Knox Co. Clerk Arnett drops mold lawsuit against PBA, county

Foster Arnett Jr.

Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr has dropped his “toxic mold spores” lawsuit against the county and the Public Building Authority, he confirmed to WBIR 10News on Thursday.

The move comes after Knox County Circuit Court Judge Bill Ailor ruled that Arnett could not sue in his official capacity as an elected official, but could as an individual. That means Arnett – and not the taxpayers – would have to cover his attorney fees.

In his order, filed July 14, Ailor notes that neither the state nor the county charter gives the county clerk, or any elected officeholder, the authority to pursue such a lawsuit against the county.

“Thus, the Knox County Clerk may not sue the PBA because that would be Knox county suing Knox County,” Ailor wrote. “Moreover, if the claims by Foster D. Arnett Jr. in his official capacity were allowed to proceed, the court notes that no matter the outcome of the case, the Knox County taxpayer would be the loser. If the plaintiff won, defendant PBA would use Knox County taxpayer money to pay the judgment. Additionally, if the defendant won, Knox County taxpayer money would pay the Knox County Clerk’s attorneys’ fees.”

Ailor also ruled that Arnett – because he can’t sue in his official capacity – cannot use money from the county’s general fund or his own office to pay his attorney fees.

Arnett told 10News that he "respects the judge's opinion" and opted not to further pursue the matter.

Arnett in February 2015 filed the lawsuit after, he said, the PBA failed to remove “toxic mold spores” form the Old Courthouse where he works. Arnett said the mold cause his health to deteriorate.

The PBA argued that he didn’t lack the authority to sue the county in his official capacity as the clerk.

Ailor agreed.

Since filing the lawsuit, Arnett has worked out of his Cedar Bluff satellite office.

Arnett: $345K collected in taxes

Foster Arnett

Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr. told the county’s Audit Committee on Thursday that his office has collected $345,815 in outstanding hotel and motel taxes that had gone uncollected during the past two years.

He said he has about $130,000 left to go after.

The discussion comes more than six months after an internal audit report said at least a dozen local hotels and motels owed the county an estimated $476,000 from the past two years alone, and that four hotels alone could owe an additional $255,000 "for periods outside the audit scope."

County lodgings are expected to charge a 5 percent occupancy tax that is used to fund tourism-related operations and programs in Knox County.

Arnett’s office is charged with collecting the money.

The county clerk took heavy criticism from other elected leaders, including many on the Knox County Commission, after the audit report was made public. Since then he’s sent letters to hotel and motel owners and also met with them to collect the outstanding taxes.

“There’s just a few left,” he said. “There is one that is fairly huge, but there’s a little here and there (from other motels).”

Arnett said he spoke with one hotel owner on Wednesday and “we made it very clear what their deadlines are.”

“We are following the law and working very closely with the law department to send out notifications,” he said. “We’re on the right track, I think.”

State law prevents the county from releasing the names of those who owe money, although state leaders are looking into changing that.

Arnett says he's collected $180K

The Knox County Clerk’s Office has collected between $175,000 and $180,000 in outstanding taxes from local hotels and motels, Clerk Foster Arnett told local leaders Monday.

At issue was some $476,000 in occupancy taxes that businesses owed from the past two fiscal years. Arnett has come under fire in recent months as county officials say his office failed to go after the money and failed to notify them that the debt existed.

In mid-August, he told the county’s Audit Committee that he’d begun sending letters to hotel and motel tax scofflaws in an effort to go after the money.

The meeting followed an internal report that says at least a dozen of the businesses owe the county almost half a million dollars, and that four hotels alone could owe an additional $225,000 for period that weren’t included in the audit.

Full story RIGHT HERE.

Commissioners, public: Some of Clerk's claims just not adding up

Clerk Foster Arnett Jr

Some thoughts on yesterday afternoon’s Knox County Commission meeting with Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr. in regards to the roughly $476,000 in estimated deadbeat hotel-motel tax debt.

