Five gone from property assessor's office

OK, by now you've probably heard that Knox County Property Assessor Phil Ballard has begun cleaning house. So to speak.

As of this entry, he's canned five people. On paper, however, three have been laid off, one resigned and one retired.

I'm not going to print their names. Think if would be kind of mean, actually, which is kind of funny, since I call the City County Building the “Deathstar,” and a lot of mean people work there, as well as some nice people, and at this point I'm rambling.

Anyhoo, here's the deal on them. (All were appraisers by the way.)

• Male, hired 12-1-89, earned $43,500. Laid off.
• Female, hired 1-8-2003, earned $29,300. Laid off.
• Male, hired 11-2-09, earned $28,300. Laid off.
• Male, hired 12-17-84, earned $27,700. Retired.
• Female, hired 7-1-94, earned $35,300. Resigned.
  

Ballard essentially said he let them go because they resisted working with the new office stuff.

I'm sure there are quite a few people who aren't buying that.

And, then somewhere in the middle . . . .

Officials to cut local state legislative office

Awhile back Knox County Mayor Tim “Cheapskate” Burchett cut a number of jobs, including one he really didn't have authority over. That was the $50,000 spot in the Legislative Office held by Patsy Miller. (She has since retired. And Burchett did actually broach the idea with members of the local Legislative delegation. But I digress.)

Anyhoo, state Rep. Ryan, Haynes, R-Knoxville, and state Sen. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, are sponsoring legislation that wipes out the entire department. Not that there was really anything left to wipe out, but it now means another governing body or official later on can't just fill the job.

Click right smack here for the state House version of the bill.

I'm not positive about what the office actually did, but from what I understand it was more an answering service for the local state senators and representatives.

End of fiscal year means job losses

Today was the end of the county's fiscal year 2010-2011, and that means five employees were officially laid off.

The county lost one full-time employee in its Legislative Delegation office, one full-time administrative assistant in human resources and one worker at a senior center.

Two part-time workers also left - one in the finance department, another in human resources.

In addition, one full-time IT employee will leave in October.

Another two workers, slated to leave, were transferred. One person in the parks and recreation department went over to air quality and a human resources worker who worked in the employee wellness program is going over to the health department.

Both of those employees start their new jobs on Friday, the first day of the new fiscal year.

Random thoughts on county stuff

So, did you miss me? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Been pretty busy lately. Hate that I didn’t update here, but I mostly do this stuff at home, and really – quite frankly – just didn’t feel like it.

No, what happened was Blogger, the platform or website or whatever this is that I use, went down. It deleted some posts, etc., so I didn’t want to put up anything else until the kinks got worked out.

Or whatever it is the greed-heads over at Google do when they’re not in a spitting match with Facebook.

Anyhoo, so I had a bunch of stuff, but I didn’t put anything on paper or monitor, so what you’re about to get is, ah, just some random shots, I suppose, while I wait for my pizza and put in the first season of Nurse Jackie. Is the show any good?

In other words, you get the quick ramblings instead of the long ones. Or whatever.

First up: I noticed the other day that county Law Director Joe Jarret started a Facebook page “Joe Jarret for Law Director.” Jarret, a Republican who was appointed last year by the county commission to replace Bill Lockett (man that was a disaster, wasn’t it), hasn’t filed an appointment of political treasurer form with the election office yet. And, petitions to run in next March’s election won’t be available until September. As it stands, though, he’s the first to – while not technically official – throw his hat in the proverbial political ring. I’m sure others will step up. I remember during interviews for the job I heard a lot of “he’s not from around here” BS from the other applicants. That attitude alone will bring out candidates.

Next up - and this one is to Laura Braden, who sends emails on behalf of Knoxville mayoral candidate Mark Padgett. I think she’s running his campaign or something. Laura, if Mark is too cheap to buy me those beers, then just say so. And that means actually picking up the phone and calling – not sending emails, cancelling his lunch appointments every time you/him/whoever run into “scheduling conflicts,” which oddly enough happens every time I pick on one of Padgett’s silly “news” releases. Oh well.

