Oak Ridge Today

Public Notice: Anderson County Legislative Committee meets Wednesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Anderson County Legislative Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Room 312 in the Courthouse, 100 N. Main Street, Clinton, TN.

The purpose of this meeting is for Legislative update and consideration for items before the State General Assembly.

Anderson committee recommends referendum on federal prisoners at county jail

Posted at
By 3 Comments

Anderson County Legislative Committee on Jail Referendum

The Anderson County Legislative Committee on Thursday recommended a non-binding referendum be put on the August ballot to ask voters whether federal and state prisoners should be housed at the county jail. From left are Whitey Hitchcock, Jerry Creasey, Tim Isbel, Dusty Irwin, and Steve Mead.

CLINTON—An Anderson County committee on Thursday recommended taking steps to ask voters in August whether state and federal prisoners should be housed in the county jail, which is being expanded.

Some county commissioners say that housing pre-trial federal inmates could help cover jail costs, while other county officials, including the mayor, say that they don’t want to get into the federal prison business.

On Thursday, the Anderson County Legislative Committee recommended that the Anderson County Commission consider sending the question to voters in a non-binding referendum in August.

But there are several hurdles. First, 11 of the 16 county commissioners would have to approve the move, possibly during their daytime meeting on Jan. 21, Commission Chairman Chuck Fritts said. Then, a private act would have to be approved in the Tennessee General Assembly in Nashville by early June to put the question on the August ballot. [Read more…]