominations and failed, with Joh, Shull and Marsh voted “aye” and Mallicote, Munsey, Shupe and Phillips voting “nay.”

City Attorney Billingsley clarified that the roll call vote for vice-mayor required a majority vote; namely, four votes for one candidate.

Alderman Shupe nominated Mr. Munsey who indicated he was willing to continue as vice-mayor. Mayor Phillips announced the three vice-mayor candidates would be voted on by each Board member stating the name of the candidate for whom they were voting as a roll call vote was taken. A three-way tie resulted as follows:

Joh and Mallicote: Mallicote

Marsh and Shull: Marsh

Munsey and Shupe: Munsey

Mayor Phillips did not vote because no candidate would receive a majority vote. At this point, the mayor asked the three candidates to give a brief synopsis of why each would like to serve as vice-mayor and what each would bring to the board in that position. Another roll call vote was taken and resulted in a majority vote for Mr. Mallicote as follows:

Joh – Mallicote

Mallicote – Mallicote

Marsh – Marsh

Munsey – Munsey

Shull – Marsh

Shupe – Mallicote

Phillips – Mallicote

Mayor Phillips stated his appreciation for Mr. Munsey serving the Board extremely well as vice-mayor and has enjoyed working with him immensely and will continue to do so in his service as alderman. The mayor added that he would like to see the BMA devise a less divisive process for selecting a vice-mayor and would like to discuss improving the procedure further at the Board’s retreat.

Ben Mallicote seems to be in a tight spot in this election over his vote to refuse to give the regional sales tax back to the citizens via a property tax deduction after it had served its purpose.  Alderman Marsh and Alderman Shull voted to give the tax back to the citizens.

I had a chance to watch the video of the Rotary Club debate on cable channel 16 and it was very clear to me that he was trying to justify his vote on the regional sales tax issue.  Mr. Mallicote, why didn’t you not at the time of your vote bring up the same reasons as you did in the Rotary Club debate.

Alderman candidates debate what’s best for city at Kingsport Rotary Club

Kingsport Times-News

Mallicote, also first elected to the BMA four years ago, said you couldn’t consider Shull’s suggestion without considering the cost and trade-off.

“In the midst of this great housing crisis, Kingsport is third in the nation in home price appreciation. When other municipalities are seeing double-digit drops in sales tax collections, Kingsport is seeing double-digit increases,” Mallicote said. “Without the investment this board has made, we wouldn’t have Target, the new Food City, East Stone Commons, all of the new residential options, the higher education and allied health facilities, the revitalization of downtown, the new concert series, and a nationally recognized school system.

Mr. Mallicote mentions double-digit sales tax collections, but I doubt he can back up that statement with data.  See previous post that debunks this statement.  I am sure that Pat Shull is is thankful that Mallicote mentioned all of the other investments that Pat Shull voted for.

Mr. Mallicote again I feel is on the defensive in the radio interview on WJCW on April 23 concerning the regional sales tax.

Could it be that Mallicote does not have the security of the other four members of the Gang of Five to help him defend his vote?   Phillips,Joh,Shupe, and Munsey also voted against giving the regional sales tax back to the property owners.

The October 21, 2008 BMA meeting got a little heated with Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote going on the attack when Marsh and Shull attempted to state their views in a business like way.

See the November 11, 2008 post below for more information.

Click on the More Info button for all posts that discuss  Ben Mallicote

Kingsport, Tennessee BMA refuses to rescind Regional Sales Tax after it had served it’s purpose

Alderman Marsh presented a resolution at the October 21, 2008 Kingsport Board of Mayors and Aldermen to eliminate the quarter percent sales tax that voters approved in 1992 to fund the Meadowview Convention Center.  The quarter percent regional sales tax had served it’s purpose and the convention center debt was paid off in 2008.

The resolution was to use a portion of the regional sales tax to reduce the property tax rate for citizens. The citizens of Kingsport could have received a reduction in their city property tax, but the resolution was quickly voted down by the “gang of five”. (Mayor Dennis Phillips, Vice Mayor Mallicote, and Aldermen Munsey, Joh, Shupe)  See Kingsport Times-News article  “Marsh urges scuttling MeadowView expansion

The decision of the “gang of five” showed their true colors by voting against the citizens for a property tax refund and instead voting for special interest groups.

Alderman Shull and Marsh have in the past tried to discuss the future of the regional sales tax, but Mayor Phillips would always table the discussion.  It is my feeling that Mayor Phillips had no intention of ending the regional sales tax and had plans to use it for MeadowView Convention Center expansion.