Third - and this is an old one, but I’ve wanted to say it forever. A few folks in the Deathstar forgot the Golden Rule: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Fourth - and this one goes to county Mayor Tim Burchett. The next time you propose full-time job cuts – and actual bodies get laid off – try to make sure they’re not all minorities and seniors. It just doesn’t look good when they are. Or when most of them are. (I imagine once this one gets posted I’ll get a call from communications manager Michael Grider refuting it. Update to follow. Heh.)

Fifth (and I’ll probably get slammed for this one but I don’t care): I was at the county commission meeting briefly today. Sentinel reporter Rebecca Ferrar was filling in for me, but I had to stop by to interview some folks. Apparently 20 people attended the budget hearing to speak out against the proposed funding cuts – about 92 percent – to the Beck Cultural Exchange Center.

The mayor has proposed a reduction from $150,000 to $12,000. Wow, that’s some major coin. Now, I know people are going to turn this into a West vs. East (where the center resides) issue or a black vs. white issue, or a whatever issue.

It’s not.

Look, Burchett is a Republican. And that’s not to disparage the guy, but – and I’m stereotyping here, I know – Republicans cut this kind of stuff. (At least more so than Democrats.) The administration is slashing prices throughout the Deathstar’s parking lot. (Except for schools because it really can’t, and in public safety because it doesn’t want to deal with The Man with the Badge).

And yeah, cultural centers, non-profits, whatever enhance the makeup of communities. But, they’re also the first things axed when looking for savings. Burchett campaigned on smaller government. He’s doing it (or attempting to) right now.

That’s a fact. He didn’t hide it. He said he was going to make some cuts people wouldn’t like. And he said he was going to lay off folks.

But I digress.

Anyway, the Beck Center and the county – under the Mayor Mike Ragsdale administration – had a deal where the county would help fund it, if Beck officials turned over the property (and go through the process like other non-profits). That never happened. In the meantime, the Beck Center received a ton of money. The county eventually backed out when Center officials didn’t hold up their end of the deal.

To Burchett – I’m assuming here, I admit – the Center is now a private, non-profit entity. And I think it’s an important center that serves the black community, but it’s not a county-funded operation, like – for example - a senior center.

Also – and I don’t know the answer to this – but I think you have to keep in mind just how much money the Center brings in. What is its economic impact (which is actually a silly way to measure things because most people just juice the numbers anyway)? If it doesn’t bring in the scratch, then It’s not going to get the coin.

I know it’s easy to be an armchair quarterback. And people aren’t going to agree. (Hey, we all know where to cut the budget, right?) But, whatever. We’ll know more shortly.

The commission next week will continue picking through Burchett’s proposed budget, and I’m sure – no, I know – the issue will be revisited.

I had a few more items to ramble about, but it’s getting late.

And I want to see if that show is any good.

Some senior center outrage

The word I’m hearing is that some commissioners aren’t too happy with the administration’s reluctance to tell department heads how many – and which of their people – were getting laid off. I believe the number is around eight actual bodies. As noted right smack here officials weren’t informed until after the proposed budget was made public.

I’m not sure how all this will translate. The county commission on Monday (from noon to 2 p.m. at the Deathstar) will begin picking through the annual spending plan. At that time, however, they’ll be talking about schools, the sheriff’s office, the health department, and engineering and public works.

I think the school budget is pretty much set. The Man with Badge told me that he’s content with his proposal, although I know he wants some raises for his deputies (they haven’t received any in at least four years). The health department folks? I don’t know what they’ll do. And, I seriously doubt interim public works Director Dwight Van de Vate will say much, because he got hooked up this year. Or about as hooked up as the administration is going to give any department that isn’t the school system or law enforcement.

With that said (you knew this was coming, didn’t you), I talked to a resident yesterday who also is not happy about the administration keeping quiet on the layoffs.

In fact, Jean Coleman told me that she has started a petition to get the funding re-instated for a staffer over at the Frank Strang Senior Center. Apparently, they have a three-person operation over there. Come July 1 – the start of the new fiscal year – they’ll have a two-person deal if the budget is approved as proposed.

