Thursday, June 29

Out Of Shadows THE COURIER - Thursday, June 29, 2006 - Pg 5A

Cook aims to bring county government ‘out of the shadows’ as commissioner

Ted Cook. The very name causes many Hardin County politicians to feel their blood pressure rise.

He’s been an outspoken––and highly visible––critic of county government ever since former county mayor Joe Barker presided over the abolishment of the local office of constable, costing Cook his badge. On any given night, he’s often as not attending some local government meeting asking questions and making suggestions.

Perhaps Cook’s biggest claim to fame is organizing the 2004 public referendum which overturned a $28 increase in the wheel tax to fund a new jail after commissioners staged a surprise vote on the issue. Commissioners later turned the tables on their nemesis, though, hiking the wheel tax by $36 and blaming the additional increase on Cook for bringing the tax matter to the people for a vote, delaying construction.

Cook’s twice run for county mayor, but this time is setting his sights on the legislative body, seeking a District 6 seat on the Hardin County Commission, where he somewhat grandly envisions ousting the mayor from the traditional post of commission chairman and ensconcing himself in the post.

But despite the irritant factor, Cook is known for generally doing his homework and has gained a grudging respect in some political circles.

His latest campaign slogan is, "He has talked the talk for 10 years. Let’s see if he can walk the walk."

Cook, 64, contends "the county is disorganized. The county is dysfunctional. The county commission lets the mayor do the legislative branch’s work."

The county commission’s vote to hike the wheel tax despite a public referendum to the contrary is a "living example" of how Hardin County does not have representative government, he said.
Cook said he is running for office because he owes it to his four grandsons to help provide a county home that is clean and safe, has a government on sound financial footing, and that efficiently plans and acts for today and tomorrow.

Hardin County is fortunate in that its retail sector is growing and real estate development is booming, he said.

And while industrial development has lagged and Team Hardin County has found itself becoming a political football to be kicked around this election year, Cook said he has "no problem with the concept of what Team Hardin County is supposed to do. I have a problem with the way Team Hardin County executed that concept."

The economic development organization "doesn’t need to be abolished," he argues. "It needs to be restructured."

Cook pledged that if elected, he will "represent the citizens of Hardin County in such a manner that not the first citizen that voted for me or recommended me to their family or friends in the 6th District, will ever be disappointed with their decision."

He also promised to "conduct the affairs of the county in accordance with the spirit and intent of the Sunshine Laws and the Open Meetings Act."

Asked if he worries about losing effectiveness by becoming a part of county government, he said, "A Ted Cook shouldn’t be needed on the outside. If they didn’t conduct their business in the shadows, there wouldn’t be a need for a Ted Cook."

Wednesday, June 28

No Call List Information - Important


CELL PHONE Numbers Going Public
JUST A REMINDER 4 days from today, cell phone numbers are being released to Telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls.
YOU WILL BECHARGED FOR THESE CALLS!
These telemarketers will eat up your free minutes and end up costing you money in the long run.
National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years.
PASS THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS

Monday, June 19

Fuzzy Math -Part 2

Problem - How to fund the increase funding for the Chamber, that has been approved by the Hardin County Budget Committee? (Long overdue and election issue with business community.)

Budget Committee Recommendations: Fund with state mandated River Resort District tax sharing funds that are earmarked for "Tourism Related" activity. Require Chamber to note all disbursed funds as "Tourism."

Facts: The Chamber is a not-for-profit civic organization.

Not-for-profit contributions are governed uniquely and exclusively by Chapter 0380-2-2 of the Rules of Audits of the Comptroller of the Treasury and Section 5-9-109, Tennessee Code Annotated, and any and all other laws which may apply to county appropriations to nonprofit organizations.

BOTH governing documents state:

T.C.A. 5-9-109(d) - Appropriations to nonprofit organizations other than charitable organizations may be made only when notices have been published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county of the intent to make an appropriation to a nonprofit but not charitable organization, specifying the intended amount of the appropriation and the purposes for which the appropriation will be spent.

