Duncan retirement talks cost $568

For what it’s worth. Looks like one of the county pension board’s law firms billed the board some $568 in September as officials figured out just how much of his retirement former Knox County Trustee John Duncan III should get back.

At this point, it looks like he’ll get back all the money he put in. However, the coin from the county match will go into an escrow account (where it will still lose or gain) for now. If Duncan, who pleaded guilty to felony official misconduct in July, completes the terms of judicial diversion, then he’ll get the rest.

If not, then, well, no.

Here’s a look at the receipts from attorney Bill Mason of Kennerly, Montgomery and Finley:

Sept. 11: Billed for 30 minutes to the tune of $55.50 for an office consultation with Bill Mason, regarding “J. Duncan’s guilty plea to official misconduct and whether plea would result in forfeiture of retirement plan benefit.”

 Sept. 11: Billed for a one hour telephone conference with Pension Board Executive Director Kim Bennett for $285 regarding his withdrawal and rollover in his retirement plan, which is somewhat like a 401(k). According to the notation, the two discussed “the reimbursement of county and forfeiture provisions applicable for a felony conviction involving official county duties. There was also an office conference regarding “criminal law and status of the case and judicial diversion.” There also was a telephone conversation with Knox County Law Director Bud Armstrong about “county position on the charter forfeiture provisions.” And a telephone conference with Bennett regarding “further email from J. Duncan re follow up on same.”

Sept. 12: Billed $228 for 80 minutes. Apparently, the attorney reviewed the email from Duncan to Bennett. Attorney also drafted email from Bennett and Armstrong confirming the discussion from the previous day, and “with proposed response to J. Duncan re forfeiture provisions. Review her email to J. Ducan re same.”

McCroskey not expect to say too much

Joy McCroskey

Knox County Criminal Court Clerk Joy McCroskey during Monday’s County Commission meeting is expected to address the board to talk about the problems in her office.

Now, there’s a lot of folks out there drooling, just waiting for what she says, expecting some fireworks.

However, if she sticks to script (and I’m not telling you who helped her with it), then she is going to say very little. She will briefly address the board and she will not take questions (there’s liability reasons, and, quite frankly, it’s not in her personal best interest). That’s if she sticks to script.

Do not expect a whole lot of noise from Commissioner Mike Hammond, who has announced his intentions to take on Joy in May’s Republican primary, during the meeting. After it? That’s a different story.

The Audit Committee on Tuesday will more than likely agree to recommend to the commission to audit the department. (Whatever that means.) The News Sentinel will then send out 9 million text alerts treating this “breaking” news like a Mafia hit. Heh.

Keep in mind, if the committee does make the recommendation – it’s just that, a recommendation. The commission will make the final decision and that won’t come until mid-November (since it’s a holiday month). 

It will then take about six months to audit the office. At least.

Errors impacting some Knox voters

The fallout continues from mistakes made in the Knox County Criminal Court Clerk's Office. Here's the latest from the WBIR investigation, right smack here, that talks about how some of the mistakes are affecting voters.

Criminal Court Clerk Joy McCroskey did not return calls seeking comment yesterday. I imagine if she did, she would have someone to blame, perhaps the cleaning lady, for the mistake. On Monday, she's supposed to clear her name during the Knox County Commission meeting. From what I understand she's going to use documents from her office to do this. I'll leave it at that, other than to say that she'll probably blame everyone else for the problems, as well, as the media conspiracy and political motivations from her opponent.

Court clerk facing more challenges

Yesterday evening (and before anyone else - heh), we put out our latest story into the investigation of the Knox County Criminal Court Clerk's Office, one that touches on department head Joy McCroskey's frequent absenteeism, County Commissioner Mike Hammond's political bid to challenge her, and commission Chairman Brad Anders' request that she attend Monday's board meeting.

The story also includes a timeline of the WBIR investigation. You can find the bad a$$ report, right smack here.

I did want to note that with all the recent reporting, it should be pointed out that the office, which includes Sessions Court, Fourth Circuit Court and Criminal Court, does have some good employees in it. I think that often gets lost. Now, I'm not sure if they're too fond of the media right now, but my experience with the employees has always been positive, and the folks who were there have always been pleasant.

I do, however, think that there are a number of employees who do need more training. I think some have been thrown into new jobs and are expected to know everything right away. The office also needs an upgrade, at least into the 1990s. I think I saw a stone tablet and chisel the last time I was done there.

Hammond seeks Criminal Court seat

Mike Hammond

Knox County Commissioner Mike Hammond, a former board chairman and longtime local radio personality, announced his intentions Wednesday morning to run for the Knox County Criminal Court Clerk's seat.

The move comes in the wake of a WBIR Channel 10 investigation that has unveiled a series of problems inside the office that officials are now calling a systemic problem that has led to wrongful arrests, wrongfully revoked driver's licenses, and unwarranted convictions.

Hammond, long rumored to run for the position, said he will talk more about his qualifications and outline his plan during his official kickoff late next month at Calhoun's.

"I have for some time been considering a run for the office of the Clerk of Criminal Courts and had set Nov. 20 as the start of my campaign," he said. "I am today formally announcing that I will be a candidate for the office of Knox County Clerk of Criminal Courts in the May 2014 Republican Primary. At my campaign kickoff November 20th at 4:30 pm at Calhouns on the River, I will outline my vision for the office and how it can better serve the citizens of Knox County."

McCroskey, who has denied many of the allegations brought to her, first took office after her predecessor Martha Phillips passed away. She was elected in 2010.

She is over Fourth Circuit Court, General Sessions, and Criminal Court.

McCroskey operates what the county calls a "fee office," meaning it's supposed to be self-sustaining. Any money it receives covers $494,000 in monthly payroll, including benefits, and the rest is turned over to the county's general fund to help maintain overall day-to-day operations.

