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

Weekend roundup: Using the sunshine laws

There were two great examples this weekend of Tennessee reporters being watchdogs in their communities, digging deeper on whether sunshine laws were being followed. Amelia Morrison Hipps with The Wilson Post contacted the board chair and the attorney for the Wilson County Board of Education when she heard the board had planned a private meeting on Saturday to discuss a recent incident involving its director of schools, according to the article in The Wilson Post. She protested that no notice was given of the meeting. The board changed its meeting to Sunday and sent notices to media. Hipps went on to write an article about open meetings law, particularly what [...]

Naughty open government deeds in Bradley County

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T16:12:33-05:00December 21, 2013|Categories: adequate public notice, Open Meetings|Tags: Bradley County, public notice, Tennessee Open Meetings Act|0 Comments

By Deborah Fisher, Executive Director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government Just a few days before Christmas, we open government advocates must sadly add a name to the naughty list. Over in Bradley County, public officials have been trying to settle who will take care of the animal control services after a longstanding agreement with the city of Cleveland fell apart over the county’s portion of the animal shelter budget. The county got proposals from two nonprofits at prices a far bit apart: $80,000 and $240,000 annually. The commission had created an ad hoc animal control committee, chaired by Commissioner Charlotte Peak-Jones. She decided to call a meeting of the [...]