Crossville city council looks at policy on press releases

It was not clear what sparked the concern of Crossville city council member Pamala Harris about the subject of press releases and a policy about them, but the discussion was put on the agenda by Ms. Harris.

Interim city manager Steve Hill told the council he had looked into it and currently the city does not have a policy on press releases. He added that he thought a good policy would be to have all press releases go through the marketing and public relations director and then to the city council.

Harris added that she has seen press releases from different city areas, something she described as “willy nilly.” Harris moved that press releases go through marketing and public relations under the approval of the city manager. Harris' motion was supported by councilman Danny Wyatt.

It has been mentioned at a previous council meeting that Ms. Harris and city marketing/PR director Billy Loggins have a personal relationship.

Councilman Pete Souza addressed the issue saying that there had previously been a press release policy that went through the city manager and he had discussed it with the previous city attorney Ken Chadwell. “What happened to that policy, I don't have a clue,” added Souza. Souza also said that he felt the mayor should be involved in every press release “because he is the spokesperson for the city.”

Souza said he wanted to make one thing clear, “Press releases from the city are one thing, the city council is another things, the city council, and each elected member and each sovereign member of this county can speak to the press, or anybody they so desire anytime they want to. But when they speak, they are speaking for themselves, not the city.

Souza suggested that the city manager develop a policy and it come back before the council for approval adding, “There are some details that are being left out here.”

City engineer Tim Begley asked to address the council and pointed out that the public works department sometimes has water interruption announcements and public service announcements that he felt could be described as press releases. “These items need to be addressed as there is not a lot of time to go through the manager. Currently the public works secretary sends a fax to all the radio stations.”

Begley added that when there is work planned, they also try and get word out to the paper and if they are going to keep the public informed then the policy needs to include something for those type of announcements.

Councilwoman Harris then spoke to amend her motion to have the city manager develop a policy on press releases and it be brought back to the council for consideration. The amendment was supported by councilman Jesse Kerley.

Mayor James Mayberry said that he guessed his announcement that the city received a $500,000 grant had sparked the discussion. Mayberry said he received a call one evening from the state informing him of the grant, that it would be posted on the state's website that evening and the city could announce it the next day.

Mayberry continued that he had tried to work with the marketing department in the past adding that things did not work out in a timely manner adding, “If they worked out at all.” Mayberry said that was something the policy might need to consider.

The mayor said that as the elected executive officer of the city there were certain things he had to do and announced he had received a letter earlier that day from Governor Bill Haslam inviting him on a trip to Japan.

With that, Mayberry called for a roll call vote on the motion to have the city manager work on a policy to bring back to the council. The motion was approved by all five members.  

Crossville city council votes to move forward on hiring a new city manager.

A majority of the Crossville city council approved with moving forward to hire a new city manager without waiting until after the November council election as previously approved.

The agenda item on the special called meeting Friday July 22 was proposed by mayor pro-tem Pamala Harris and she said she had a comment to make at the start of the agenda item.

Council members Danny Wyatt, Mayor James Mayberry, Pamala Harris and Jesse Kerley

Said Harris, “It has come to my attention that there are rumors floating around regarding this agenda item. I will caution you not to listen to rumors. There are some people who thrive on rumors and conspiracy theories and who frankly have harmed our city by spreading misinformation and making accusations against this council and other citizens that are unfounded. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm tired of this nonsense. So I'm going to ask everyone to join me in rejecting the rumors and gossip. Let's get on with the business of this city and make Crossville an even better place than we know it is today.”

Harris did not specify who and what the rumor was she was discussing, but in one email that circulated prior to the meeting, councilman Pete Souza wrote in an email Monday July 18 that there was a rumor that J. H. Graham was going to apply. Wrote Souza, “That would truly be a coincidence. I look forward to see how this is going to play out, especially the reaction from our constituents.

While Mr. Souza advised the council that he would be unable to attend a called meeting scheduled for the week, the meeting was scheduled and Mr. Souza was absent.