The October 21, 2008 BMA meeting got a little heated with Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote going on the attack, Alderman Joh stated that Aldermen Shull and Marsh were just sore losers.  Mayor Phillips stated that without MeadowView the city would have to raise taxes.  He also made a statement that MeadowView is needed to keep from reducing police and fire protection and doing trash pick-up every two weeks. Mr. Mayor, stop the spin, it may be news to you, the convention center has been operating at a loss and the taxpayers are in fact keeping the convention center in business.  The voters of Kingsport are smarter than you think, Mayor Phillips.

Maybe, I will in the future do a post about the wasteful spending in the City of Kingsport by Mayor Phillips and his gang.

Famous Quotes from the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen

Mayor Dennis Phillips – ‘We need MeadowView to keep from reducing fire, police protection, and reducing trash pick-up to every two weeks.” October 21, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips –“We need to annex so we don’t have to raise taxes”  February 5, 2008

Alderman Munsey – “We need to do the MeadowView expansion to keep from raising taxes” September 15, 2008

Alderman Munsey – Debt is neither good or bad,”   June 3, 2008

Vice Mayor Mallicote – “I do not believe all of the doom and gloom about the economy”.  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If the taxpayers wanted the city to cut the spending, then we could collect garbage every other week”  June 3, 2008

Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If there were no money to spend, then you would not need politicians”  October, 2007

On September 16, 2008, the Kingsport, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to spend $819,000 for an architect to design the $15 million expansion at the Meadowview Conference Resort and Convent Center.  This was brought quickly to a vote without much detailed discussion or input from the public.  There were discussions on using the regional sales tax to fund the convention center expansion.

Again, this vote was another example of railroading a vote.  Alderman Marsh expressed concern that this was voted on within 24 hours and that there had not been ample time to study the the financial numbers.  He also asked what is in it for the citizens of Kingsport.  He said that this is more for the special interests of certain people.  He attempted to defer the vote to the latter part of October, but Alderman Marsh’s and Alderman Shull’s votes were not enough to postpone the vote.

Simply put, this is an example of the City of Kingsport catering to special interest groups and there seems to be no value to the citizens of Kingsport.  See posts Kingsport, Tennessee incestuous relationship with special interest groups, Convention Center issues plague cities, and More hissy fits in Kingsport, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Aldermen for more background information.

What are you views on the action of the BMA to not give back to the taxpayers the regional sales tax?  Leave a comment.

Ben Mallicote, who is running for re-election as a Kingsport Alderman made the following statement at a recent Rotary Club Debate that was moderated by candidate Dennis Phillips who is running for re-election as mayor.

“When other municipalities are seeing double-digit drops in sales tax collections, Kingsport is seeing double-digit increases,” Mallicote said.

I would like to suggest to Mr. Mallicote that he become more familiar with the city’s finances before making such a statement.  Take a look at the data below and one can see that Kingsport has not seen double-digit increases in sales tax collections.

The retail sales data is from the following link.  Tri-Cities Retail Sales Report

Using the Kingsport retail sales dollars and applying the yearly inflation percent tells a different story.  Note the “% Growth after Inflation” column below in orange tells a different story.  The year 2003 had a positive growth of 2.53% after inflation was applied.

One can say that the retail sales for Kingsport in 2001 actually meant more for the city in buying power than the current retail sales numbers.

The graph below needs no explaining and one can see that Kingsport is not as progressive as we are led to believe.

Click on the More Info button for all posts that discuss Ben Mallicote

Listen to the April 23 WJCW radio interview with Ben Mallicote who is seeking re-election as Alderman on the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman

Click here for interview

In the radio interview, he is asked about the regional sales tax and he stated that there is still debt that needs to be paid off at Meadowview.  The Convention Center was paid off in 2007 and the debt that Ben Mallicote mentioned must be for the debt for the Cattails Golf Course.  When the voters voted for the regional sales tax to be used for the convention center, I am sure that the golf course had not been dreamed about.

Since the Convention Center had been paid off, Alderman Marsh and Shull voted to return the regional sales tax to the citizens by the way of a property tax deduction.

Mallicote also stated that if the regional sale tax goes into the general fund, then it should be taken to the taxpayer to decide what to do with the regional sales tax.

Mr. Mallicote should check the current budget he voted for, because part of the regional sales tax is going to the general fund.  When can the voter expect the referendum Mr. Mallicote?

Ben Mallicote stated that if the Aquatic Center is built at Meadowview, then the regional sales tax could be used.  It seems that with this statement, Mr. Mallicote has changed his view about the location of the Aquatic Center.

A recent Kingsport Times-News article below gives additional information on Ben Mallicote.

Mallicote is a lawyer in private practice and has served the last two years of his first four-year term as vice mayor. Mallicote said the most important factor in Kingsport’s growth is the revitalization of downtown.

