A legal dispute between the Anderson County mayor and sheriff largely revolves around funding to hire enough jailers to staff a 212-bed jail expansion at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton. (Photo courtesy Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)
Information from WYSH Radio
After failing to discuss the ongoing legal dispute between the Anderson County mayor and the Anderson County sheriff last month, the County Commission will take the matter up during a special-called meeting at 6:30 p.m. today (Wednesday).
The meeting could include a closed-door executive session during which commissioners are expected to hear an update from Law Director Jay Yeager on the status of the salary suit filed by Sheriff Paul White against Mayor Terry Frank over her refusal to sign his salary agreement for this fiscal year. The salary dispute is scheduled for a hearing on Dec. 9 before Knox County Circuit Court Judge Dale Workman.
Some commissioners have publicly expressed their concern about the cost of the ongoing legal battle to taxpayers, as both sides have retained outside counsel.
White filed the suit seeking funding to hire enough jailers to staff a soon-to-be-opened 212-bed jail expansion, while Frank maintains that signing the salary agreement as presented to her would exceed her authority as mayor and effectively lock the county into a property tax increase next year.
The mayor has penned an op-ed piece on the jail issue. It’s posted in the Opinion section on Oak Ridge Today. We have also posted a copy of an e-mail sent by Commissioner Iwanski to his fellow commissioners and other county officials regarding the jail dispute and salary lawsuit.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Information in this story brought to you through an agreement between Oak Ridge Today and WYSH. See more local news headlines on the WYSH website at http://www.wyshradio.com/local_news.html.
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