Ms. Harris moved on with her item saying, “The hiring of a city manger is incredibly important. I personally would like to take my time when reviewing resumes and vetting candidates to ensure that who ever we hire is qualified, is a leader, and desires to work well with the full council, and I stress full council, and wants to become a part of our community.”

Harris moved to rescind the previous action of April 14, 2016 to wait until after the election to recruit and hire a new city manager. Harris' motion received a second from councilman Jesse Kerley.

Mayor James Mayberry asked city attorney Will Ridely on the necessary vote count to rescind a previous motion and Ridley told him because the item was properly listed on the agenda only a simple majority was necessary but under Robert's rules, if it was not listed on the agenda it would require a 2/3 majority.

Ms. Harris said that she did not know if the city could hire a manager before the election, but she wanted to start the process. Councilman Wyatt said that at least three members of the current council would still be on the council after November so he didn't see it as an issue.

Mr. Kerley said the only reason he supported a delay in looking for a manager was to see where the recall effort went. Said Kerley, “Since it failed miserably, I think it's time to move on.”

The motion passed with all members present voting in favor.

Harris then moved to move forward with contacting the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) for assistance with recruiting a city manager, and accepting resumes over the next 60 days, and to direct the city attorney to review and edit the current job description, and the council is to be given copies of the resumes as they are received.

Councilman Danny Wyatt gave the second on the motion and asked about using MTAS and Mayor Mayberry read from information provided by MTAS about the services they provide. Those services are listed below.

Motion was approved with all four council members present voting in favor.   

Video of the city manager discussion during the called meeting held July 22, 2016

SERVICES MTAS CAN PROVIDE TO THE CITY:

Advertisements  

• Offering suggestions on where to advertise 
• Placing notices on the MTAS website 
• Requesting other state’s city management associations to post job notices 
• Using MTAS consultants to help recruit former colleagues and current and past clients for positions 

Applications 

• Accepting applications 
• Handling application correspondence 
• Ranking applications 
• Supplying a ranking system of applications for the elected officials to use based on the advertisement and/or qualities the board desires to have in an administrator 

Interviews 

• Facilitating discussions with the governing body on narrowing the list of applicants to invite for an interview 
• Scheduling interviews with candidates 
• Writing interview questions specifically tailored for the town that address current issues, criteria specified in the advertisement, and core competencies 
• Supplying a ranking system for interviews 
• Conducting and ranking interviews with a senior staff member to assist the governing body in making its decision on who to bring back for a second interview 
• Supplying a list of generic interview questions for the governing body to select from 
• Proctoring interviews 
• Providing cost estimates of hosting interviews 
• Developing and proctoring assessment centers 

Employment 

• Providing sample employment contracts for the governing body to consider 
• Providing comparable salary and benefit information

Council approves $40,000 funding match to chamber of commerce with stipulations.

The Crossville city council approved the funding of the $40,000 that they promised the Chamber of Commerce last year with some caveats and oversight.

The chamber had brought the proposal to both the city and the county seeking $40,000 each from both governments contingent upon the raising of $120,000 of donations by the chamber as match funds to create a $200,000 fund for economic development following the release of the Horizon Initiative plan.

City council discusses and takes action on funding deal

Crossville mayor James Mayberry moved to release the economic development funds following a report by chamber president and CEO Brad Allamong that they had cash receipts and commitments totaling $132,000. Councilman Pete Souza seconded the motion.

Councilman Danny Wyatt commented that he felt there should be an oversight committee appointed by private donors and the city and county and he would not support it without such a committee. Brad Allamong told the council that the chamber's finance committee was made up of representatives including city finance director Fred Houston as well as county finance director Nathan Brock. In addition, Allamong explained that the donors would be involved in selecting the consultants used for the studies proposed as well.

Councilman Jesse Kerley added that while the chamber says they have commitments for the full amount of funds adding, “in my mind if this money's not in the bank, it's not been raised yet.”