First, know that there’s way more than $476K out there. It’s probably closer to $800K (we’re talking a period that dates back to 2009 and the $476K only touches a couple of years.).

Commissioners are not happy. Not overall they’re not. Poll the majority and a lot of them were not pleased with Arnett’s presentation yesterday.

Some felt like the numbers they got were not on the up and up, others felt the clerk’s office has taken a lackadaisical – at best – approach to collections, and others wondered just what is really going on.

A lot of claims, they (and people in attendance) told me after the meeting, just were not adding up.

So . . . here ya go.

During the meeting Arnett blamed – in part – his office’s inability to collect the $476K in folding paper on a short-staffed office.

Huh?

It appears that the majority of the commission isn’t buying this excuse. Seriously, this is an answer someone gives when they’ve had weeks to think about it. This is now an issue? Short staffed office? 

And the office has been short staffed for how long?

Commissioner Sam McKenzie said (I’m paraphrasing here): Spend some money to make money.

Don’t brag that you cut staff and expenses only to find out you’re not bringing in the coin.

Contradictions.

How many people actually owe this money? Arnett said he sent out two letters last week and then six are going out this week to the scofflaws. That’s eight.

When asked how many are more than 30 days behind, he said 12.

In interviews after the meeting, he told the media that it was eight.

The audit report suggests somewhere in the low 20s.

Arnett has claimed there’s nothing he can do about the deadbeats. There is. He can padlock doors. He can sell property.

He says he doesn’t want to do this and put people out of jobs.

WHAT?????

What do you think Knox County Trustee Ed Shouse is gonna say when Joe Blow tells him that he can’t pay his taxes? Is Easy Ed gonna give ol’ Joe a pass?

No, he’s not.

There’s no free passes here. Collect the money and quit making excuses.

Now, Arnett told the commission that he actually went down to padlock a door back in 2009. He said he had “chains in hand.” I wasn’t there, so we’ll just take him at his word. He said the owner came out and he promised that he’d cut him and check. Arnett said he did and that he’s been up to date since.

So, if this worked, then why aren’t we doing this every time?

Why is there $476K in coin out there?

Oddly enough, after the meeting, Arnett told reporters that he actually padlocked the door.

So which is it? Did you or didn’t you padlock a door?

OK, the local paper quotes Arnett as telling the commissioners: “If I’m not doing what needs to be done, there’s an election in three years, and someone else can take this over. We’re going by the law, by the book.”

That got a chuckle out of the back standing room. Talk about a red herring. Someone else is gonna take over his job in three years because Arnett is term-limited. (Of course he might have been talking about that long rumored run at mayor.)

There’s more.

Arnett tried an old political trick to soften the blow. Bait and switch.

He pointed out that his office during the past three years has collected more than $18 million in hotel-motel taxes and bragged about a 94 percent collection rate.

Um, this is called “doing the job.”

You’re supposed to have a 94 percent collection rate. Actually, when it comes to property tax collections, 98 percent is the average, so maybe 94 percent is low.

I don’t know.

I do know that that the manager at Tyson McGhee doesn’t brag that the airplanes over there all land safely.

You know why?

Because they are supposed to!

Now, people are going to think I’m picking on Foster. Heck, Foster is going to think I’m picking on him, and that’s fine. Whatever.

The ol blog is an equal-opportunity picker-on.

Just ask Foster’s last political opponent. We did a whole newscast on some of his claims.

In the meantime, I hope the people who owe the money pay up. I hope Foster doesn’t have to padlock doors, but if he comes to it, then he needs to.

Call up the media, bring out the cameras and chain the business.

That should get the others to listen.

The hotels.

The commissioners.

And the public.

Law suggests clerk has powers to go after tax scofflaws; Arnett says no

Clerk Foster Arnett Jr.

The Knox County Clerk's Office failed to collect almost $476,000 in taxes from local hotels and motels the past two years, according to a recent audit, and county leaders say the amount is probably much higher than that.

