Petty County Tyrants - And Response (2)

  • Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Last week's County Commission meeting was quite a show. Ironically, the preacher giving the opening invocation asked that "truth may prevail" because that is the opposite of what happened. What we actually saw was bickering, verbal attacks, and a collapse of democratic discourse. It is typically not my approach to "attack" individuals, but as each commissioner made public statements, each needs to be held accountable for their own words.

The focus was a resolution brought by Commissioner Joe Graham of District 6 seeking to use old discretionary funds to hold up his end of a bargain for new windows in a Lookout Valley rec center - a bargain agreed upon between the county, city, and local fundraisers.

It took the community a full three years to raise their part before going back to their commissioner for the rest.

Graham was wanting to use discretionary funds, though for the last two years he very publicly gave back his discretionary funds to the county. Multiple commissioners attempted to pin Graham as a hypocrite for wanting to use discretionary money now. The truth is that Graham never denounced the use of discretionary funds, stating many times that they can be a very useful tool. What Graham denounced was the Commission's decision to rob our county savings account.

The savings account allows us to pay for countywide emergencies without having to raise taxes or use our line of credit. When the county mayor did not include discretionary funds in his budget - because the county could not afford it - the Commission discovered that it could use five votes to do anything, including loot our savings and use our credit line like a teenager with their dad's card. Anxious to not remind the taxpayers of this, they pushed a narrative that does not match the actual facts.

Graham did give back his discretionary funds from that day. He objected to the way the money was obtained, not the money itself, and so he sat on the remainder of his old discretionary funds and his expense account - money given to each commissioner for travel expenses.

Warren Mackey questioned the use of discretionary funds, but said he would support the resolution.

Tim Boyd followed with a rejection of the resolution. He said, "I’ve got issues with the fact that our fellow commissioner Graham has been critical of us, the commissioners that kept their discretionary funds, and that we were accused of reaching out and grabbing the funds.” It's funny that he should take umbrage with that accusation, because that's exactly what they did.

Sabrena Smedley's one coherent point was that Graham holds the commission's feet to the fire regarding spending. She claimed that Graham "brings out the rhetoric of raising taxes." We have a AAA credit rating which the commission puts in jeopardy when they misuse the line of credit. That actually would result in a tax hike. Since this county has not raised taxes in almost nine years now, that's a valid concern.

Randy Fairbanks took the floor. leveling attack after attack at Joe Graham. It should be noted that Fairbanks has had a vendetta against Graham ever since July. The Sale Creek community was so distraught over an issue regarding the fire hall dedication that they approached Commissioner Graham in a bid to defy their own commissioner. Fairbanks berated Graham for "interfering in his district,' while he flatly ignored the will of his constituents.

At this time in the meeting, Fairbanks noted how Graham left the room while they deliberated resolutions that concerned the ill-gotten discretionary funds. Not wanting to be complicit, Graham excused himself. When asked to remain, he consistently only gave a "present" vote. Fairbanks trotted out a long list of honorable things he had spent his money on, but Graham  never questioned the validity of the projects, only the methods by which the money was taken.

Fairbanks accused Graham of being a bully, noting Graham's desire to only do public business in public per the Sunshine Law. A bully never single-handedly attacks a large group. Bullies are cowards, amassing a squadron of toadies to egg him on while the group backs a single victim into a corner. In truth, a more apt description of that county commission meeting could not be made.

Fairbanks accused Graham of running to the news to "assassinate the character" of other commissioners. He directly referenced an unbidden article wherein Roy Exum noted that Fairbanks' wife is a "princess in the Republican Party," and that led to Bankston stabbing Beck in the back when he reneged on the quid pro quo agreement that secured Bankston the chairman seat. Fairbanks balked at the reference to his wife, but when a sitting commissioner's spouse is the president of a local PAC, and such a relationship could affect his decisions on the dais, then she does become a valid part of the conversation.

Then Greg Beck stepped in. Righteous indignation could be heard in his voice as he called down the chairman himself, noting that never in the commission's history has a chairman allowed such vicious attacks to be launched across the dais like this. Chairman Bankston began to interject when Beck thundered "Do not interrupt me!" in a display that called forth images of Gandalf as he rebuked the commissioners for their puerile behavior. "The chairman can silence anyone he wishes, and you have let this go on for too long."

Chairman Chester Bankston sat nearly silent the entire time. As other commissioners lambasted Graham, they only drew more attention to the white elephant in the room: Bankston's looting of the savings account and constant misuse of the credit line. When a discrepancy was discovered concerning chairman pay, most other past recipients either denied or diverted the back-pay. Bankston proclaimed, "I got mine" as he took the money. This is the level of self-serving actions we are dealing with, and Chester Bankston took his baton in hand to act as conductor in this orchestra of hate.

Jim Fields had one question: was the money Graham was asking for indeed legit? Since it was, he said there was no other issue to be discussed.

"We're all here to do the county's business," Dr. Mackey rounded out, "Like it or not, we need each other."

Commissioner Joe Graham then took the floor, defending himself on every point, then asked that the commission move to a vote.

A vote needs five votes to pass. The vote failed, with three voting no, Randy Fairbanks smugly voting "present", and four voting yes. It should be noted that the commission is gridlocked, though it was not designed to be so. Chairman Chester Bankston has refused to replace Marty Haynes, who moved to the Assessor's Office. Bankston has his cabal in place, and in doing so, he also denies District 3 their constitutional right to representation. Critics asked the question what happens if they needs to make important decisions during the three months that District 3 has no representation? It happened, and what we see are a group of petty tyrants, concerned more about pet projects, pork spending, and personal vendettas than they do about the proper representation they were elected to administer.

Open your eyes, Hamilton County. It matters who governs.

Dan Baker 

* * *  

Mr. Baker, I'm glad you didn't write the history on the first U.S. Constitutional Convention or we would have a very different view of those deliberations and delegates. But you do raise some critical issues. 

The Hamilton County Commission serves all the citizens of this county, not just one district, and the money they spend comes from all taxpayers. Most importantly, deliberations are part of the democratic process and they can be heated at times. 

However, it can be embarrassing when a commissioner's past behavior such as storming out of meetings on discretionary funds or making inflammatory comments come back to bite him. 

We don't need to elect county commissioners who weigh every decision they make in the balance of personal ambition. We need people of service, not political posturing. 

And on Nov. 7 citizens again have the opportunity to make that choice-service or ambition. 

Ralph Miller 

* * *

I read with utter amusement at Mr. Bakers comments concerning a commissioner's statement about "only wanting to conduct the people's business in public in keeping with the Sunshine Law."  Funny, I seem to remember one of the commissioners nearly having a coronary at a public forum when confronted with the question about being involved in a "backroom deal' by several commissioners conspiring to secure the votes to call for a new vote to displace Chester Bankston as chairman, (and vote to restore "Mr. Sunshine" to that post). 

Be careful that one's righteous indignation doesn't come back to bite you. "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when we practice to deceive" 

Should be on a plaque over the commission chambers for all members to remember.  Seems they frequently forget. 

Bill Reesor
Ooltewah

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