Councilwoman Pam Harris asked Allamong when he thought the funds would be collected? Allamong said the chamber had received $12,000 in checks that day and another large contribution of $10,000 they are expecting as well as a few smaller checks. “We've had 100 percent collections,” added Allamong.

Ms. Harris suggested that the motion be amended to add an oversight committee and collection of the full $120,000 to the original motion.

Mr. Souza said the council could make the adjustments to the motion but said he felt it came down to, “Do we want to support this program or do we not want to support it? I think that what it boils down to.

Ms. Harris stressed, “I want to support this program. My motion would be a compromise that might be more agreeable to the full council. After some discussion, Ms. Harris moved to amend the motion with the addition of the contingencies of collecting the required $120,000 in the bank and formation of an oversight committee. The motion to amend was seconded by Mr. Souza.

The amendment was approved with 4 yes votes. Mr Wyatt voted no saying “because it wasn't stipulated who would appoint the oversight committee.” The vote to approve the motion as amended was the same with 4 ayes and Mr. Wyatt opposed.

Brad Allamong of the Chamber reports to the council prior to the funding discussion.

Just before the action on the funding release request, Mr. Allamong talked to the council about where the Horizon Initiative stands and what the total $200,000 plus will be used for. The plan includes a targeted industry analysis and workforce strategies totaling $120,000, workforce development programs at a cost of $10,000, funding for a basic economic development office that includes a support person and and necessary resources at $48,000 and a feasibility study for a multi-year campaign at a cost of $25,000.

Allamong continued, “The campaign was for some very specific things. We wanted a targeted industry analysis that will give us a professional consultant's look at the resources of Cumberland County, the land, the utilities, the workforce, etc. What are those companies that are in the expansion mode that we could attract and it's in their best interest to be here.”

“Workforce development strategy was another thing we want to do,” said Allamong. “Before we go out and do a bunch of programs, which may well cure some of our workforce ills. Tell us what the strategy is and then the programs follow. The targeted industry with the workforce strategy will tell you that you need to work on bringing these companies here.

In the morning before the council met, the chamber held a media announcement to talk about the Horizon program and funding as well as what they hoped to accomplish.  

Chamber's full press conference on the Horizon fundraising program and 

what the funds will be used for.

Council holds budget work session--final approval on agenda Monday at noon.

The Crossville city council spent an hour Friday June 24 reviewing the 2016-17 fiscal year budget in preparation of approving the final reading Monday June 27 at noon.

The budget stands at $1.2 million in the red with final adjustments made by finance director Fred Houston.  Those adjustments include projects carrying over from one year to the next. Link to PDF file of the full 2016-17 budget document.

The budget includes funds for the city to join the county's radio system and a new detective position for the police department.  Councilman Jesse Kerley questioned the need for the new detective position at a cost of $50,000 to $70,000 a year.  He felt the funds would be better used for new sidewalks.

Police chief Rod Shoap told the council he offered the additional positions as one of several options to improve service to city residents.  Shoap said that the council makes the decision and with out the new position his department would do at least as well as last year and possibly better.

"It's my job to give you the best information and you make the best decision," Shoap told the council.

Crossville Mayor James Mayberry, right, makes a point on the discussion of the 2016-17 budget while council members Pamala Harris, second from right and Pete Souza third from right listen. 

The city's water and sewer budget includes a 2 percent increase in water rates and 5 percent increase in sewer rates.  Those increases have been directed by the state comptroller's office after reviewing the budget numbers for the department. 

Council discussed the changes in funding from the E-911 and additional money is budgeted for the operation as the E-911 board has lost some funding and will not be paying one third of the operational costs as in previous years.  The state law only requires that the E-911 use its funds to maintain the equipment.

At the very end of the meeting, councilman Pete Souza suggested that the council be polled to determine if any changes should be made to the budget that had been discussed of the budget as presented put on the agenda for third and final reading at the special called meeting on Monday June 27 at noon.  

Mayor James Mayberry said he wanted the budget as presented and Mr. Souza agreed.  Council member Pamala Harris said she felt the detective could be left in the budget but wait a few months before the position is filled until things can be ironed out.

