Open Meetings Archives - Page 20 of 28 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

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 [...]

8 Jan, 2015

Chattanooga lawmakers to seek AG opinion on hospital’s possible Open Meetings law violation

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T18:53:08-05:00January 8, 2015|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: AG opinion, Chattanooga, Erlanger Health Systems, hospital board, open meetings violation, State Rep. JoAnne Favors, State Rep. Mike Carter, State Sen. Bo Watson, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, Times Free Press|0 Comments

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported in a story that Chattanooga state lawmakers plan to seek an opinion from the Tennessee Attorney General on whether a local publicly funded hospital violated the Tennessee Open Meetings Act when it met privately and discussed bonuses for management staff. And the answer on the hospital's possible Open Meetings law violation could determine whether they file legislation to remove a special exemption for public hospital boards to meet in closed meetings in certain situations. (See bottom of blog post for an excerpt of the current law on this.) The Times Free Press story, reported by Kate Belz, is reprinted here, with permission from the [...]

30 Dec, 2014

Hamilton County commissioners use phones to have secret conversations during public meetings

By Deborah Fisher|2014-12-30T09:26:07-06:00December 30, 2014|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: Chattanooga, Hamilton County Commission, open meetings violation, Times Free Press|1 Comment

Photo by John Rawlston, Times Free Press The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported over the holidays an interesting story about Hamilton County commissioners, some of whom call each other using the phones on the dais to have secret conversations during public meetings. News reporter Louie Brogdon, who covers the county commission, reported that the phone calls between county commissioners occur about once or twice a meeting. Brogdon called Tennessee Coalition for Open Government for comment, and frankly I was surprised at what he described. I hear many complaints about members of governing bodies having secret conversations about matters before the body, but most often this is not during [...]

16 Dec, 2014

Chattanooga Times Free Press reports hospital board’s possible Sunshine Law violations

By Deborah Fisher|2014-12-16T12:48:37-06:00December 16, 2014|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: Erlanger Health Systems, hospital board, open meetings violation, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, Times Free Press|0 Comments

The Chattanooga Times Free Press has reported several stories about a local hospital board's possible Sunshine Law violations related to deliberations to award $1.7 million in executive bonuses. The hospital board's actions have drawn criticism from state Sen. Todd Gardenhire as well as some employees of the hospital whose benefits were slashed in cost-cutting moves this year. The Board of Trustees for Erlanger Health Systems says it needs to be able to meet privately or competitors could cherry-pick opportunities that the board discusses. At issue is whether Erlanger's board misused an exemption in the state law that allows hospital boards to discuss marketing or strategic plans in a private session. Under [...]