Not all the senior centers took hits, but Strang did. The largest. Almost $30,000. Here’s the link to the budget right here. The senior center numbers are on page 17, so you have to do a little scrolling.

It could get interesting. Cause, you know, seniors love to vote.

Political Leverage done but not Dan

“Parkinson's drains you mentally, physically, financially and emotionally. To give you insight I used to type like 100 words a minute. Now I am down to 10 and use a voice dictation system.” – Dan Andrews

Dan Andrews, left, has always been very kind to me. So when he announced that he was shutting down his blog, Political Leverage, because of his deteriorating health, I felt bad. (And that takes a lot. I really don’t have a conscience.)

I wanted to write a nice, little send-off piece; something witty, something profound about him. Maybe even something kind. Return the favor.

But, words, often, are too small to fill the worth of some circumstances.

So I really don’t know what to say.

When I moved to Knoxville, Dan was one of the first people I met, who hung out the Deathstar, didn’t work there and actually enjoyed it. (The guy loves his local politics.) I didn’t really know a whole lot about him, but he was usually taking pictures, usually talking about current issues. Granted, I didn’t always agree with what he said – or with his angle for that matter – but he did do his research.

Hell, when the mayor said he was going to cut jobs, Dan called it almost on the nose. I’m still scratching my head over the bizarre formula he used, but, wow, he got the numbers right. Dean Rice, the county’s chief of staff, later told me he that he, too, was surprised. (The administration certainly wanted to keep it under wraps until the budget was released.) So, way to go, buddy.

But, I digress.

Like I said, Dan was one of the first folks I met. He’s also the first person – and to this day – only person I’ve met that has Parkinson’s. Sure, I’ve seen Muhammad Ali and Michael J. Fox, in televised interviews, struggle with its effects. And I’ve read about it. But, it’s not until you see the disease upfront, in person, that you realize just how debilitating it can really be.

“Some days I’m fine, some days I’m shaking like a leaf,” he told me the other day.

Dan is in his 30s. That’s not really fair. If it was me, I’d be bitter. And maybe he is. But, he’s never let on. No, he kept pecking away at his keyboard, typing out his blog.

And taking pictures. Some pretty good ones, too.

But, back to his blog. I never really read the local stuff until work mandated that I do my own. So, during the past few months – every morning – I read through a handful of them. And Dan’s was one. (Shock and Awe, Humphrey on the Hill and Knoxviews are some of the others.)

I have to say, it was always interesting. He had surveys, video interviews and some inside baseball that you don’t often find anywhere else. (I suppose that’s what blog are about.) But, he also had a passion to cover minor meetings in the nooks and crannies that other reporters (my paper included) don’t reach. So that was cool, too.

I wish he left all that stuff up. But he didn’t. The only post left is his departing message. I encourage you all to read it. In fact, I also encourage you to read Brian Hornback’s post about Dan if you haven't already.

Here is some of what Dan says:

“My original goal was to have this awesome successful blog that would cover my rising medical bills. Ooops, that didn't happen. With time gas and energy the reverse was happening. This blog was actually costing me money. The thing with Parkinson's is the medical bills don't go down. My pipe dream was I could cover politics and save my life. Ha, ya unrealistic now that I look back on it but hey it was worth the shot.”

He then goes on to write about how the disease is affecting him. Again, please read it.

In the meantime, Dan is going to still to hang at the Deathstar and he’ll still pop up at a political rally or two. And from what I understand, he’ll still work as a freelance photographer. I also told him that if he shoots video, I’ll post some stuff here.

So, that’s cool, too.

As a final note, if you’re feeling a little charitable, why not throw a few dollars over to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

I know I will.

You have got to be kidding me

There are so many jokes I can make right now but won't.

Anyway, if you're looking for work and you're qualified, then the county - despite Mayor Tim Burchett's insistence that layoffs are coming - has a job for you. Click here.

On a side note, the mayor did say that he wouldn't initiate a hiring freeze, and that crucial, or critical, or whatever, jobs that were vacant might get filled. I guess this one qualifies. And apparently fits the bill. Or bra. (OK, that was a bad joke.)

