Looking ahead to commission meeting

Remember that whole Seven Islands thing that some folks wanted to keep secret so Gov. Big Bill (yeah, I called him “Big Bill,” Betty, so get over it) could make the grand announcement? Well, right smack here to download the resolution that the Knox County Commission will discuss during Monday’s work session.

It says the state “has expressed an interest in establishing a state park” there to “further benefit the health and welfare of the” area.

It also notes that the state “plans to make a significant financial investment in the Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge to improve its facilities and to make the property even more of a benefit to the health and welfare of the public.”

Anyhoo, what else do we have for Monday’s meeting (which I don’t expect to last all that long)?

Well, looks like Commissioner Mike Hammond has a couple of items toward the end for discussion. 

He wants to talk about why Johnny Haun hasn’t paid any coin “toward his embezzlement of money.” As you might recall, Haun turned himself over to authorities back in April 2012. He’s accused of lifting a bunch of folding paper from the Trustee’s Office a looong time ago. Hammond brings this up periodically, but not sure a whole lot will happen until Haun pleads out, which he is expected to do.

His attorney has told me over the years that he does plan to pay back the county. 

Additionally, Hammond wants to talk about the possible realignment of commission districts. There’s been some talk about increasing the 11-member board or even decreasing it, so that there are no at-large seats.

I doubt this will get far right now. During the last realignment (what, like a year ago?), the commission got everything (nine districts) matched up with its counterparts in the school system. Of course, there has been some talk about maybe increasing the school board from nine to 11 members, so who knows? 

The commission also is expected to rubberstamp a recommendation by the Audit Committee to start the hiring process for a new internal auditor. In the meantime, Tracy Wright, who works in the office, will take over until someone new is brought on board.

I wrote a story the other day about the recommendations. Find that bad boy, right smack here.

(By the way, looks like the commission also will appoint former school board member Cindy Buttry to the Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals. Congrats to her.)

Ah, what else is there? Oh yeah, the commission also will talk about whether to approve a resolution expressing its support of the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, which allows more individual states the authority to streamline sales tax laws and collect the taxes directly from online retailers.

They would send this to U.S. Congressman Jimmy Duncan Jr. 

I got a newsletter from the good Congressman the other day. In it, he noted that he’s not exactly sure where he stands on this one. (Sure he’s not.)

Download that resolution, right smack here.

I’m out.

School board candidate Oster is eligible

Knox County school board candidate Gina Oster, who is running for the 3rd District seat to replace Cindy Buttry (who decided not to run again), is in fact allowed to run.

According to a long-winded letter written in fancy lawyer talk, she is eligible.

Click right smack here for the letter.

Apparently, there was a issue about this because Oster works for the school system. (Click right smack here for the story.) I'm not up-to-date on it because I don't follow all this school stuff (hey, I got enough keeping up with the county), but the rogue blogger pretty much called this last week.

School redistricting could get testy

Let's face it, the school board and county commission really don't like each other. No matter what they say.

I mean there's not necessarily an inherent hatred between the two bodies, but they just don't get along as much as they'd like to pretend.

So, when you see a school board member patting a commissioner on the back (or vice versa), it's not a sign of affection. The official is really just feeling for the soft spot.

To jab the knife into.

And I'm pretty sure the school board's early efforts to redraw its nine districts by the end of the year will be the latest example in the loveless relationship. (Which is cool because I'm tired of writing about Carter Elementary anyway.)

State law requires districts be redrawn at least every 10 years after the U.S. Census to make them as equal as possible, population-wise.

So, recently the good school folks who lord over the teachers who educate your children sought some clarity from the county law director's office.

They wanted to know whether the county commissioners (who lord over everyone else) really had the responsibility to redraw the lines.

Well, in a March 10 letter from Marty McCampbell to school officials, the attorney says: Yes, the legislative body calls the shots.

(Click here for the letter, which is mostly written in legal jargon if you really want to, or keep reading and I'll sum it up for you in Gorilla-ese.)

OK, still here?

McCampbell says “there is no constitutional provision that prohibits the Legislature from enacting laws which in some form or fashion are contrary to a local law set forth in a county's home rule charter.” (We operate under home rule by the way.)

She then cites a number of example where folks got their heads handed to them when they tried to challenge this.

Finally, she states (and this is great, especially the second sentence):

“All case law indicates that since the Charter and state law conflict, the state law supersedes the Charter. The final issue is whether the Commission wants to uphold the will of the people that voted for the Home Rule Charter and placed the power to redistrict in the hands of the Board.”

OUCH!

Now, six days later county commission Chairman Mike Hammond sent a memo to his buds on his board, saying:

“It is not my desire to have the Commission get involved or meddle in School Board districts; however, it is clear that any plan drafted by the School Board, by law, has to be approved by the Commission.”

(I love that “however” part.)

Hammond then says he's invited school board Chairwoman Indya Kincannon and school board member Cindy Buttry (who is the chair of the board's redistricting committee) to the March 28 commissioner luncheon to talk further.

And that, folks is where everyone will be patting everyone on the back!

You see, I'm thinking the school board members (at least some of them) want to have it both ways. They really believe they can redraw the district lines because the charter, they believe, actually trumps state law.

But, if that's truly the case, then the school board members should be subject to term-limits, which is what the charter requires. (Right? Maybe not.)

And, no, they don't want that.

But, whatever. It's just positioning.

Because, ultimately, what's happening is that the school board members want to base their districts upon school zone feeder patterns (elementary students go to such-and-such-middle school and then go to such-and-such high school, etc.) because they get their political support from the PTA's of those schools in those districts.

(Karen Carson was a former PTA president by the way. Not picking on her. Just saying. But obviously she'd want to redraw the lines along her political base.)

Politics. That's their real interest. It always is. Don't let them fool you into believing otherwise. Remember, the glass is always half-full.

So, what about the county commissioners? What's their rooting interest in all this? Why would they care how the school board redraws the lines?

They have their own districts, you ask. It won't hurt them, you say.

No. It won't.

But you don't think for a minute that some members won't use redistricting to settle old scores with the school board, do ya?

Heh.

That's what I thought.

(For more information, the election commission has some redistricting fun facts, and meeting times and other stuff that no one probably cares about until it happens. Check it out by clicking right smack here.)