No WhiteWash!

Ironically, one of the outcomes of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government’s 2004 public records audit, the first such statewide audit in Tennessee, is that lawmakers are filing more bills to close records.

In this year’s session, Tennessee legislators filed three times as many exemptions to open meetings, open records laws than normal.

Read more via Spotlighting “Sunshine issues” also spurs open government opponents – Random Mumblings.

Another “Letter to the Editor” expressing her feelings toward Mayor Phillips.

Attorney Tom Dossett is going on with the lawsuit about the historic power building. I believe his case has merit.

The people of the Church Circle churches have to walk for blocks to get to church on Sunday morning now that the parking lot is blocked by a fence. On Sunday, no matter what, the parking lot was always empty, leaving a place for churchgoers to park.

Mayor Phillips makes it clear that the move on Dossett’s part to take the case to the top for a new ruling is just adding to the bill the city is paying. Well, they are paying the bill with our tax dollars. That includes Dossett, me, and most that go to a church on Church Circle and all the people that pay high taxes in Kingsport.

I hope Phillips and the aldermen do not think they can just file a lawsuit without outrage from the people that are footing the bill. The city has an attorney that we pay regularly. The city officials seem to think they can run roughshod over the population. Because of apathy, they probably can.

The good old boy club needs to be brought to a halt. The city manager’s salary is so far above the city employees it’s actually pitiful. John Campbell’s salary is over $139,000 per year with over $800 for an auto allowance.

Doris

Kingsport

A local Kingsport attorney has asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to hear a case that involves the sale of American Electric Power building by the city of Kingsport and issues with the “Open Meeting Law”.  See the link Kingsport Attorney asks state Supreme Court to hear case involving sale of AEP building.

It is difficult for me to understand the logic that the City Manager John Campbel has.  They get caught breaking the law and then say, well we will have another meeting to make it legal.  What is the Open Meeting/Sunshine law for?  Maybe, Kingsport needs to check out this link Tennessee Open Meeting Guide

“It’s troublesome any time the city has to spend a lot of money fighting a case that’s very difficult. This case, we have a situation where even if Dossett won, there’s a remedy in the Sunshine Law — the BMA could just go back and do another meeting,” said City Manager John Campbell

You have a right to know what the government is doing at the Federal, State, County, or City level. You have a right to attend meetings and can have access to most records.

Tennessee’s Sunshine law states that any meeting is open to the public except as provided by the Tennessee Constitution, when two or more members of a governing body get together to deliberate toward a decision or a group making recommendations to a governing body. The Open Meetings Act does not prescribe when governing bodies must conduct meetings. Instead, it defines when meetings must be open to the public.

The public can attend the City of Kingsport, TN Work Sessions that are held each 1st and 3rd Monday of each month at 4:30 p.m., City Hall, Small Board Room, 2nd Floor. Regular Business Meetings are held each 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m., Large Court Room, 2nd Floor, City Hall. The public is invited to attend meetings of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Also, on Charter cable channel 16, you can watch the Business Meeting live.

The Tennessee Open Records Law (the “Act”) provides for a Tennessee citizen’s personal inspection of all state, county and municipal records, and of all records maintained by the Tennessee Performing Arts Center management corporation at all times during business hours unless the records are statutorily declared to be confidential. A public record is defined as follows:

“Public record(s)” or “state record(s)” means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, microfilms, electronic data processing files and output, films, sound recordings or other material regardless of physical form or characteristics made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any governmental agency.

The links below are excellent sources to help you understand your rights.

Tennessee Open Government Guide

Open Meetings Law