Recall efforts against city council members Danny Wyatt and Pam Harris ended

A press release issued by Howard Burnette of Crossville, the man behind recent recall efforts, says he is no longer perusing the recalls against Danny Wyatt and Pamala Harris.

The letter gives a number of reasons and outlines issues with city councilman Jesse Kerley including incidents previously reported on social media that he Danny Wyatt had confronted Burnette at the Crossville flea market a few weeks ago.

Burnette's letter says that he believe ending the the campaign "is in the best interest of the safety of me and my family." The timing of the letter is interesting considering the group had only four more days (June 24) to come up with the necessary 2225 signatures needed to put the recall on the ballot for November 8 election.  

Burnette's letter alleges "threats and actions by council member Kerley."  Burnette also wrote that he had witnessed what he called, "the assault on council member Souza" and described alleged vandalism incidents at the Mockingbird Drive home of J. R. Blankenship.  None of the items brought up in the letter have resulted in any known charges.    

We attempted to reach Burnette hoping to find out how many signatures the group had actually collected, but when he returned the call, he said he had told all his supporters to stop collecting signatures.  Burnette said he did not know how many signatures they had.  There has been much speculation that the group was still short of the necessary number of signatures.  

Councilman Danny Wyatt, one targets of the recall efforts, commented on the end of the recall efforts, "There's no hard feelings.  I'd like to thank Howard and his supporters, They exercised their first amendment rights and did what they thought was right.  I'd especially like to thank the people of Crossville that supported me and didn't support the recall.  I think we need to dust off and try to continue to make Crossville be the best place that its been for years."

Here is a video of Howard Burnette speaking before the Crossville city council at the April regular meeting stating that he wanted a completely new city council.

Question raised over whether Crossville Recall signs qualify as political or not

Are they political or are they not? That is the question about the signs put up in support of the recall effort against city council members Danny Wyatt and Pamala Harris.

Do these qualify as political signs or not?

The city of Crossville's sign ordinance has an exclusion that allows political signs while outlawing other similar temporary signs that are not political. But even political signs can not be put up as to block views and create hazards for drivers.

Councilman Souza working on recall sign

Thursday evening before the city council's meeting, city officials including city manager Steve Hill, city attorney Will Ridley and codes department director Jeff Kerley met with councilman Pete Souza who has been seen putting up and working on some of the Crossville recall group's signs. According to the discussion, it appears that the current signs may not be political based on the opinion of Cumberland County Administrator of Elections Jill Davis.

Councilman Souza said that if it was clear that the signs did not qualify as political messages, he would have them taken them down. Souza said that the city has removed signs before that have been a hazard and usually those signs are collected and the city tries to contact the person they belong to and will hold them for a few days so they can be picked up.

City codes director Jeff Kerley said that he felt the ordinance on signs needed to be fixed, adding that it had many holes in it. He added that all signs need to be treated the same way. Councilman Souza also agreed that for the enforcement to be fair it had to treat all signs the same.

While the matter of signs did not come up during the city council agenda, during the meeting a pickup truck was parked in the parking lot in front of city hall with another sign in the back. The same truck was at last month's meeting with a different sign and appears to be brought to city hall by J. R. Blankenship who reportedly has put up the signs on Mockingbird Drive that mention councilman Jesse Kerley.

Parking lot political sign

The signs around town were brought up during a public comment at the end of the meeting. Citizen Bill Harwell complained about the political signs as well as the signs on Mockingbird Drive. Mr. Harwell started by reading some of the 101st Psalm and followed up with a discussion of the signs.

Public comments by Bill Harwell

Harwell said that county election coordinator had told him that it was not political season yet and the signs did not qualify as political signs. He said the signs were in violation of federal voting codes. He also felt the sings on Mockingbird land should be brought down or at least brought to someone's attention.

Crossville mayor James Mayberry asked if Harwell's comments were in reference to the earlier meeting and Harwell responded that they were. Mayberry said he was sure those involved in the meeting would looking into this.