Chattanooga Archives - Page 4 of 6 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

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 [...]

27 Oct, 2014

Chattanooga contests paying $74,427 in legal fees after losing Sunshine Law case

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-16T15:10:48-06:00October 27, 2014|Categories: Open Meetings, open meetings lawsuits|Tags: attorneys' fees, Chattanooga, Helen Burns Sharp, industrial development board, John Konvalinka, open meetings violation|0 Comments

The city of Chattanooga is contesting legal fees awarded to a citizen who sued and won over a violation of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act, Chattanoogan.com reported Sunday. Helen Burns Sharp, who sued the city's Industrial Development Board over a Sunshine Law violation and won. She also got her legal fees awarded. Helen Burns Sharp brought the lawsuit after the city's Industrial Development Board awarded a tax-increment financing deal worth $9 million to a private developer building a golf course community one on of the moutains surrounding the city. A judge agreed with her that the IDB made the decision in secret in violation of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act, [...]

23 Sep, 2014

Times Free Press: Chattanooga to conduct open meetings training

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-18T07:38:36-05:00September 23, 2014|Categories: Open Meetings, open meetings lawsuits|Tags: Chattanooga, open meetings violation, Times Free Press|0 Comments

The city of Chattanooga is planning ethics training that would include open meetings and open records after a Friday ruling by a judge that could cost its industrial development board potentially thousands of dollars in legal fees for violating the Sunshine Law, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported today. The Times Free Press story about a win by Helen Burns Sharp outlined a string of open meetings and public records complaints against the city of Chattanooga's various governing entities, including another lawsuit where it had to pay $71,000 in attorney's fees earlier this year. The city's attorney, Wade Hinton, told the news organization that the city is working to adhere [...]

22 Sep, 2014

Citizen wins attorneys fees in Chattanooga Open Meetings case

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-18T07:39:03-05:00September 22, 2014|Categories: Open Meetings, open meetings lawsuits|Tags: attorneys' fees, Chattanooga, Grant Konvalinka & Harrison, Helen Burns Sharp, industrial development board, John Konvalinka, open meetings violation, Pamela Fleenor|1 Comment

Chancellor Pamela Fleenor on Friday issued an order awarding attorney fees, expenses and other costs to citizen Helen Burns Sharp who sued the city of Chattanooga's industrial development board over a Sunshine Law violation. Hamilton County Chancellor Pamela Fleenor The order in the Chattanooga Open Meetings case means the industrial development board could pay a large chunk of Sharp's legal bills, which have grown to roughly $89,000 with a second lawsuit filed earlier this month. Sharp won her initial case in July when Hamilton County Chancellor Frank Brown ruled that the industrial development board violated the Open Meetings Act by deciding to finalize tax-increment financing to a developer [...]

15 Sep, 2014

Chattanooga citizen files second open government lawsuit over economic development

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T18:50:52-05:00September 15, 2014|Categories: Open Meetings, open meetings lawsuits|Tags: Chattanooga, economic development records, Grant Konvalinka & Harrison, Helen Burns Sharp, IDB, open meetings violation|0 Comments

Chattanooga citizen Helen Burns Sharp has filed a second lawsuit against Chattanooga's industrial development board, alleging more violations of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act and the Tennessee Public Records Act, among other state laws. (See Chattanooga Times Free Press story here.) Helen Burns Sharp Sharp won a lawsuit earlier this summer when a judge ruled that the Industrial Development Board (IDB) of Chattanooga violated the Sunshine Law when it approved tax-increment financing for a golf course community based on deliberations that took place outside of a public meeting. (See Chancellor Frank Brown's ruling). Sharp has tried to draw attention to the IDB's actions, saying they are making key [...]