Citizens sue eight Benton County officials

By TONYA SMITH-KING

The Jackson Sun
contactus@jacksonsun.com

Feb 19, 2005

Two Big Sandy residents are suing the Benton County mayor, several commissioners and other county officials, claiming they were denied access to public records and accusing some officials of violating the state's open meetings law.

Rita Bendorf and Vivian Mayhan filed the suit Feb. 7 in Benton County Chancery Court. A response has not been filed, according to a Benton County court official. No court date has been set.

Bendorf and Mayhan are also suing officials for failing to give adequate notice of public meetings and for violating their right to free speech by preventing them from talking at meetings at times specifically set aside for public comment.

The suit was filed against Benton County Mayor Jimmy Thornton: Raymond Palen, chairman of the county's Fire Chiefs Association; Ray Douglas, Benton County Highway Superintendent; Benton County Commissioners Randy Patton, Dale Cunningham and Murleane Steinbuck; Sandra Hubbs, the county's administrator of elections; and John Smoot, director of the county's Emergency Management Authority.

''It's just a shame that we could not get the access to public records that are mandated by law,'' Bendorf said. ''I'm just sorry it had to come to this.''

Bendorf said they first complained without success to the governor's office, and offices of the state attorney general and comptroller. The laws need more teeth, she added. There are no repercussions for violating them.

''They can do it and get away with it,'' Bendorf said. ''They don't even get a slap on the hand. Citizens have got to put up good money, hard-earned money to make them do it.''

The women are asking the court for relief that includes ordering county officials to comply with the Open Records Act and requiring any found guilty of ''willfully'' refusing to disclose public records to pay ''all reasonable cost, including attorneys' fees,'' according to the suit.

They're also seeking costs, attorneys' fees and damages from Thornton and Steinbuck for violating their free speech, the suit said.

Thornton and County Attorney John Whitworth did not return calls to The Jackson Sun seeking comment.

The women are being represented by Milan attorneys Tim Crocker and Michael Carter.

''We've sued several defendants,'' Carter said. ''Some of those defendants have outright refused to provide open records, and some have just not responded.''

The women are seeking information that includes county financial records and minutes from County Commission committee meetings, Bendorf said.

 ''Primarily, this started when our (property taxes) doubled,'' Bendorf added. ''Number one, we were looking at where our money was going and was there revenue coming in to support the expenditures. And we found out that there wasn't.''

They learned this from county budgets and audits they were able to buy at the courthouse. They have gotten access to some documents but not specific ones they've asked for verbally and in writing, Bendorf said.

For some reason, it appears that getting the records became more difficult around March 2004, Bendorf said. She wasn't sure why.

''If you look at budgets and audits, you can see that over the last 10 years from 1993, the county was $3 million in debt,'' Bendorf said. ''Today, we are $13 million in debt, and with the current program of spending, they're going to be borrowing another $5 million to $8 million, and that's conservative.''

The women believe that this will lead to more property tax increases, Bendorf said. Taxes increased 51 cents during the 2003-2004 fiscal year and 10 cents last year, she added.

The suit lists half-dozen examples of their complaints stemming from January 2003.

Since January 2003, the women contend that Thornton has either ''failed and/or refused to comply with Tennessee Code Annotated 8-44-101, known as the Sunshine Law,'' the suit said. The law requires adequate notice of public meetings.

The suit accuses Thornton of not providing adequate notice of meetings, including general and special meetings of the County Commission and certain County Commission committee meetings such as the law enforcement, highway, property and budget committees.

The suit contends Thornton and Steinbuck, who chairs the commission's budget committee, have deprived the women of their right to free speech.

Thornton has ''intentionally'' stopped them from speaking during portions of meetings designated for public comment and ''engaged in a systematic campaign to prevent plaintiffs from speaking at public meetings of the governing bodies of Benton County,'' the suit said.

The suit said Steinbuck ''unilaterally and inappropriately changed the rules of procedure for the budget committee she chairs to prohibit'' the women from exercising their free speech.

The suit also lists specific examples of county officials named in the suit denying verbal or written request for records. Highway Superintendent Douglas allegedly told the women he would not provide public information they asked for at a Benton County Highway Committee meeting without a court order, the suit said.

Visit talkback.jacksonsun.com and share your thoughts.

Tonya Smith-King, (731) 267-7147

Copyright 2005 The Jackson Sun - 245 W. Lafayette Street, Jackson, Tennessee - 731-427-3333