Six of Hamilton County’s nine county commissioners on Wednesday voted to pass a resolution that would open the door for the Hamilton County Commission to disconnect their salary from the county mayor’s.
Commissioner Randy Fairbanks said, "There seems to be quite a bit of misunderstanding and I want to clear a few things up on this resolution. Recently, an online poll was done and asked this way 'Should the law be changed to let the county commission to set their own pay,' and 93 percent said no.”
“That’s not what this resolution is doing. Right now in the other 94 counties, if they want to increase their pay, they bring forward a motion and a second and they vote in an open meeting. Hamilton County is the only county that doesn’t do that.”
Commissioner Fairbanks said that at the moment, the Commission’s pay is tied to the county mayor, and that if his salary goes up, then that’s the only way the Commission’s will also increase. He stressed the public nature of this proposed new method, saying that if the group wants a pay increase, they will now have to publicly vote upon it for all to see.
“What you think the online poll percentage would have been if the poll had said “Should the County Commission, when setting their pay, should have to vote in public to do so,” asked Commissioner Fairbanks. “I dare say 100 percent would have said yes.”
County Attorney Rheubin Taylor said the present language states that if the county employees receive a certain percent raise, then that same percent raise is also given to the county mayor as well. He told the Commission a vote was required today in order to beat a deadline for the Legislature to consider it..
“You all are being asked to vote on it today because we’re in a recessed meeting,” attorney Taylor said. “We found out the deadline is tomorrow as to the Senate, and next Wednesday to the House. We ask you to consider it today, and if by chance you get feedback that someone wants to change your mind, you get a chance to reconsider it.”
The attorney said that this resolution will need to be carried by a state senator and a few representatives. Commissioner Warren Mackey wondered if there were legislators willing to carry the bill, he also asked if the poll mentioned in the beginning was a 'professional poll.'
Commissioner Greg Martin said this was not the case and warned against using those kind of polls as evidence. “Those polls are not professional, and yet I’ve heard those be mentioned in this commission to validate a position one way or another,” Commissioner Martin said. “I’ve never put much stock in polls one way or another.”
Commissioner Martin was not in favor of this resolution, saying that the Commission does not vote to raise money on “people in the highway department, the mayor’s salary, or the commissioner’s salary,” saying that their salaries are all set in an open meeting where the Commission votes on a yearly budget. He also asked attorney Taylor if there were delegates willing to carry the bill.
“I submitted it to the chairman of the Hamilton County delegation, requesting it be circulated among the delegation seeking sponsorship in both the House and Senate,” attorney Taylor said.
Commissioner Tim Boyd agreed with the resolution, stating that when putting together a budget, the Commission usually does not discuss their pay as part of that budget. “In 11 budgets I’ve voted on, I don’t recall one moment of deliberation that voting on a budget is going to affect our pay as commissioners,”
Commissioner Boyd said. “I do recall the media pointing it out to our constituents after the fact. It’s a bit disingenuous to say we have open deliberation when we’re approving a budget that has a county employee raise that gives us an automatic raise if we approve the budget.”
Commissioner Fairbanks said, “I want every one of us to understand that if this stays in place, we can’t give our employees a raise if we don’t want a raise too. So it’s unbelievable for me that if we want to raise our pay, that we don’t have to say it to the public.”
Commissioner Mackey said he is willing to be a “lightning rod” for criticism for the Commission. He said he has supported increasing pay for sheriffs and teachers, and pushed for increased COVID-19 testing in the county, and so he is okay with "taking one for the team. ”
He said, “Leadership is realizing you’re not going to satisfy everyone and saying no, no, no by being the most conservative person in the room. Take a stand.”
Of the nine Commissioners, Greg Martin, Sabrena Smedley, and Chip Baker all voted no. In favor were Commissioners Boyd, Fairbanks, Mackey, Chester Bankston, Katherlyn Geter and David Sharpe.
The commissioners make about $24,500 per year now. The chairman gets an extra $5,000 and the vice chairman an extra $2,500.
The original letter read as follows: An Act Amending the Compensation Received by Hamilton County Commissioners
Amend Tennessee Code Annotated Section 5-5-107 by deleting in its entirety subsection (b)(2) which presently is applicable only to Hamilton County.
Said subsection reads, "Upon adoption of a resolution by a two-thirds vote of its membership, the county legislative body of any county having a population of not less than 285,000 or more than 286,000 according to the 1990 federal census or any subsequent federal census shall fix the salary of the members of the county legislative body by June 30, 1999 to become effective July 1, 1999. On July 1, 2000, and each July 1 thereafter, the compensation for members of the county legislative body shall be adjusted to reflect the same percentage increase the county executive of such county is to receive." By deleting said subsection, Hamilton County would be covered by the same general Provisions that affect all other counties in Tennessee.
We the undersigned members of the Board of Commissioners for Hamilton County, Tennessee, do hereby evidence our approval of the heretofore attached proposed legislation by fixing our signatures herein below, and commit to adopt said legislation when presented to the County Commission upon its passage by the Tennessee General Assembly. This 2nd day of February, 2021."