Oak Ridge Today

Anderson Commission unable to resolve salary dispute between sheriff, mayor

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Note: This story was updated at 1:45 a.m. July 16.

CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission on Monday was unable to resolve a dispute between the county mayor and the sheriff over an annual salary agreement, meaning a judge could be asked to intervene.

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank has refused to sign the proposed salary agreement for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department. She said it includes about $7.66 million for salaries, which is roughly $1 million more than the $6.63 million approved by commission in June as part of this year’s budget.

“I cannot do anything more than what was passed,” Frank told commissioners Monday morning. “The only way I can sign that is if you go ahead and approve that new $1 million.” [Read more…]

Anderson Commission unanimously approves budget with small tax cut

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Note: This story was updated at 1:12 p.m. June 18.

CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission unanimously approved a budget that cut the property tax rate by one-third of a penny on Monday.

It was a small but symbolic gesture, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said when she proposed the move, and commissioners endorsed it, during a special meeting last week.

For now, officials have resolved an impasse over whether there was enough money to cover the cost of new jailers hired in the past year by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department for a jail dormitory that is already open—and to pay for more than 30 new jailers needed when a 212-bed addition opens later this year or early next. [Read more…]

Anderson Commission considers small tax cut, re-established alternatives to jail

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CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission could officially approve a budget tonight that lowers the property tax rate by one-third of a penny, and commissioners will consider re-establishing the Alternatives to Incarceration program under the direction and control of the Sheriff’s Department.

Commission will also consider selling 22.4 acres in the David Jones Industrial Park, with a 4.27-acre swap. The land would be sold for $13,500 per acre, with 2.9 acres removed from the original parcel to be retained by Anderson County.

The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in Room 312 at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. [Read more…]

Anderson budget cuts tax rate; officials assure sheriff new jailers are covered

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CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission endorsed a budget Thursday that lowers the property tax rate, gives employees a day off, and is supposed to provide enough money to pay for jailers hired in the past year while allowing the sheriff to hire new ones for a jail addition that could open later this year.

The budget would also restore some funding for the relatively new Alternatives to Incarceration program, which Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank had proposed cutting by 80 percent, and add money to cover the cost of increased health insurance premiums for county employees.

The budget was endorsed in a 12-1-1 vote during a special meeting Thursday, the second this week. It could officially be adopted during the County Commission’s regular meeting on Monday. [Read more…]

Letter: Cutting alternatives to incarceration may save money now, but will cost more later

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To the Editor:

Is it wise to downsize the Alternative to Incarceration (ATI) program? Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank wants to cut funding for this program by 80 percent. The program was intended to reduce the jail population by focusing on drug addiction in particular, thus preventing the need for building more expensive jail space in the future.

For those who have not kept up with these developments, the ATI program was put in place in Anderson County a year ago by Mike Baker, a longtime officer in the Iowa corrections system. His analysis of Anderson County’s constantly increasing number of jail inmates points to several problems, one of which is “recidivism” (when a former prisoner returns to jail).

He commented that “Anderson County has a tremendously high recidivism rate. When I looked at the jail stats this morning, the average number of ‘priors’ for the 348 inmates incarcerated was nearly 10, while the average age of the inmates is 31. Those numbers indicate that inmates between the ages of 18 and 31 are being arrested on average nearly once each year.” [Read more…]

Guest column: County mayor proposes restructuring alternatives to incarceration

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Created by an Anderson County Commission resolution in 2011, the Alternatives to Incarceration, or ATI, program has been batted around as a political hot topic. Though there appears to be disagreement regarding the program, there seems to be agreement on the purpose, intent, and merit of the program. As is the case with most programs, debate centers on implementation.

After much study of ATI as currently structured, I offered steps in our budget proposal to allow us to step away from the mistakes or misunderstandings that took place at the program’s inception in 2011, restructure with more modest and measurable goals, and allow room for growth in the number of clients the program will serve. Small steps forward will allow for much needed growth in trust and credibility of the program itself. The program also needs more realistic, tangible goals to achieve success, and it needs a cooling-off period to allow the mission to depoliticize.

Success requires the confidence of participants, that is, ATI stakeholders like our public defender, our district attorney general, our judges, and our law enforcement community.

The proposed restructuring emphasizes the original mission of the program—offering true alternatives to alleviate jail overcrowding—but it also redirects 1.62 cents on the tax rate to immediate needs: more detention officers. [Read more…]

Follow-up: AC budget debate continues

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Commission will hold a special-called meeting on Monday, June 10, at 6 p.m. in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton to continue their discussions of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year that begins on July 1.

The main hurdles to passing a budget so far have been finding funds for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department to hire enough jailers to adequately staff the jail expansion scheduled for completion later this year and what to do with a program aimed at keeping the chronically overcrowded jail’s population down. The Sheriff’s Office has requested money to hire 34 jailers but so far funds for only 15 have been found. [Read more…]

Anderson budget: Funding for jailers, jail alternatives program obstacles to budget plan

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Information from WYSH Radio

Last week, the Anderson County Commission held a public hearing on the budget, and the biggest obstacles to having a fiscal plan in place for the new fiscal year are finding funding for the Sheriff’s Department to adequately staff the soon-to-be-completed jail expansion and what to do about the embattled alternatives to incarceration program.

The Sheriff’s Office has requested funding for 34 jailers but as it stands now, the budget contains money for 15 jailers. [Read more…]

Guest column: Do our competitors ‘hammer us’ on property tax rates?

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Myron Iwanski

Myron Iwanski

I agree with Martin McBride that Oak Ridge is a great place to live. However, I do not agree with his statement in recent columns that high property taxes are the reason Anderson County’s and Oak Ridge’s populations are not growing as fast as those in some area counties.

The following information from county and city audit reports and websites, the University of Tennessee County Technical Advisory Service, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website help make my point. [Read more…]

Anderson officials develop plan to hire 15 jailers for jail expansion

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

CLINTON—For now, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank has dropped her proposal to cut funding for the county law director, and she has worked with the budget director to put together a plan to hire 15 new jailers for a jail expansion that could open in November.

But it’s less than half the number of new jailers requested by Anderson County Sheriff Paul White for the 212-bed expansion of the Anderson County Detention Facility, which could be completed in November.

“They understand the budget constraints,” Frank said of the Sheriff’s Department. “In this tight economy, we’re doing the best we can.” [Read more…]

Anderson commissioners reject budget change for part-time analyst hired by mayor

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Note: This story was updated at 7:15 p.m.

CLINTON—Some Anderson County commissioners weren’t satisfied with the results they’ve seen—or haven’t seen—from a part-time fiscal analyst hired by the county mayor in December.

Some also weren’t happy about the amount paid to the analyst, Tom Shope, and a request to approve a budget change to pay him after the money has already been spent.

So, during a Monday meeting, they declined to transfer $22,740 from one budget code to another to allow Chris Phillips, Anderson County account and budgets director, to pay Shope from a part-time budget code. [Read more…]

Anderson County budget: No tax hike, ACSD still seeking funds

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Information from WYSH Radio

After a lengthy meeting Thursday evening, the Anderson County Budget Committee recommended approval of a budget proposal that leaves property tax rates at their current levels.

The budget proposal will be the subject of a public hearing on May 30 and will be deliberated in June by the full County Commission. It will be up to commissioners to decide what to do about funding the Anderson County Sheriff Department’s request for hiring 34 new jailers at the soon-to-be-expanded Anderson County Jail and funding requests for new vehicles and equipment. [Read more…]