The clerk, however, said he can't do anything about it. He said his office doesn't have the enforcement powers to make someone pay up.

"There's no law that says we can do that and that's why it's so frustrating," county Clerk Foster Arnett Jr told WBIR 10News. "It's kind of like ... sending a police cadet out to write tickets, but all they can do is put a note under their windshield and say, 'Gee, I wish you didn't park here.'"

Arnett added: "There are uncollected taxes that are out there because up until this point all we could do is send a letter and say we want you to pay your taxes, and if they don't there's not relief there – there's no enforcement for us to go out after those folks."

State law indicates otherwise.

WBIR reviewed 1982 legislation that created the county's occupancy tax – a 5 percent fee charged to lodging guests that is used to fund tourism-related operations and programs in Knox County.
The legislation gives a county clerk the "powers and duties" of the commissioner of revenue that are established under the state's "Tax Enforcement Procedures Act."

That means the clerk can seize property "by any means" in order to obtain payment, so long as a 10-day notice is issued to the property owner, according to state law.

Once seized, the clerk also can padlock the doors and begin the legal process to sell the property.
Arnett, whose office is charged with collecting the tax, said he was not aware of the law.

Full story RIGHT HERE.

Knox County Clerk apologizes for 'offensive' Facebook posts

Foster Arnett Jr

Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr on Monday apologized for sharing on his personal Facebook page what the local Democratic Party called "highly offensive, hateful views."

The two-term Republican, who deactivated the private social media account, also told critics who might consider any ethics investigations against him to "bring it."

Arnett said the postings, which he removed soon after they were made public, came in the wake of the July 16 mass shootings at a Chattanooga military center that resulted in the deaths of four U.S. Marines and one U.S. Navy sailor.

Arnett said he was "deeply moved" and in the day that followed he "shared some things" on his Facebook page that went viral.

"If those comments offended someone, I'm sorry," Arnett told WBIR 10News on Monday.

The posts criticized politicians including President Barack Obama and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

One post shared on his page used a derogatory term for Muslims. Another called people who voted twice for Obama "stupid."

And one stated: "Ladies – If your (sic) man doesn't know how to fire a weapon, you have a girlfriend."

Read the complete story RIGHT HERE.

Knox Co. Clerk's Office to perform marriages only at downtown office

Arnett

This apparently has some folks up in arms. I don't really think it's a big deal, but whatever.

Here ya go:

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision last week to overturn state bans on same-sex marriage, a number of county clerks across Tennessee have opted to stop performing marriages altogether.

That's not the case in Knox County, said Clerk Foster Arnett Jr. But couples – gay or straight – will now have to make an appointment, and only his downtown Main Street office will perform a marriage.

Arnett said he put the change in place because he expects more people to get married.

"It's not a big deal," he said. "It's going to help everybody."

For years, the Clerk's Office performed marriages in its various satellite offices, but Arnett said they're "slammed," so he opted to change the policy.

"Marriages are going to go up, in part, because there are Clerk's Offices that won't perform same-sex marriages, so to better serve the public, we will require everyone to call in and make a reservation to get married," Arnett said.

He added that couples can still pick up marriage applications at any satellite office.

"If you look at Davidson County in Nashville, they (perform marriages) one day a week at one location," he said. "All we're doing is trying to streamline our efforts. It will help us so we can plan. This is for everybody – not just same-sex couples."

The downtown clerk's office is located at the Old Courthouse, 300 Main St. It's opened from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Attorneys with Knox County Clerk, PBA argue over courthouse mold lawsuit

Old Courthouse

A legal battle to decide whether Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr. can sue the Public Building Authority because it has allegedly failed to remove "toxic mold spores" from the Old Courthouse could come down to semantics.

