Slow news week

How slow? We’re glad you asked.

So slow that the front page story in the May 7, 2008 Mt. Juliet News reported the passage (on first reading) of an “anti-crusing” ordinance. This action took place on Monday, April 28th - news was over a week old when printed by the paper. BTW, the vote was 3-1 with Commissioner Justice opposed and Mayor Elam absent due to illness. Perhaps Commissioner Justice would care to elaborate on his reasons for voting no?

The Chronicle’s top political story was headlined, MJ reps no-show for county tax meeting. The County Mayor claims he invited representatives from Mt. Juliet at the last County Commission meeting. Commission Justice insists no one from Mt. Juliet was invited. Anyway, a meeting was held. Representatives from the City of Lebanon and Wilson County attended. There was much talk over building a new fire station in the Eastgate Business Park (which is in Lebanon), but which would provide fire protection (they say) to parts of Mt. Juliet. And of course, Lebanon and Wilson County would like Mt. Juliet to help pay for it. You can read the whole story by browsing TheChronicleofMtJuliet web site and then clicking on the button for “View current issue.”

There will be more news next week.

The City Commission meets next Monday night, and the last item on the agenda is the FY08-09 Budget, sponsored by the city manager. The $64,000 question is: Will it propose a property tax?

- Publius

Headlines from the Chronicle, 4/30/2008

Calling all volunteer firefighters
[City making plans to start a volunteer fire department]

Reitz to sue City for wrongful termination
inside headline: City to be sued for wrongful termination - again
First Franklin, now Reitz
[Ms. Reitz was terminated from her position as stormwater clerk last Friday by Public Works Director Marlin Keel. The City Manager is quoted in the story as saying the firing was due to "failure to adequately perform assigned job duties." Ms. Reitz claims the firing was in retaliation for her having filed an EEOC complaint and a sexual harassment complaint in April of 2007. In the story Ms. Reitz complains that she had requested that her original complaint be anonymous, but instead it was widely circulated and even posted on radiofreemj.wordpress.com. For those just joining the party, Kathy Reitz is a friend and protegé of Mayor Linda Elam, who appointed her to the Planning Commission, recommended her for the stormwater clerk's job at public works, and (according to John Reitz) helped her draft her sexual harassment complaint against former Public Works Director Hatton Wright.]

$100 million office park could locate in MJ
[Pannatoni buys 125 acres close to the Beckwith interchange. I guess now we know why the first 2900 feet of road is being built.]

MJ 2008 Special Census breaks record
[the count now stands at 22,400 - with 11 days left to go. This is up from 20,392 in the 2006 Special Census, and increase of 9.85% in 2 years]

Inside BIG story: Andy Garret named new Mt. Juliet Police Chief

- Publius

City Commission preview - 04/28/2008

Here’s the link to the agenda: 4-28-08 Agenda

The file is still in MS Word .doc format.

Of interest:

C.	Ordinance	Re:	Amend Title 6, Chapter 4, Section 6-3-201 (g) (2) of the Mt. Juliet City Code Privilege Tax Levied (Hotel/Motel Tax) Sponsor: Vice Mayor Ed Hagerty (3/24/08 – vote was 2 – 2, Justice absent) (4/14/08 – passed 1st Reading, 3 – 2)
D	Ordinance	Re:	Amend Ethics Ordinance – Board Members Sponsor: Commissioner Ray Justice (4/14/08 – deferred)

Item C is the much talked about amendment to the hotel/motel tax, so that the money can be used to purchase the old elementary school property from the county and give it to the YMCA.

Not quit sure still what Item D is about. Anybody seen the actual proposed ordinance?

Under new business, we have this:

C.

Ordinance

Re:

Amend Title 1 – Board of Commissioners meeting times and order of business Sponsor: Commissioner Ray Justice

Don’t know whether Commissioner Justice is following through on his plan to move citizen comments to the end of the meeting or not.

- Publius

Eastern Connector Groundbreaking

Story in last week’s Lebanon Democrat: Construction to begin. . .

This is NOT the section of the road that will serve the new high school. There is the possibility of federal funding, so they’re waiting 30 days. But, according to the city manager, the “reverse L” is “ready to bid.”

- Publius

Amending the City’s Ethics Code . . .

and other matters.

The agenda for the next meeting of the Mt. Juliet City Commission is up on the City web site. There are a couple of interesting items.

They’re going to take up, once again, Vice Mayor Hagerty’s proposal to dedicate the proceeds of the hotel/motel tax to go towards the purchase of the property which they voted to give to the YMCA. They tried to pass this last time they met, but it failed to pass on a 2-2 tie after Commissioner Justice left the meeting.

Commissioner Justice is sponsoring two items on the agenda. One is an amendment to the City’s Ethics Code which is described, cryptically, as “Amend Ethics Ordinance – Board Members.” It really seems to us that public notice is NOT adequately given when the public has no idea what’s being proposed in advance of the meeting. It would be a trivial matter for the full text of each agenda item to be available on the City’s website. The state legislature and the US Congress both give us full access to bills as soon as they are filed. The City of Mt. Juliet should do the same.