More on Criminal Court Clerk Dept

I always mean to do this the day before, but whatever. As we reported yesterday, the fallout in the Knox County Criminal Court Clerk's Office continues as we continue our investigation into the department.

Yesterday we again scooped the competition (hey, they started it with all this "scoop" this and "scoop" that crap), with a story touching on errors and their effects on driving records and the move to dismiss more than 100 traffic citations because of the mistakes. You can find that bad a$$ story, right smack here.

We also had a sidebar that talks about a pretty key contradiction. I mean really, don't make up stuff on a camera and expect not to get caught. Right smack here for that one.

Buswell to serve as senior director

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett announced today that Knox County Veterans Service Officer Robert “Buzz” Buswell will take over as interim director of Knox County Veterans and Senior Services. 

“Buzz has done an outstanding job serving the veterans and taxpayers of this community, and I am very confident that he will continue to work hard and be successful in this new position,” said Mayor Burchett.

In addition to his new duties, Buswell will continue to work with Deputy Veterans Service Officer Tom Humphries to ensure that Knox County’s veterans continue to have access to the benefits and services they have earned.

Buswell replaces Hemal Tailor who quit under pressure last week.

Judges to meet about errors/arrests

Probably should have done this yesterday, but just another update in the continuing saga of what's going on in the Knox County Criminal Court Clerk's Office. We talked to officials yesterday, and the county's sessions judges are expected to meet again on the matter. Also, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett and Sheriff Jimmy "J.J." Jones spoke out about the WBIR investigation about errors leading to wrongful arrests.

Click right smack here for that bad a$$ story. In the meantime, a head nod goes out to the Knoxville News Sentinel, crediting us with the investigation during today's story, which you can find right smack here (but can only read if you've got the coin to cover the pay wall). When I was with the Sentinel, we worked on a number of stories that WBIR noted, so that's cool.

Officials: Errors leading to arrests

If you didn't catch if over the weekend, then click right smack here for our "Wrongful Arrests" story and the sidebar in which two of the defendants speak out.

Henley Bridge reopens in few hours

Finally. Tonight. Da Bridge opens. From WBIR: After being closed for almost three years, the Tennessee Department of Transportation will reopen the delay-plagued Henley Bridge on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 12:01 a.m.

TDOT Commissioner John Schroer announced the bridge will initially reopen one lane in both directions. However, bike lanes won't be open until the final completion date which is June 3, 2014.

Schroer said the bridge is structurally ready for traffic and that remaining work will mostly be aesthetics.

TDOT also announced the estimated cost of the project remains unchanged at $31 million.

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett tweeted this pic earlier today

The Henley Bridge closed back in January 2011. Within the first year, two workers were killed working on the project, causing construction to temporarily shut down. Later, TDOT announced crews would need to replace three of the large concrete pier columns, pushing the completion date into 2014.

Knoxville expands benefits to include domestic partners, world to end

This just in from Knoxville Mayor Rogero's office.

The good mayor today said the city is expanding its employee benefits to include benefits for qualified domestic partners. Beginning Jan. 1, employee medical, dental, vision and dependent life benefits will be extended to same-sex and opposite-sex domestic partners.

"Last year, we expanded our employee nondiscrimination ordinance to include sexual orientation and gender identity. This change in our benefits ensures that we are treating everyone fairly," Mayor Rogero said. "It will help us attract and retain the best City of Knoxville employees, regardless of their domestic situation."

City staff created the domestic partnership benefits after researching similar benefits offered by about a dozen other cities and organizations including the governments of Durham, N.C., Covington, Ky., Louisville, Ky., and Indianapolis, as well as Maryville College.

To be eligible for domestic partner benefits, an employee must fill out an affidavit about their committed relationship and show proof of financial interdependence (per criteria outlined in the affidavit).

Because the change is an administrative one, it does not require a vote by City Council. Employees can begin signing up for 2014 benefits during the city's annual enrollment period, which begins Oct. 23rd.

Based on the experiences of other cities and organizations, the City Finance Department estimates the new benefits may cost about $60,000 a year, which will be absorbed into the City's current annual benefits budget of approximately $13 million.

For non-married couples, domestic partner benefits may be treated as taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service. Employees interested in the benefits should research and consider the tax implications.

Among the other local employers that offer domestic partner benefits are: Alcoa, AT&T, Bank of America, Best Buy, Boeing, Comcast, Costco, EW Scripps Co. (Knoxville News Sentinel), First Tennessee Bank, Home Depot, JC Penney, Kimberly-Clark, Kroger, Office Depot, Regions Bank, Scripps Interactive Networks, Sears, Sprint, SunTrust Bank, Target Corp., UPS, Verizon, Waste Management, and Wal-Mart (beginning in 2014).

Expect all sorts of outrage soon. Damn hippies.

Heh. This is going to be the end of the world for some folks.

State to look into mixed drink tax

It looks like the Tennessee Comptroller's office will review the code on the mixed drink tax, and then officials can determine whether Knox County and Farragut ow the school system a little bit of coin. Or a lot. Like at least $1.4 million.

You see, the two government haven't paid the school folks money owed from the liquor-by-the-drink tax. The county more than likely owes as much as $350,000. And Farragut could be on the hook for at least $1.1 million dating back to 1999.

The town has an annual budget of $6 million a year, so it could be difficult for Farragut to pay what's owed to the school system at one time.

State law says that 50 percent of the mixed drink tax has to go to education. Neither Farragut, which passed an ordinance in 1988 to allow establishment to serve mixed drinks, nor Knox County, which approved its ordinance in 2009, has ever paid the tax.

The City of Knoxville is up-to-date on its payments.

Knox County and Farragut will now wait until the comptroller makes its ruling.