Auditor’s Handbook - Chapter 0380-2-2 (6) of the Rules of the Comptroller of the Treasury - For appropriations to nonprofit civic organizations, notices shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county of the intent to make an appropriation, specifying the intended amount and purpose.

Smoke and Mirrors: County reaction of past neglect and shunning of the Chamber of Commerce - Increase meager funding significantly. Requested $40,000 - Fund $20,000. But the question is, where does the County Budget Committee and the Chief Financial Officer find the funds? I know. Use some of the River Resort District, earmarked funds. Yay, that’s what we’ll do.

River Resort District Tax Sharing Revenue -

(iii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, of the revenue retained pursuant to an election under the provisions of subdivision (a)(3)(F)(i), . . fifty percent (50%) shall be used exclusively for either the promotion and support of tourism in the jurisdiction or the promotion and support of tourism in conjunction with other jurisdictions so electing Tennessee River resort district status.

Budget Committee - No need to meet advertising requirement, because the funding is coming from tourism, not T.C.A. 5-9-109(d). Does this method of funding restrict the Chamber in any way? Well, yah.

Double - Duh - The statute does not speak to source of funding as option to the requirement to "For appropriations to nonprofit civic organizations, notices shall be published . . ." or "the intent to make an appropriation, specifying the intended amount and purpose.

When challenged, Chairman Budget Committee - all you need is eleven (11) votes on the Commission and you can pass anything!!!! Well, O.K., there. Nothing like a good example.

Friday, June 16

Paying for Jail Services - What's Fair?

When will we accept the natural way to fund our operating obligations — property taxes that are enough to do the job. We now have to pay for the foolish decisions and procrastination of our county government in the past or even today.

The public needs to understand, that the taxes well-off people aren’t paying translate directly into a combination of higher taxes and reduced public services for the vast majority of Hardin County citizens.

County officials could have engendered more support by being up-front. Critics can chastise commissioners for failing to include the public in the decision-making process, in their rush to solve the jail crowding crisis. They deserve any criticism thrown their direction. This is a message that should resonated well with the voting public.

Reassurance that community leaders are accurately representing the needs and interests of their constituents, has been total lip service.

Why do they do things in secret and wait until it's all done to tell us? They decide, and then they tell people what they're going to get stuck with. This doesn’t send a clear message to community stakeholders that their opinions matter.

Jail opponents can accused the jail planners of concentrating too much on bricks and jail bars and not enough on treatment and prevention programs to keep criminals from re-offending and re-entering the criminal justice system.

The guiding philosophy in criminal justice is to change the lifestyles and behaviors that lead to crime, resulting in fewer arrests, a reduced need for jail beds and a savings to taxpayers. This is a message that has resonated well with the voting public.

Tennessee’s tax system is the third most regressive in the entire Country, requiring low- and middle-income families to pay more of their income in tax than wealthier Tennesseans. In Hardin County it is about 4 times more for the low income families.

I think we can do better and I had rather not force my grandsons and their children to have to pay for the foolish decisions and procrastination of our county government.

In the past it has been - We’ll keep the property taxes artificially low, soak the poor folks with sales tax, wheel tax and any other kind of regressive taxes, fees or charges we can.

After we have sold all of the land we want to sell, when we get a lot of folks moved here, because of our artificially low property tax rate, we’ll increase the property taxes and catch up on repairing/replacing our infrastructure that won’t be able to maintain, for lack of funds.

Is it about timing or what!

From Yester Year Files - What's the Basic Malfunction of Hardin County -

Things have not changed so this is still relevant

September 12, 2002
From The Desk Of
T. G. (Ted) Cook

What follows is an excerpt from a letter that I sent to the prior group of Commissioners and the former County Executive in September 1999. After reading the article in the current issue of the Courier, I feel the point should be made again.