Commissioner Justice’s second item is a “discussion item” titled “Amend Title 1 of the City of Mt. Juliet Code - Board of Commissioners.” Like the item mentioned above, this title is so vague that there’s no way for any member of the public to discern what the Commissioner might be proposing.

Note to Commissioners: If the passage of an item would be jeopardized by letting the public know what it is ahead of time, it’s probably not a good idea.

- Publius

Mt. Juliet doubled its debt in February, 2008

The City of Mt. Juliet borrowed $10,000,000 on February 26, 2008 in the municipal bond market. Prior to the borrowing, the City had $7.2 million in general obligation debt. AFTER the borrowing, the city owes $17.2 million to bond-holders. So, in one day, the City increased its debt by 138%.

The purpose of the bonds (and the uses to which the proceeds are restricted) are to construct roads and an animal shelter (and pay for any land as well as any related architectural, engineering, legal, fiscal and administrative costs). You can read the summary statement here.

There’s a very nice online database called the Electronic Municipal Market Access that tracks municipal debt. The online database also includes a .pdf of the full 128-page Official Statement filed with the bond offering. Mt. Juliet’s Official Statement includes the full audit of the City finances done as of June 30, 2007.

The Official Statement filed by the City has a couple of howlers in it. The minor one is the continued assertion that Mt. Juliet is the fastest-growing city in the state of Tennessee. That’s demonstrably not true, as both LaVergne and Spring Hill have been growing faster over the past 5, 10, and 20 years. More serious is a mis-representation of the City’s audited fund balances on page B-13 (pdf page 48). The table filed by the City seems to indicate that the City’s Sewer Fund had a fund balance of $20 million in 2004, $23.3 million in 2005, $27.5 million in 2006, and $30.5 million in 2007. These numbers are wrong. The sewer fund had a fund balance of about $6.0 million on June 30, 2007 (see appendix C, pdf page 70). Whoever compiled the Fund Balances on page B-13 mistakenly picked up the Net Assets of the Sewer Fund rather than the Fund Balance (compare the numbers at the bottom of pdf page 66). Net Assets includes the value of all the pipe buried in the ground. It’s not readily available to pay future bond obligations. Overstating the amount of cash the City has on hand by a factor of five may very well be a material mis-statement of the City’s financial position. Cash on hand is certainly one of the key figures a potential bond purchaser might examine. If the City mis-stated a key financial fact, the bond issue may be void. Bond purchasers could conceivably charge fraud.

That’s the serious mistake, but there’s another mistake that’s just as troubling and demonstrates that the City (like Val Kilmer in Tombstone) has a “hypocrisy that knows no bounds.”

One of the pages of the City’s Official Statement includes a calculation of the per capita indebtedness of the City both before and after the new bond issue. Its page 45 of the pdf. The table there displays a line for the City’s population over six years, from 2003 to 2008. Here are the numbers:

2003 - 16,520
2004 - 17,274
2005 - 18,099
2006 - 16,520
2007 - 17,274
2008 - 18,099

Now given that the City had a certified special census done in 2006 that showed a population of 20,392, these numbers seem improbable. [heh]

We also know from the City’s fabricated explanation for the firing of City Planner Bobby Franklin in July of 2007, that they consider a mistake in reporting the City’s population numbers on a state grant application to be a firing offense. What should the penalty be for getting them wrong on an Official Statement for a $10,000,000Bond Offering?

On page 19 of the Official Statement, we find this:

CERTIFICATION OF ISSUER
On behalf of the City, we hereby certify that to the best of our knowledge and belief, the information contained herein as of this date is true and correct.
/s/ Linda C. Elam
Mayor
ATTEST:
/s/ Sheila Luckett
City Recorder

Here’s a link to an annotated copy of the Official Statement - MJ 2008 Bond Issue.

- Publius

Mirror, Mirror

Headlines from The Chronicle and The Mt. Juliet News, March 26, 2008

from The Chronicle:

Concerned citizen claims City staffer attacked
inside headline: Citizen concerns prompt investigation
‘Falsified documents, unreported crimes’ surround alleged attack on city employee
RFMJ frequent commenter Chris Sorey took the microphone during citizen comments on two topics (he had to have the rules suspended so he could take up the second one when he ran over his alloted three minutes). “Chris Sorey alleged retaliation had been used against a former employee in the storm water department.” We don’t think you mean “former” did you Chris? Chris’s second charge concerned an alleged assault against a city building inspector by a building contractor. It’s not clear what his concern is from the story, but we’re sure he’ll let us know.

Another “hot topic” on the agenda was whether to require sprinkler systems in new residential construction. [the bad puns are killing us!]

Tempers flared at the commission table when the issue of the City purchase of the old MJ Elementary School property resurfaced.