Case law, according to the PBA, says Arnett can't file a lawsuit in his capacity as a public official without demonstrating that the spores have actually "impeded" his official duties as clerk. PBA attorney Morris Kizer said paperwork that Arnett filed with the courts notes that the mold merely "interfered" with his job.

Arnett, Kizer said, also currently and successfully continues to operate out of five other satellite offices, and has a crew of employees currently working out of the Old Courthouse in downtown that he claims is riddled with mold.

"Mr. Arnett is performing his statutory duties in other areas of the county and nothing about alleged mold is keeping him from doing those duties," Kizer told Judge William Ailor in Circuit Court on Monday. "I can walk over to the courthouse right now and get a car tag . . . but if for some reason that location is not available, there are (five) other locations in the county. So, while Mr. Arnett says this has been an interference, truly it is not an impediment."

Arnett's attorney, Darren Berg, said his client "needs to be at the courthouse to do his job."

"The PBA has failed to remediate the mold problem – just swept it under the rug and hopes it goes away."

He also accused Kizer of mincing words.

"I see no difference between the terms 'interfere' and 'impeded,'" he said. "I think if you look in the thesaurus you'd see the same thing."

But, the bottom line, Berg said, is that "there's toxic mold in a suite of offices that interferes with (Arnett's) duties."

Rest of story RIGHT HERE.

PBA, Knox County want circuit court to toss clerk's 'mold' lawsuit

Clerk Foster Arnett Jr

The Public Building Authority and Knox County have asked a judge to toss a lawsuit filed by Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr. in which he alleges that "toxic mold spores" in the downtown Old Courthouse where he works have caused his health to deteriorate.

In part, Morris Kizer, who is representing the county and PBA, said Arnett not only lacks the authority to sue the county in his "official capacity" as the clerk, but that "Knox County cannot sue Knox County," according to records filed late Monday in Knox County Circuit Court.

Kizer noted that state law does not grant Arnett – if he's acting in his capacity as clerk – the "right, power or authority to retain counsel to file such a suit."

Response: Motion to Dismiss

Earlier this year, Arnett hired his own attorney, Darren Berg, to represent him in his lawsuit.

Kizer, in court documents, also noted that state law considers public building authorities, such as the one in Knox County, to be "governmental entities."

That means, according to case law, the county is essentially suing itself – something it cannot legally do, Kizer stated.

"The plaintiff has no implied power, in his official capacity as Knox County Clerk, to bring an action against an agency of Knox County. Accordingly, the action must be dismissed," Kizer wrote.

Rest of story RIGHT HERE.

New report: Little if any mold found in Old Knox County Courthouse

Old Courthouse

An independent air quality assessment found few problems with mold in the old courthouse building downtown and suggested that it was safe for human occupation.

The investigation, conducted in late March and requested by the Knox County Mayor's Office, comes in the wake of a lawsuit filed against the county and the Public Building Authority by Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr., who says the building contains toxic mold that has hurt his health and forced him to do his work elsewhere.

PBA Executive Director Dale Smith said he asked Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett to have a third party assess the air quality throughout the building, which includes the clerk's office, some courtrooms and the elections administration. The county's purchasing office and its safety manager then hired Knoxville-based ES&H to take and analyze samples on March 24 in a number of rooms, including Arnett's office.

ANALYSIS: Air Quality Report

WBIR 10News and one of the area's top air quality assessors reviewed the 39-page report. The review indicated nothing particularly alarming about the results in the 19th-century era building.

"If I was an occupant, I would say that it was good, it was safe," said Mark Smith, director of the Environmental Health and Safety Unit for the University of Tennessee. "Unless I had some unusual health condition, I would say it would be safe for occupancy."

Foster Arnett Jr.

Smith, who oversees similar air quality tests for university facilities, said employees in the historic courthouse building are at "a far greater risk outdoors," and said the building's inside "didn't seem too bad."

"There were signs of moisture infiltration either in the past or the present, and there were surfaces that were damp, but the actual airborne levels of mold were low, which is good, and even the indicator organisms . . . those were all pretty good," he added.