Also, the job is actually funded with a federal grant under the WIC program, according to county Communications Manager Michael Grider, who started doing damage control right after I initially made this post.

Still, it's your tax dollars. It's just not coming out of the county's budget. I hope.

• Credit goes to Dan Andrews who blogs on Political Leverage. He showed this to me on Facebook.

Mayor: Do as I say, not as I do

Apparently, the administration – even in the face of proposed layoffs – can hire (or sign off on) any new employees. And it has.

You know, a few folks in risk management. Maybe a guy who knows the chief of staff for a nice Community Outreach manager position. Some people over in the engineering department.

But, it didn’t want to sign off on some pay raises for three workers in the Retirement and Pension Board (department). You see, awhile back, the board – which doesn’t answer to the administration by the way – agreed to let Executive Director Kim Bennett hire a new employee.

Instead, she gave three current workers more responsibilities and raises – including “one sizeable raise.”

But, the pay-bumps were under what it would have cost to hire a new worker. And, she is still going to come under her overall budget for this year.

However, the county's finance director (and mayor's representative on the pension board) John Troyer – apparently at the mayor’s orders – told the board this morning that sBennett probably shouldn’t give the salary increases. He said other “regular employees” haven’t received raises in years and with layoffs pending it wouldn’t send a good message to the rest of the workforce.

“I’m not trying to challenge the authority of this but (rather) the wisdom of the move at this time,” said Troyer, more than likely realizing the mayor had just thrown him under the bus on this one.

The good doctor and Commissioner Richard Briggs, also a pension board member, pointed out that “there’s a difference between a pay raise and a promotion.”

In a 8-1 vote the board agreed, signing off on the promotions and salary increases.
Troyer was the dissenting vote.

This probably would have been a good time for county Mayor Tim Burchett to not miss a meeting for a board on which he serves. He says that Troyer is his stand-in for him on the pension board because because Troyer “understands finances better than anyone I know.”

That might be true.

But this wasn’t a case of understanding finances.

And Burchett argues better than Troyer.

Are they for real or blowing smoke?

Some thoughts about today’s story, and the county’s upcoming budget.

If you believe everything – and I’m not saying it isn’t true – but if you believe everything top officials are saying right now, then you believe that the county is borderline broke.

The magic money-making printing press that once resided under a secret City County Building staircase? It’s long gone.

The last guy must have taken it with him.

Heh.

So that means changes. Lots of them. Cuts. Layoffs. Whatever.

Maybe.

I’ve seen this all before. (But we’ll get to that in a minute).

Last Friday semi-new Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett held a “Come to Jesus” meeting with a number of his top aides. He told them to make cuts in their budgets or he would do it for them. They had until Wednesday to give him their preliminary drafts. Most did. The others are on their way. (The school system won’t turn one in until the School Board has gone through it, so that’s way later and a way different story.)

“The mayor made it clear what he wanted, but he’s not going to give them a magic number,” Burchett’s right-hand-man, Dean Rice, told me. “He wants to see what they’ll come up with and we’ll go from there.”

I wondered: Does Burchett have a specific number in mind?

No, he doesn’t, Rice said.

The mayor, though, does still plan to lay off employees. He has roughly 910 who work under him, earning a combined $34.5 million annually. He isn’t, however, expected to lay off anyone in his actual office. (He and Rice say they made enough cuts when the two came in last September.)

Now then, I suppose, it’s up to your to decide whether the mayor is serious. Or whether this all a ploy, smoke and mirrors.

Will the administration make the threatened cuts and use the money to pay off debt (as Rice has said), or is it all a game? Will the administration make a lot of noise and then – somehow, somewhere – find the printing press, save the jobs and look good?

I don’t know.

But I’ll tell you: Nothing so far appears new to me.

The setup looks like every other government I’ve covered, in every other town, every other time I’ve done it.

Still, we have some months before May 1 when Burchett turns the annual spending plan over to the 11 commissioners. And no doubt between now and then those folks will throw out a few well-heard catch phrases like: “We have to trim the fat” or “We’re going to cut it to the bone” or (my favorite) “I’m going to go line by line and find more savings.”

