| Commission defers vote on county attorney law |
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By: MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer
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Posted: Friday, November 13, 2009 10:34 am
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Rutherford County’s Board of Commissioners decided to “measure twice and cut once” on an amendment to the county’s Private Acts concerning a new contract with the county attorney.
“I’ve always been taught that its better to measure twice and cut once,” Commissioner Ron Williams said before moving to defer for 30 days a resolution to ask the Tennessee General Assembly to permit the county to change its Private Acts.
At issue is a new legal services agreement with county attorney Jim Cope’s law firm, Cope, Hudson & Reed to provide legal advice and support to the county for the next two years.
In order for the contract to be legal, the county’s laws defining the office of county attorney must be rewritten, which takes the approval of the Tennessee Legislature in Nashville.
Since the change is permanent, Williams wanted to send the resolution back through the committee process to make sure all wrinkles are ironed out and questions answered.
“I want to send it back to Steering (Committee) and have them look at again,” he said, “just to make sure it’s looked at real closely.”
But not all of the commission was on board with putting the resolution off for 30 days and looking at it again.
Commissioner Jeff Phillips said they are all working toward the same goal. He said the Private Act in question is perfectly written to give the commission the ability to change future contracts with the county attorney without having to ask permission from the General Assembly and even create an in-house legal department in the near future.
“It gives us the flexibility to change this at the local level …” Phillips said. “It gives us as a county the ability to make changes to the agreement without having to change state law. … It gives us and our citizens here more control on the local level.”
Commissioner Jim Daniel disagreed saying the Private Act amendment needs to be more specific.
But Steering Committee Chairman John Rodgers said the amendment is written for flexibility and not to back the county into a corner concerning the county attorney, like the Private Acts does now with its detailed description of the appointed post.
In the end, the commission voted to delay voting on the Private Act amendment and sent it back to the Steering Committee for further discussion in a 11-9-1 vote with Jack Black, Will Jorda, Gary Farley, John Rodgers, Adam Coggin, Bob Bullen, Jeff Phillips, Allen McAdoo and Trey Gooch dissenting and Rick Hall abstaining.
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In a related issue, the commission unanimously voted to rescind the legal services agreement with Cope’s firm until the Private Act can be amended.
“Some felt we put the cart before the horse by approving the legal services agreement without having the Private Act in place,” Rodgers said.
The legal contract will head back to the Steering Committee for further discussion and changes before coming back to the commission in the spring.
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The commission approved backing up to $2.5 billion in tax-exempt industrial revenue bonds for Nissan North America’s planned expansion of its factory in Smyrna.
The automaker plans to retool and expand its factory by 1.3 million square feet for the production of zero-emission electric vehicles and in turn create more than 1,700 full-time, benefited jobs.
The plant expansion is planned for the manufacturing of batteries and the related assembly of electric vehicles.
Nissan will not receive the money in one lump sum, but can draw from the bonds when additional funds are needed to complete the project.
Nissan anticipates that the first phase of the project will be completed in late 2012 with the creation of approximately 1,300 new full-time jobs. Nissan also foresees a second phase of the project in early 2015 that will add another 400 additional new full-time jobs.
Industrial Development Board Director Jim Baker told the county’s Budget and Finance Committee Nissan projects the plant expansion would indirectly produce 10,708 jobs in addition to the payroll jobs at Nissan. He said the anticipated wages would be approximately $525 million and generate $11.3 million in new local taxes.
Nissan also received $1.6 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy for the project.
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Other commission business:
• Unanimously approved a rezoning and conditional-use permit request by Mitchell Bowman for property located on Jefferson Pike for Storage Units and Boat Storage
• Unanimously approved a zoning resolution amendment to clean up language in the section regarding Flood Hazard Districts.
• Approved an Ambulance Service Fund budget amendment in a 19-0-2 vote with Trey Gooch and Jim Daniel abstaining.
• Unanimously approved a Solid Waste/Sanitation Fund budget amendment for brush removal from the Good Friday Tornado clean up.
• Unanimously approved a resolution authorizing a 2009 Homeland Security grant for more than $478,000 application and execution of the grant contract with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency for first responder equipment.
• Approved a resolution authorizing an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement for emergency
communications with Rutherford County Emergency Communications District in a 20-0-1 vote with John Rodgers abstaining.
• Unanimously approved a Development Tax Fund budget amendment to complete land acquisition for a new judicial building.
• Unanimously approved a General Purpose School Fund budget amendments, which in part accepted a grant from the Christy-Houston Foundation to replace defibrillators in schools.
• Approved a resolution to approve a 20 MPH speed limit for the Thompson Farms Subdivision and a 40 MPH speed limit for Couchville Pike in a 20-1 vote with Anthony Johnson dissenting.
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com. |
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