Open Meetings Archives - Page 19 of 28 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

1 Feb, 2015

Erlanger Health System board plans new meeting on bonuses

By Deborah Fisher|2015-02-01T17:36:01-06:00February 1, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: Erlanger Health Systems, open meetings violation, public hospital boards, Times Free Press|0 Comments

The Times Free Press reports that the Erlanger Health System governing board in Chattanooga plans to hold a new meeting to reconsider $1.7 million in executive bonuses it approved last year. With little notice, the board voted to award the bonuses after discussing them in private session. The surprise decision rankled state lawmakers in Hamilton County because they came after support for funds for the hospital, and after cost-cutting that affected the hospital staff's rank-and-file. The Open Meetings Act, which applies to public hospital governing boards, requires deliberations to be in public. The Attorney General issued an opinion last week affirming that the board's deliberations about compensation would not fall [...]

30 Jan, 2015

Times Free Press: AG’s opinion gives Erlanger another bonus dilemma

By Deborah Fisher|2017-01-06T15:25:51-06:00January 30, 2015|Categories: Attorney General Opinions, Open Meetings|Tags: AG opinion, Chattanooga, Erlanger Health Systems, Herbert Slatery, public hospital boards, State Rep. Mike Carter, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, Times Free Press|0 Comments

Following is a reprint of today's Chattanooga Times Free Press story about the AG's opinion on requirements for public hospital boards under the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. The Times Free Press graciously gave TCOG permission to reprint the article: http://youtu.be/3aToD-eNx1k By Kate Belz The status of $1.7 million in bonuses paid out to Erlanger Health System's management has again been called into question, as a new opinion issued by the state's attorney general has local lawmakers calling for the money to be paid back. Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III's opinion, issued Wednesday, states that Tennessee law does not permit hospitals such as Erlanger to meet in a closed session [...]

29 Jan, 2015

AG opinion says public hospital boards can’t meet privately on compensation

By Deborah Fisher|2015-01-29T15:31:56-06:00January 29, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: Chattanooga, Erlanger Health Systems, Herbert Slatery, public hospital boards, State Rep. Mike Carter|0 Comments

Attorney General Herbert Slatery issued an opinion yesterday that public hospital boards do not have an exemption to the Open Meetings Act that allows them to meet privately to discuss executive compensation or executive bonuses. The Chattanooga Times Free Press is following the story today, and has reported on the controversy that ensued after what appeared to be private meetings to discuss or decide to give executives $1.7 million in bonuses. The board held a public vote on the bonuses, but only after adding the item to the agenda at the last minute, after the private meetings, and without advance notice. State Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltwah, asked the AG for an opinion. [...]

15 Jan, 2015

TCOG files motion to intervene in Greene County open meetings case

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-18T07:34:54-05:00January 15, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings, open meetings lawsuits|Tags: Greene County Industrial Development Board, Richard Hollow, TCOG news, US Nitrogen|0 Comments

The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has filed a motion to intervene in an open meetings lawsuit in Greene County. One of the claims in the case is that the Industrial Development Board of Greeneville and Greene County violated the Tennessee Open Meetings Act by holding a meeting in which some members of the audience could not hear deliberations. The meeting occurred in July 2014. Members of the audience told the board it could not hear the deliberations, and when one audience member spoke out about it, he was removed from the meeting, charged with disrupting a public meeting, and put in jail. (The charges were later dropped.) The industrial [...]

15 Jan, 2015

Hamilton County commissioner says “Sunshine law stinks”

By Deborah Fisher|2015-02-16T14:13:38-06:00January 15, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: Chattanooga, Hamilton County Commission, Hamilton County commissioner Greg Beck, Open Meetings Act, Times Free Press|1 Comment

During a public meeting yesterday, Hamilton County commissioners took aim at the requirement in the state's Open Meetings Act, sometimes referred to as the sunshine law, that formation of public policy must be done in public. One even went so far as to say, "The sunshine law stinks." The comments came on the heels of a story by the Times Free Press about commissioners using telephones to call each other during the meeting to talk privately. After their comments on Wednesday, the commissioners explained their negative view of the sunshine law to reporter Louie Brogdon. Brogdon also called TCOG for comment, allowing us to explain the importance of open and public [...]