“Every city has a beating heart, and downtown has to be Kingsport’s. It has been the most important thing that has happened in Kingsport, in how we view ourselves and how outsiders view us,” Mallicote said. “The things we have put in progress will change the face of the city for the better. We are at a tipping point, a crucial point in Kingsport’s history, to where we can choose to push forward on those initiatives. I don’t want to see our hard-won momentum withered away.”

Given the national economy, Mallicote said there are two positions Kingsport could take to move forward.

“Scale back, pull in our oars, and quit trying to move the ship forward and hope things will get better. I think that is the wrong thing to do,” Mallicote said. “The city ought to continue making strategic capital investments that are within our ability to pay and generate a significant return on investment.”

A few quotes from members of the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman

It appears that Kingsport, TN Alderman Ben Mallicote, who is running for re-election, is trying to defend his vote to not give back the regional sales tax back to the property owners in Kingsport. 

The gang of five (Phillips, Mallicote, Joh, Munsey, and Shupe) voted to use the 1/4 percent regional sales tax for a new Convention Center Expansion.   Kingsport citizens back in mid 1990’s voted for the 1/4 percent regional sales tax to build the Meadowview Convention Center.

This became apparent in the Rotary Club debate yesterday when Alderman Shull stated that he voted to give the regional sales tax back to the citizens.  Since the Convention Center debt was paid off, Alderman Shull as well as Alderman Marsh were attempting to return the money back to the citizens via a property tax reduction.

I am not surprised at Ben Mallicote’s position.  He made the following statement in 2008, “I do not believe all of the doom and gloom about the economy”. 

See the Kingsport Times-News interview at the link below.  I encourage you to read the article and the comments written by citizens.

KINGSPORT — Vice Mayor Ben Mallicote has decided to seek re-election in the upcoming city election, saying there is still work to be done on many major projects and that he wants to be a part of them.

Mallicote, 30, is a lawyer with a practice located in downtown Kingsport. He was first elected to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen in 2005 at the age of 26 — one of the youngest, if not the youngest in the city’s history. Two years ago, Mallicote was selected by his fellow aldermen to be vice mayor.

Read more via Mallicote to seek new term on Kingsport BMA – Kingsport Times-News Online.

The response of citizens on Kingsport Times-News articles below show that folks are voicing their concerns in a big way by leaving comments at the end of the Times-News articles below.

If you are interested in the direction this city is headed then take the time to review the articles and the comments.

You can click on the word “Comments” to take you directly to the comments for the article.  Express your concerns via a comment if you desire.

The real question is the City of Kingsport listing to the commenter’s?

It’s your city…..get involved!

Kingsport aquatic center aims to make a big splash » Comments

Joh seeks re-election to Kingsport BMA » Comments

Mallicote to seek new term on Kingsport BMA » Comments

BMA approves contract for aquatic center » Comments

Kingsport BMA hires architect for expansion at MeadowView » Comments

Kingsport set to pick planner, engineer for aquatic center » Comments

The Kingsport, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting held on February 3, 2009, was indeed a very lively one with much discussion concerning the aquatic center.

The issue was for approving money so the city could begin to come up with detailed drawings.  However, the issue with the location came up with Mallicote again restating his opposition to the aquatic center located at Meadowview.  Alderman Marsh and Shull also voiced their concerns with the Meadowview location.

Alderwoman Valarie Joh was not a happy camper in this discussion.  She stated that the BMA had already voted on the Meadowview location.  That statement is true, but Mallicote, Shull and Marsh did vote against the Meadowview location last summer.

Alderwoman Joh has stated that in past meetings that Marsh and Shull were sore losers because they lost the vote.   Well Mrs. Joh, it appears also that the citizens of Kingsport are also sore losers because of the large numbers that are expressing their concerns over the location of the aquatic center.

On August 30, 2008, I wrote the following.

Kingsport, Tennessee has decided to build a new aquatic center at Meadowview and to co-locate with the YMCA.

The very vocal concerns expressed by local citizens over the location of the aquatic have fallen upon deaf ears by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.  The citizens are calling for a petition to stop the aquatic center and voting the current BMA out of office.  Never before have I seen Kingsport citizens more angry.

I have not written a post of this issue before, but privately I felt that the BMA would vote to place the aquatic center in the Meadowview area.  It appears that certain members of the BMA have decided to railroad this issue to a vote.  The very short two-day notice of a public meeting was a good indication to me that the BMA wanted to push the aquatic center.  Giving the public two-day notice of a public meeting to me is not ample notice for an aquatic center that has been in the works a long time.

