Open Meetings Archives - Page 18 of 28 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

21 Aug, 2015

What you can do when you think the Open Meetings Act was violated

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-21T18:26:26-05:00August 21, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: open meetings violations, TCOG news|0 Comments

Because TCOG gets so many questions and complaints from citizens who wonder what they can do when their officials in a local government violate the state's Open Meetings Act, we've set up a new Open Meetings Complaint page on TCOG's website under the "Resources" tab to explain some options. We will continue to update this page as time goes on, and add to it as we hear from you. TCOG's aim is to try to provide helpful information on how best to create a culture in local government that complies with both the letter and the spirit of the Sunshine law. You can reach the page here: Open Meetings Complaint page. [...]

26 Jul, 2015

Williamson County commissioners hold private meetings to interview school board replacement

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-18T07:49:58-05:00July 26, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings, school boards|Tags: Franklin Home Page, Gregg Lawrence, Johnston v. Metro. Gov't of Nashville, Kathy Danner, Knoxville News Sentinel v. Knox County Commission, private meetings, Robert Cook, Tennessee Open Meetings Act, The Tennessean, Williamson County, Williamson County Commission Commission, Williamson County School Board|1 Comment

Two Williamson County commissioners are holding private meetings with candidates to decide who should fill an open position on the Williamson County School Board, but the county commission attorney says their meetings do not violate the Open Meetings Act, according to two stories by media outlets. The Tennessean: Williamson Schools candidate raises transparency concerns Franklin Home Page: Opinions vary on transparency of school board candidate vetting Williamson County Commissioner Kathy Danner Williamson County Commissioner Gregg Lawrence The two commissioners, Kathy Danner and Gregg Lawrence, are responsible for jointly deciding who should fill the remainder of the term of a board member who is leaving. The practice in the past has [...]

22 Jun, 2015

Sneaky Six in Chattanooga carry on troubling tradition of Hamilton County Commission

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-18T10:11:20-05:00June 22, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: Chattanooga, Hamilton County Commission, Jay Greeson, Open Meetings Act|0 Comments

Is it open, transparent government when six Hamilton County commissioners, after weeks of public meetings where they and the public heard detailed budget requests, vote to give themselves $100,000 each out of the county's rainy-day fund with no public discussion or explanation? No. Times Free Press columnist Jay Greeson called them the Sneaky Six in a Sunday column, and it's a moniker that deserves to stick. The Hamilton County Commission has skated the edges of the Open Meetings Act and its principles before. These are the same county commissioners who keep phones at their dais and make private calls to each other during the meeting -- covering their mouths so their microphones [...]

1 May, 2015

Times Free Press: Erlanger trustees to re-vote on bonus resolutions tonight

By Deborah Fisher|2015-05-01T10:19:18-05:00May 1, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: Erlanger Health Systems, open meetings violation, public hospital boards, Times Free Press|0 Comments

From the Chattanooga Times Free Press (reprinted with permission). By Kate Belz When Erlanger hospital's trustees take up the issue of executive bonuses at their board meeting tonight, the main reaction they want to avoid is surprise. They know all too well the effects of surprise. For nearly six months, the $1.7 million in bonuses Erlanger's board agreed to pay out in December has been the target of loud criticism from state and local officials. It triggered a high-profile rulingfrom Tennessee's attorney general, who found that the board violated open meetings law by discussing the incentives behind closed doors before the meeting. The bonuses even spurred a bill this legislative [...]

15 Feb, 2015

Hamilton County commissioners send secret letter for more power to set their own pay

By Deborah Fisher|2015-02-16T14:19:16-06:00February 15, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: Chattanooga, Hamilton County Commission, Hamilton County commissioner Greg Beck, Times Free Press|0 Comments

Eight of the nine Hamilton County commissioners appeared to have gone to great lengths to avoid talking in public about a bill that they asked their local state lawmaker delegation to draft so they could set their own pay. Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter Louie Brogdon reports that the bills, Senate Bill 707 and House Bill 717, would remove language in state law that sets Hamilton County commissioners pay and ties potential raises to the county mayor's salary. By decoupling the commissioners' pay from the county mayor's pay, county commissioners could give themselves a larger increase without increasing other county salaries. Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Beck drafted the letter [...]