Commissioner Jim Bradshaw asked if anyone on the commission had a “conflict of interest.” Bradshaw would not elaborate on what he meant, but Commissioner Will Sellers took offense, his face reddening.

The ordinance to use the proceeds of the hotel/motel tax to purchase the MJES property failed to pass on a 2-2 tie (commissioner Justice had to leave for work)

The Mayor’s ordinance to begin planning a new police station on the Paddocks property failed for lack of a second - much to the annoyance of the Mayor.

Curd Road improvements could start in 45 days
[but it won't be open for traffic for at least a year. The new high school opens in five months.]

MJ welcomes new planner at commission meeting
[and says goodbye to planning attorney Louis Oliver]

from the Mt. Juliet News:

Proposed sprinklers in new homes sparks debate
[nobody can resist the bad puns, it seems]

It’s morning in Mt. Juliet, says Elam
[but it's a cold bitter morning!]

Crews to break ground on safe passage to MJHS
Officials scramble to put together a traffic plan until road is complete
[whole lot of scrambling going on!]

MJ Commissioners adopt Vision Statement for city
[we can't bring ourselves to print it. Apparently the vision statement doesn't include making the vision statement available on the City's web site]

Commissioners ‘redo’ vote to buy old school site; officers concerned issue of new police precinct might be ‘political pawn’
[best lines: "The commissioners continued snipping at each other over the issue.." and "Ray Justice's ire was raised," and "With all the bickering, are there any plans for a new police station?" asked police commander Michael Mullins.]

- Publius

The new IT Director for the City of Mt. Juliet has a conflict of interest

We know this sounds like a broken record (see earlier post on The new City Attorney has a conflict of interest), but what is the City Manager doing?

The new IT Director for the City of Mt. Juliet, Brian Snyder, also proudly lists himself publicly as an affiliate broker with the Keller Williams Realty office in Mt. Juliet. Here’s his info from Linkedin.com:

Brian Snyder’s Summary

I am currently the IT director for the City in which I live, my commute is all of 4 minutes! I also work at Keller William - Mt. Juliet as an affiliate Broker.

He also has a personal web site touting his services as a realtor to the public, http://www.briansnyderrealestate.com. The site conveniently lists his cell phone number as a contact. Wonder how many calls he’s getting during the week while working for the city?

What could the City Manager be thinking?

There is a huge potential conflict of interest. The City IT Director has access to all the PC’s, access to the City file server, and access to all city employee’s emails. He can read the City Planner’s emails. He can read the City Manager’s emails. He can read the City Attorney’s emails. He can read the Mayor’s emails. And with a city where developers are evaluating land deals and development projects every day, would there be any advantage to a realtor to be plugged in at City Hall and having access to all that information?

Does the City Manager not know that the City of Lebanon went through months of headlines and turmoil because Mayor Don Fox’s secretary had a second job as a realtor?

Here’s a an excerpt from story in the Lebanon Democrat from September, 2007 (District Attorney won’t indict Jessen) in which District Attorney Tommy Thompson strongly criticized the city of Lebanon:

Tuesday, the District Attorney confirmed he will not seek indictments against Lebanon Mayor’s Assistant Debbie Jessen, but he did describe the upper levels of the city government as “fraught with conflict.”

Jessen’s involvement as a real estate agent with some high-profile, and high-dollar, developments sparked controversy late last year. . .

We’re sure there are personnel regulations and rules that have something to say about city employees working second jobs. Did the City Manager KNOW his IT Director was working a second job as a realtor? Did the City Manager APPROVE the City IT Director working a second job as a realtor?

- Publius

[news outlets: MUST credit website:Radio Free Mt. Juliet as the source on this story!]

Background
Here are links to Lebanon Democrat stories available online (free registration required):

Jun 20 2006 DA, TBI investigates city
Jul 04 2006 TBI probe sparks ethics reform
Dec 11 2006 AG asks Council for help
Dec 13 2006 Councilors react to AG’s ethics request
Dec 21 2006 Jessen’s role in land deal under scrutiny
May 03 2007 Investigation deems Jessen, Akins-Siens innocent
Sep 26 2007 District Attorney won’t indict Jessen

What’s wrong with the YMCA deal

The Y’s own survey research shows that only 10% of the households in Mt. Juliet will ever join.

It’s not just that the Mt. Juliet City Commission is GIVING eight acres of valuable land to the YMCA.

It’s that they’re BUYING eight acres of land to GIVE to the YMCA.

It’s not just that they’re BUYING eight acres of land to GIVE to the YMCA.

It’s that they’re BORROWING money in order to BUY eight acres of land to GIVE to the YMCA.

. . . for a facility that will be used by 10% of the households in Mt. Juliet.

And they can’t even get the procedural details right. They’ve voted on an ordinance three times now. They still don’t own the land. They still don’t have a signed contract with Wilson County. And they’re going to have to negotiate and approve a contract with the YMCA.

Is this what the citizens of Mt. Juliet want?

- Publius