Johnson City Press Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

12 Dec, 2016

Public records request reveals county dropped the ball in monitoring PILOT agreements

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-12T11:12:13-06:00December 12, 2016|Categories: economic development|Tags: economic development records, Johnson City Press, PILOTS, Washington County|0 Comments

Ten years ago, two Japanese companies agreed to bring jobs and investment to Washington County if the county gave them 10 years worth of tax breaks on their property, buildings and equipment. To monitor whether the companies met their promised job requirements, they were supposed to file annual job reports. If they fell short of the jobs promise, they lost a proportional amount of that year's tax break. Washington County Industrial Park (Nathan Baker) Sounds reasonable and fair, and the work of government officials trying to look out for the county's best interest. Problem was, the company did not file those annual reports -- at least until this [...]

15 Dec, 2014

Johnson City Press’ Robert Houk: Sunshine Law requires officials to be seen and heard

By Deborah Fisher|2014-12-15T16:54:45-06:00December 15, 2014|Categories: Open Meetings|Tags: audibility of public meeting, Eddie Overholt, Greene County, Greene County Industrial Development Board, Johnson City Press, open meetings violation, Robert Houk|1 Comment

The Johnson City Press Opinion Page Editor Robert Houk penned a strong column on the need for governing bodies to make sure citizens can hear their deliberations during a public meeting. He was writing in reference to a lawsuit in Greene County where citizens are suing the Industrial Development Board on allegations that it violated the Open Meetings Act when it held a meeting where parts of the deliberations were inaudible. When a citizen, Eddie Overholt, asked the board to speak up so people in the audience could hear, the county mayor who chaired the board ordered him out, and he was led away with his hands behind his back, arrested [...]

12 Nov, 2014

TCOG training gets some media coverage!

By Deborah Fisher|2014-11-12T17:52:33-06:00November 12, 2014|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Johnson City Press, TCOG training|0 Comments

ETSU student thanks TCOG after presentation. What terrific students. Lots of good questions and thoughts about what open government means. I don't often write on this blog about Tennessee Coalition for Open Government's activities, but since we got some unexpected coverage in Johnson City this week from the Johnson City Press, I thought I would share. So far in 2014, TCOG has done 13 educational presentations for journalists, citizens and college students about open records and open meetings laws in Tennessee, and how to use them. We've reached about 360 people directly through these presentations. (I have to say, TCOG training is one of the favorite parts of [...]

6 Nov, 2014

Group asks court to stop construction on US Nitrogen pipeline based on Open Meetings violation

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-18T07:37:25-05:00November 6, 2014|Categories: Open Meetings, open meetings lawsuits|Tags: Austin Powder Co., Greene County, industrial development board, Johnson City Press, open meetings violation, US Nitrogen|0 Comments

The Johnson City Press reports that a group of residents have asked for an injunction to halt construction of a water pipeline, saying a key approval to build it took place in violation of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. The pipeline would allow water to be drawn from the Nolichucky River and transported to a chemical plant in Greene County that is slated to make liquid ammonium nitrate, a component in industrial explosives. The water then would be treated and discharged back into the river. The plant has been controversial and various residents have filed separate lawsuits trying to stop it. The lawsuits have a common theme, saying key government processes [...]