He said the air samples the company tested "were good," but that the report noted some "humidity-moisture problems" that could eventually lead to mold problems.

But, he said "there was no visible colonized mold and the lift tape (a way inspectors test for mold) came back zero, which is good."

"Nothing stuck out," he said.

Rest of the story RIGHT HERE.

Knox County Clerk's recent U-Turn revives gasoline allowance debate

In a November 2013 interview, Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr. spoke proudly about his move to do away with his office's monthly gas allowance program. Eliminating it saved the county more than $50,000 since he initially took office years prior.

At the time, Arnett told 10News the allowances were nothing more than "free money" for some officials who took the blanket payment but did not actually drive anywhere. Arnett and his employees started using the same template as the federal government's reimbursement system – currently 57.5 cents per mile – to cover gas.

Things have since changed. Specifically, the changes include Arnett's health, his driving habits, and his desire for a monthly up-front allowance payment for gas.

Records show late last week, Arnett received approval from the county Mayor's Office to reinstate his gas allowance. That will amount to some $700 per month and $8,400 a year. That's the equivalent of driving 1,200 miles a month under the federal reimbursement template.

Arnett said he is now routinely hitting the road as he operates out of five satellite offices scattered across the county. That's because he says the main clerk's office in the Old Courthouse building in Downtown Knoxville is infected with black mold that threatens his health and survival.

The full story RIGHT HERE.

These travel allowances have always been controversial. The long-standing argument is that if government is going to pay for your gas, then why not fill out the slip? The answer? Convenience.

Heh.

Foster Arnett

I don't necessarily fault Foster for taking the check because it is a pain to fill out those forms, but I'm also not convinced that he'll travel 1,200 miles a month, either. I do, however, believe that if he re-locates back to the Old Courthouse, he will cut the payment again and go back to the reimbursement system. It's safe to say the guy doesn't want to be sick and actually wants to work out of the downtown building.

In the meantime, the city has 21 employees, mostly department heads, get more than $5,800 annually to cover gas. You can see the full list RIGHT SMACK HERE. From what I understand, the policy was put in place under former Mayor Victor Ashe, who wanted to give pay raises to some of his buds but not necessarily have them on the books. (If you ask to see someone's salary, the gas allowance doesn't show up.)

When Bill Haslam took over, he passed it along to all the department heads, much like the private sector. From what I understand, it's now essentially considered a recruiting tool, although I suspect all the people who have the jobs they have would have taken those jobs without the bonus.

There are 18 county officials who have allowances although 11 of them are county commissioners. You can find that list RIGHT SMACK HERE.

Law to regulate door-to-door sales

Knox County Commission

The Knox County Commission on Monday approved a new law that lets the county clerk deny a door-to-door soliciting permit to someone who has an outstanding warrant issued against them or has been convicted in the past decade of a "crime of moral turpitude."

The move, which was spearheaded by Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr., comes as a thrice convicted drug dealer who was also convicted of murder sought a license. Arnett declined to give him one, but the county's law department said he couldn't refuse.

Arnett then appealed to the commission to pass legislation.

"I think part of government's responsibility is to protect its citizens and I'm not giving someone with that background a license to go door to door," Arnett said. "I don't think it's right. I'm not saying anything bad about this guy, but he's been convicted of serious crimes."

Commissioner Mike Brown agreed.

"It's hard to draw a line in the middle when you're talking about crime," he said. "We have the responsibility of protecting those citizens just as much as (the sheriff and police chief) do."

Commission passed the measure in a 10-1 vote, with member Sam McKenzie dissenting.

The ordinance, which must be approved again next month on a second reading before it becomes official, also gives the clerk permission to revoke a license if it is discovered that there is an outstanding warrant against a license holder or a license holder has been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude within the past 10 years.

State law defines moral turpitude as an offense that contains "elements of fraud, theft, intent to cause great bodily harm, and sometimes lewdness, recklessness or malice."

