Oak Ridge Today

Guest column: Open primaries mean voters can choose which primary to vote in

Posted at
By 17 Comments

Myron Iwanski

Myron Iwanski

Comments I have heard regarding the upcoming election indicate some confusion about who can vote in this primary.

The election is a primary to determine who the Democratic and Republican candidates will be for countywide offices in Anderson County. This is an “open primary,” which means a voter does not register as a Democratic or Republican and can choose to vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary.

While most seeking countywide offices in Anderson County run as a party candidate, most residents I have talked to vote for who they believe are the best candidates for Anderson County—no matter the party.

It is puzzling how in national elections the percentage of registered voters voting in Anderson County is much higher than in local elections like those coming up in May and August. In the last presidential election, 60 percent of registered voters in Anderson County (29,283 of 49,169 eligible) voted. However in the last local county primary election, only 17 percent of registered voters (7,765 of 46,186) voted. [Read more…]

Guest column: County looks ‘dysfunctional’ on jail dispute, needs solutions

Posted at
By 5 Comments

Myron Iwanski

Myron Iwanski

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank’s op-ed column submitted to the media last week questioned County Commission’s decision to expand the jail. It has some incorrect statements about the history of this decision that need to be corrected.

In 10 years, the peak daily population of the jail nearly tripled. In 2000, there were 120 inmates, and in 2010 there were 340. The jail had a capacity of 226 when the decision to expand the jail was made in 2011. The peak daily population this year has increased to 396.

Mayor Frank’s claim that the jail is not overcrowded in very misleading.

This overcrowding is causing major problems in being able to properly classify inmates based on risks and other factors. This was the major reason the state was about to decertify the jail in 2011. It also does not take into account that we have approximately 3,000 outstanding arrest warrants, some of which prosecutors and deputies will tell you are for criminals that need to be in the jail. These criminals are not being actively pursued because of a lack of jail space. [Read more…]

Guest column: Legal battle between county mayor, sheriff must be resolved immediately

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Myron Iwanski

Myron Iwanski

Note: This is a copy of an Oct. 9 e-mail that Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski sent to the other commissioners and county officials. The sheriff’s salary lawsuit against the county mayor was not discussed during the Oct. 21 County Commission meeting, as Iwanski had hoped, but it is scheduled to be considered during a special meeting this evening.

I am very concerned that the legal battle between the mayor and sheriff has not been resolved. This battle will have huge impacts on our budget this year and in future years. I have asked that this item be placed on the agenda for the Operations Committee meeting, and I would like to see it discussed by the full County Commission at its next meeting.

Costs continue to mount in this legal battle. If the large attorney fees are included with the cost for staff time to prepare all the documents and evidence being demanded, I believe this case could end up costing the county hundreds of thousands of dollars.

More importantly, no matter which side prevails in this case, I fully expect we will be told by Tennessee Corrections Institute and/or the federal courts that we must fund the jail. As we wait for this legal case to be resolved, nothing is being done toward bringing in the federal inmates we need to help provide the funds we need to operate the jail in future. This will likely mean that we will be forced into a tax increase next year. This could have been avoided had this case been worked out and we instead focused on getting the revenue we need to operate the jail. [Read more…]

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

Posted at
By 39 Comments

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…]

Guest column: Commissioner proposes ‘In God We Trust’ compromise

Posted at
By 57 Comments

Note: This is a copy of letter Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski sent to the county commission and county mayor on Monday.

As discussed at the March County Commission meeting, I ask that a compromise regarding placement of the “In God We Trust” sign on the courthouse be added to the agenda for the April 8 Operations Committee meeting and the April 15 County Commission meeting.

There are several important issues with the sign as approved at the February meeting: [Read more…]