You see, I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ve head the proposals. I’ve read the language. Threats, promises, whatever. They’re always made. But then nothing usually changes. Or if it does, you won’t really notice.

Take last year for example. At the time, then-Mayor Mike Ragsdale asked his department heads to give him several different budget proposals, including one that sliced as much as 8 percent off each plan.

But in the end, Ragsdale’s overall budget was reduced from the previous year by about $600,000. He balanced the general operating plan with $3 million from reserves.

Commissioners, before they got it, threatened to cut travel allowances, positions, expenses, blah, blah, blah.

Commissioners, after they got it, barely blinked.

I don’t know if things will be different this time around, with a new mayor.

But, I do believe the county’s $620 million debt frightens the administration (or Burchett and Rice pictured above). Actually, I think it terrifies them.

Unfortunately for the mayor, however, he doesn’t have a lot of places to cut.

Right now, 62 percent of the county’s overall current $647.1 million annual spending plan goes to schools. You think those officials are going to make serious reductions? Me neither.

Another 10 percent of the budget is for the sheriff’s office. I doubt “JJ” is making any cuts, either. And as a public safety policy, I’m not sure I want him to. But that’s not for me to decide.

Another 10 percent of the budget goes to paying off the aforementioned debt.

Really, the mayor doesn’t have a lot to play with. (Relatively speaking of course. There’s still tens of millions out there.) So – and if the mayor isn’t blowing smoke – it’s the executive branch that hits the chopping block.

That means, possibly, reductions in services, like engineering, recreation, libraries, etc. That means jobs. That means fewer projects. That means whatever.

Or, it means nothing.

We’ll just have to wait and see what happens during the next few months.

Burchett and his buddies, or not

I've been hearing some rumors in the wake of Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett's plans to lay off employees.

In recent weeks a number of folks have called or emailed, telling me that he's hired his own family members, he's hired his wife's family members, and he's hired his old fraternity running mates.

OK, I'm pretty sure the first two aren't true, based on checking recent human resource department records.

Now for the third category.

Here's exactly how the tip was worded:

"Burchett hired two people for the Risk Management office who don't really do anything.”

The caller then said “he's hiring old fraternity connections.”

It can be tough to substantiate these type of claims. But I called the mayor. Twice. (If he did something wrong he's not going to tell me, but it was worth making a call.)

Burchett (pictured above) said all county employees under the executive branch purview go “through the normal hiring process,” which means submitting an application to the human resources department.

“I don't get in on the hirings,” he said, adding that he knocked on 6,000 doors during his campaign, and grew up – the son of two well-known local educators – in Knoxville his entire life. “Out of 900 employees, chances are I'm going to know more than one.”

Do these guys work, I asked, or are they hiding away in a cubby hole and pulling in free money.

“If they aren't working, then they're going to find themselves on the unemployment line,” Burchett said.

He said if the two new hires are not working, then “they're going to find themselves on the unemployment line.”

At least one of the new hires is, however, a member of the mayor's old fraternity, Sigma Chi. But, so are our two US Senators, the governor and John Wayne were members, Burchett pointed out, insinuating that there was no connection.

I'm not defending the mayor. I'm just laying out what I've learned.

So, what about the two new workers?

The so-called fraternity member applied for an “assistant risk officer” position. The duties include a bunch of mumbo-jumbo that I'm too lazy to translate for you. Minimum training includes a bachelor's degree in any number of subjects. The person who got this job listed $85,000 as an expected salary. He was hired Dec. 6 and makes $52,139.41.

(He did not include a resume with his application, which says he graduated from the University of Tennessee, but doesn't list a degree earned. His past jobs are in sales and management, according to the application. I hope his interview was more spectacular than what's available publicly.)

The other new hire got paid more in the ballpark he requested. Risk Management hired a new “OSHA coordinator” Oct. 25, and he earns $35,802. He listed “$34,271-$47,980” as an expected salary on his application. He, too, graduated from UT and earned a degree in finance – which appears to be one of the requirements for the job.

(On a side note, he actually submitted a resume that listed a number of safety and security, and inspection-related experience.)

There you have it.

You be the judge.