McKenzie said he was concerned that 10 years was too long a time for some of the crimes.

"We're talking about perjury being equated with murder and that's not the same," he added.
The door-to-door permit costs $55 per month.

Knox Co. Clerk sues PBA over mold

Arnett

Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr. on Friday filed a lawsuit against the Public Building Authority because "toxic mold spores" in the courthouse where he works has caused his health to deteriorate.

"I didn't want to do it – it was a last resort," he told WBIR 10News Saturday. "As you can see in the complaint, two of my doctors say what I've got is life-threatening."

Filed in Knox County Circuit Court late Friday, the complaint does not seek punitive damages, but rather requests that the PBA remediate the building, and cover Arnett's legal and medical bills.

"We're asking the judge to immediately close my part of the building and get us out of there and into somewhere safe to work," Arnett said.

The Clerk's Office operates out of the Old Courthouse on Main Street in downtown Knoxville. It's the keeper of records for the Knox County Commission and it's where residents go to get a number of licenses, including marriage licenses, car tags or passports, for example. The Clerk's Office, like most county and city offices pays the PBA a sort of "lease" each month to take care of the building and provide security. The clerk's office pays $7,000 a month, which is not uncommon in local government.

MORE: Copy of the lawsuit

Arnett said his attorney, Darren Berg, will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. Monday at his firm Butler, Vines & Babb to talk more about the matter.

The lawsuit notes that Arnett filed "numerous complaints" with the PBA during the past year, but the problem wasn't fixed. He also said that the mold is affecting some of his employees.
PBA Director Dale Smith could not be reached for comment Saturday.

The lawsuit says the PBA did test for mold but the levels were within acceptable limits and that the mold was not alive. Arnett, however, had a third party take swabs of the office and discovered that the area walls where he works is "loaded" with black mold.

Looking into the recent claims made by Knox County clerk candidates

Padgett

If you're going to spit out a bunch of BS, the smartest move isn't to then challenge a reporter to fact check it.

Anyhoo, Knox County Clerk candidate Mike Padgett issued 10News a challenge: Investigate the claims he and his opponent, incumbent Clerk Foster Arnett Jr, made during a recent edition of Inside Tennessee.

“We need to go to the finance department and find out those figures with the investigative reporter and find out how many millions of dollars Foster has turned over, and how many millions of dollars our administration turned over,” Padgett, who served as the clerk from 1986 to 2007, said during the June 1 program.

Well, we over here at WBIR did just that.

Padgett, though, might not be too happy about what we found.

Here’s a look:

1) STATEMENT: Padgett said that “we turned over millions of dollars . . . every year in fees to the county government.” Arnett said that his administration “turned over $6 million in the six years that I’ve been in office.”

BACKGROUND: The county clerk’s office collects various fees. The money first goes to paying the staff and covering a reserve tank that will keep the office running for three months. The rest is turned over to the county’s general fund. WBIR reviewed recent financial statements and the past 11 comprehensive annual financial reports that an external auditor puts together for the county each year.

Arnett

FINDING: Arnett’s claims were accurate, according to financial records. Padgett’s were not. From fiscal years 2009 to 2012, Arnett turned over a combined $5 million. His office has already turned in $1 million for the current fiscal year, which wraps up at the end of this month. From fiscal years 2002 to 2008, Padgett’s administration turned over a combined $3 million. His office didn’t turn over any money during fiscal years 2002-04.

2) STATEMENT: Padgett said his office printed “every (car) title in the state of Tennessee” and that the state “would send it to us. Nashville would send it to us,” referring to contract work that would allow the county to print the titles. He said Arnett “lost” the contracts. Padgett said if he was elected he would “go to Nashville and I will receive contracts from the state of Tennessee to make that a recurrence.” Arnett disagreed, and said that “things have changed since my opponent has been in office” and that the state has “changed the way the titles are done in all 95 counties.”