I would like to add that Alderman Shull, Alderman Marsh, and Vice Mayor Mallicote voted against putting the aquatic center in the Meadowview area.

Also, it appears that the City of Kingsport does not care about other small businesses by competing with them.  Giving the YMCA the aquatic center to operate and who is not paying for the center, gives the YMCA an advantage over other firms who provide a similar service.

What are your views on this subject?  Leave a comment.

During the vote last summer Larry Munsey started the idea about keeping the Legion Pool open for a a year.  In the meeting this week, it was discussed about keeping it open for two years.  Keeping the legion pool open for a period of time will not satisfy the citizens concerns because the city plans to shut it down later.

Do we really want the expense of operating two pools?   See how these ideas “evolve”.  I guess you can do anything if you spend enough money.  This points to the greater problem – the BMA refuses to distinguish between NEEDS vs. WANTS and will not prioritize spending.

The City Manager envisions turning the Legion area into something like the Splash Pad at Riverview.  In short, we need to see some cost and usage data to really make up my mind.

Kingsport’s history is to get hit later than the rest of the country during a recession, but to also Recover Later.

What are your thoughts on the aquatic center?

The Kingsport Times-News article, Fiscal year 2008 audit OKs Kingsport financial health does some explaining on the recent audit of Kingsport’s finances.

However there seems to be some things left out or a press release issued by the city that never made it into the newspaper.

The press release below in the last two paragraphs state that the five enterprise funds had $16.3 million in cash.

Enterprise funds have to be self-supporting and we know that the Cattails Golf Course does not make any money and the MeadowView Convention Center ended the year with a $1.3 million loss

This would mean that the city is running a profit center in the water and sewer departments.  The raising of water and sewer rates each year has helped this cash position.  How else could they have gotten all of this extra cash?

If the City of Kingsport is doing so well, then how come they did not want to refund the 1/4 percent regional sales tax, back to the citizens when the MeadowView Convention Center was paid off?   Alderman Marsh and Shull tried to get the regional sales tax refunded back to the citizens but was voted down by Mayor Phillips, Vice Mayor Mallicote, Aldermen Munsey, Joh, and Shupe.

Press Release

KINGSPORT – Kingsport garnered a clean opinion of its financial statement for fiscal year 2008 from auditors Blackburn, Childers & Steagall, and rectified all four findings reported in the prior year.

“This audit represents what the citizens of Kingsport expect from their local government, transparency in financial reporting and responsibility with the taxpayer dollar,” Kingsport Audit Committee Chair and Alderman Larry Munsey said Tuesday. “I’m pleased to note that city finance staff corrected four items identified in last year’s audit, while auditors, whose job it is to go over things with a fine-tooth comb, only found three items in need of some work going forward into 2009. By any measure, our city continues to stand on firm financial ground.”

Auditors noted in their 2008 findings the need for a change in the way property purchases and sales are recorded by the Kingsport Industrial Development Board; better record keeping on the disposition of city capital assets; and better segregation of duties within payroll processing.

“We’re very pleased with this report, and already have projects underway to address the findings on capital asset recording and payroll processing,” Kingsport Finance Director Jim Demming said Tuesday. “The third finding on KIDB is just a matter of changing from net reporting to include all costs related to property acquisitions and sales.”

Demming also noted that the addition of a new internal auditor position and realignment of finance staff duties should quickly correct the findings.

Meanwhile, as of June 30, Kingsport posted $14.84 million in its unrestricted fund balance for 2008, with another $3 million to be added over the next few years as the general fund is repaid funding it advanced for the construction of Cattails Golf Course. Board policy is to maintain a minimum of $11.4 million at all times.

City Manager John Campbell said the pace of city government has quickened with regards to a number of key areas, including the development of a higher education center; greater internal support for job recruitment and retention efforts; expansion of commercial and tourism development; and implementing technology to increase efficiency.

“We have the staff in place to ensure we offer the greatest transparency possible,” Campbell said. “At the same time, we continue to operate well within the self-imposed debt limit of 10 percent of assessed property value, with new capital projects funded by the debt service roll-off as old debt is paid off.

“Without a doubt, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen is making sound investments that position our community for continued growth, which is how we keep property taxes low for everyone.”

Kingsport City Government is organized into six reporting units, starting with the general fund which covers emergency services, development services, leisure services and administration.

Five enterprise funds include the water fund, for the production and distribution of clean water, funded solely by user fees; a sewer fund, again self-supporting through user fees; a solid waste fund for garbage collection and disposal, reported separately but funded through property taxes; and two funds that cover MeadowView Conference Center and the golf course.

Collectively, enterprise funds reported $16.3 million in cash as of June 30, a strong cash position Campbell said he intends to maintain.