BACKGROUND: The county did not print titles for “every” county in the state. At one time, it printed titles for at least 10 East Tennessee counties, according to records. However, about the time Arnett took office, the state gave counties the go-ahead to print their own titles, something most counties wanted to do anyway because every title printed equals an extra $3 in fees for the county that prints it. State officials say Padgett could not just go to Nashville and sign contracts to get this work. Further, they said, at this point no county prints titles for any other county. They all print their own.

FINDING: Padgett could not carry out his proposal.

3) STATEMENT: Padgett took issue with the county using Business Information Systems, or BIS, as its third-party provider to help the office submit information to the Tennessee Department of Revenue. He said “Foster is using that service. There are other providers around Tennessee. The state has no direct influence on what the county does. They would love to have help in the state of Tennessee for counties that don’t have providers.”

FINDING: If Padgett won, he would more than likely be stuck with BIS. According to the Department of Revenue, that company provides services to 92 of the state’s 95 counties. Shelby County uses its own in-house IT shop, and Stewart County “processes only limited manual transaction.” Sevier County uses eGovernment Solutions as a third party provider. However, that company is run by Padgett’s son, Mark, which would more than likely create a conflict of interest if he brought the business onboard.

Padgett, a Democrat, and Arnett, a Republican who is in his first full term, will face off in August’s general election. The winner will take over on Sept. 2.

Wiser releases official candidate announcement for register of deeds

Donald Wiser is running as an independent against Knox County Register of Deeds Sherry Witt. He initially picked up a nominating petition to run for the sheriff's post as well. What follows is his official announcement that he is seeking Witt's post.

In it, I think he believes that there's some kind of conspiracy against him to run for sheriff. I'm not sure as the news release makes little sense (at least to me). However, as I've stated before, send me your election stuff and I'll post it.

The general election is set for August. Neither has an opponent in the May primary.

On a side note, Wiser talks about Sheriff Jimmy "J.J." Jones and Witt seeking a third term in office, and says the law doesn't allow this.

No, not true. The voters recently amended the charter to define what a "term" is, and it doesn't include prior appointments. (JJ and Sherry each served roughly two years - as did Clerk Foster Arnett Jr - before winning their respective political races back in 2010.)

So, anyhoo, here ya go:

On 20 February 2014, I was forced to make a decision as to what course I was to travel in an endeavor to bring the honest and efficient government that the citizens of Knox County rightly deserve and to which they are entitled under the Constitutions of the United States, the State of Tennessee and the Knox County Charter.

But the road to the office of Knox County Sheriff is blocked with unconstitutional barriers that cry out for justice as surely as did the poll tax in times gone by.

A small county Peace Officer Standards and Training certified jailor with three years’ service and a GED qualifies as a candidate for sheriff.

The law requiring candidates for sheriff to be POST certifiedfor three of the last 10 years is an unconstitutional, incumbent-protection measure written to exclude qualified opponents. It denies my constitutional right to run for sheriff even though I am a career police officer, had 24 years of POST certification, and served as a POST commissioner.

I am an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Navy and hold a BS in criminal justice from East Tennessee State University and an M.S. plus 40 hours in Health and Safety Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I have also completed 2 years of law school at Nashville School of Law.

I have been a Criminal Justice instructor at Walters State Community College, an administrator at a treatment program at Mountain View Youth Development Center in Dandridge, have taken a course in FBI Instructor Development and attended the Tennessee Correctional Academy along with numerous related police schools and training for Drug and Alcohol Counseling.

But under this unconstitutional and downright unconscionable law, I am not qualified to be a candidate for sheriff.

In addition to my educational background, I have 6 years as a field auditor with the Trustee's Office and private sector experience in land management.

Unlike the incumbent sheriff and register of deeds, who hand out promotions based on the good ol’ boy system, I understand company needs and people needs and the need for accountability and transparency in government.

The Hutchison-Moore Machine conceived both Jimmy “JJ” Jones and Sherry Witt on Black Wednesday. They were appointed, then unappointed by the court, elected for a term, re-elected for a second term and are now running for the third time.

If my math serves me right this will be three terms, not the two that the law allows.

Arnett Jr. sets re-election kickoff

Foster Arnett Jr.

Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr. will hold his re-election kickoff and first fundraiser on Thursday, Feb. 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The event, which is open to the public, will be held at the home of John Trotter, located at 3106 Kingston Pike. The house used to be the Dulin Art Gallery but has since been completely restored.

Arnett said he’s asking for $100 donations per person, but they are not required.

The clerk’s office is responsible for keeping the officials minutes and records of the Knox County Commission and its standing committees. It’s also the place where you go if you want to renew your car tag, get a drivers’ license renewed, pick up a passport or marriage license, etc. In other words, the office oversees a lot of stuff.

Foster, a Republican, so far has no competition in the May primary. The general election will be held in August. Former clerk, Mike Padgett, is running as a Democrat.

Padgett expected to run for clerk

Word going around is that Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr., a Republican, will have some competition in August's general election. (He's not expected face an opponent - or one of any merit, anyway - in the May primary.)

Mike Padgett, a Democrat, who was term-limited out of the clerk's office in 2007, has picked up - or plans to up - a nominating petition for the seat. And yes, before you ask, he can run again. Term limits apply to the amount of terms in a row someone can serve, rather than the overall number of terms.

The last time Padgett, as I recall, was really involved in politics was a failed bid in the Democratic Primary for the U.S. Senate in 2008.  His son, Mark, lost the city mayoral bid a couple years ago to Madeline Rogero in a non-partisan race.

Arnett announces top winter worker

Figured I'd mention this:

Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr. named Julie Gass, a long-time worker in his office, as "employee of the quarter" for winter 2013.

Gass serves  as a drivers license and motor vehicle clerk in the Cedar Bluff satellite office. She is a native of the Carter community and earned a degree in marketing from the University of Tennessee where she graduated in 1992.

Foster praised her "upbeat attitud and her ability to help customers."

"There are not enough adjectives to describe her helpfulness and fotitude, and I wish there were ten more like her," he said.

She has worked at the clerk's office for 18 years.

Due to snow, more things closing

And a few more closing updates. Big Sexy Grider just checked in to let everyone know that the county's highway department is out right now, treating roads with salt and brine. He added that most of the trucks also are equipped with snow plows.

In addition, the Tazewell Pike Knox County Solid Waste Convenience Center is closing early; County Clerk Foster Arnett emailed in that his office closed at 3 p.m. today; and all health department locations are closed for the rest of the day.

On a side note, there were a bunch of knuckleheads on "the site" yesterday who didn't believe it would snow. But are you really surprised that those commentators were wrong? Yeah, didn't think so.

Until Grider sends in another update . . . .

Voters to vet odd term limit rule

Not sure if you saw this one, but this is from today's paper, a story about the No. 7 proposed charter amendment. Click right smack here for some awesomeness.

Anyhoo, it reads in part:

It's a quirky law that deals with one of Knox County most controversial matters – term limits – yet it appears to be pretty much toothless.

And now voters have the chance to get rid of, save taxpayers a couple of bucks and spare the Knox County clerk a few minutes of his time each year.

At issue is proposed amendment change No. 7 that appears on Tuesday's ballot.

It asks voters whether the county should no longer require the clerk each year to write to a number of top ranking elected officials, stating “the people's support of term limits at both the state and federal levels.”

And yes – before you ask – Knox County Clerk Foster Arnette Jr. actually does it.

“I don't want to be in violation of any law, no matter how small it may seem,” said Arnett, who had no idea the task would be part of the duties when he took over the office in 2000.

No, none,” he said, chuckling.

You can find the letters Arnett wrote to federal leaders right smack here. And right smack here for the ones sent to the state officials.