Dear County Commissioners and County Executive,

James Madison had some ideas about how to keep the government in line when he suggested dividing power between three separate but interconnected branches. These branches would each have separate duties and responsibilities, but would also have the ability to check the authority of the other branches through a system of safeguards written into the Constitution.

This letter is sent to you to encourage you to consider the ‘intent’ of the following statute:
  • Tenn. Code. Ann. - Counties - County Legislative Bodies - Part 1 - Substantive Provisions
    §5-5-103. Officers.
  • (a) In counties electing a county executive as provided in §5-6-102(1) and (3), there shall be a chair and chair pro tempore.
  • (b)(1) The legislative body, at its first session on or after September 1 of each year, shall elect from its membership a chair and a chair pro tempore; provided, that the county legislative body may elect the county judge or county executive to be its chair; provided further, that such election shall confer no additional powers or authority to the chair so elected other than as presiding officer that are not otherwise provided by law. (Emphasis Added)

On December 10, 1998 I noted in a letter to each of you the following:

Over the years the 20 member County Commission have come to relied on the County Executive to administer the affairs of the County Commission by an almost ritualistic election to the office of Chairman of the County Commission. Over the year this reliance has evolved to an abdication of responsibility by those County Commissioners who take the position that "I have to rely on the Chairman/County Executive" because he has looked into it. Or "I have to go along" with the Chairman/County Executive and the Sheriff because they know what they want to do.

This reliance violates several fiduciary responsibilities of the individual Commissioners, the primary being the check and balances system of oversight. The County Commission as an entity has the oversight responsibility for the County Government including the County Executive and Sheriff. In Hardin County the question can be asked - Where is the oversight when the Chairman and the County Executive are one and the same?

In your position as an elected representatives of the people of Hardin County, I call upon you to stand up for what is right. Your only other choice, as I see it, is to keep living on your knees. I call upon you to insure that the most basic values of Government are provided to the citizens of this County . That The Separation of Powers Doctrine be adopted by the County Commission and that you look first within your membership, as required by the above statute, for your Chairman.

As noted in the above statute, the only duties of the Chairman is to preside at your meetings and as noted in section (g) -
  • In the event the county executive is absent or intends to be absent for more than twenty-one (21) days, or is incapacitated or other wise unable to perform the duties of the county executive’s office, the county legislative body shall appoint the chair to serve until the absence or disability is removed. . . . While the chair is serving as county executive, the chair pro tempore shall preside over sessions of the legislative body.

Originally, our founding fathers envisioned a government Of the people, By the people, and For the people, that included a checks and balance on governmental powers.

The Separation of Powers Doctrine basically states that there shall be a separation between the three branches of government, i.e. Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. Neither branch could exercise the power of the other." THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1821


Respectfully re-submitted for your consideration
T. G. (Ted) Cook

P.S. Maybe, just maybe, we can get-r-done this time.

Tuesday, June 13

Reforming Hardin County Government



Goals:

Primary - Establish the Checks and Balance System of Government in Hardin County
* 3 Separate (But Equal) Branches of Government

Level the Playing Field for the Citizens.
Fair Taxation and Be Readily Accessible - Agenda and Meetings Vie Tv, Web and Cable.

Infrastructures - Jail and Schools

Citizen Services - Metro Commission &
Legal Opinion - Wheel Tax

Economic Development - Complete Review of County Efforts and Use of Resources.

Law Enforcement - Complete Review of County Justice System and establish Constable System &Workhouse - (Jackson Support/Davidson Hasn’t.)
(Constables Are a Dead Horse That Cook Keeps Beating.
Fact: They Ain’t Ever Been Dead!
Not in Cook’s World )

Chamber of Commerce - Support Efforts Positively.
Re-visit Team Hardin County

Critical to Goal

Voters to Make an Informed Decision about Who They Elect County Commissioner and Mayor. They Are Our One Local Governing Body That Will Be Responsible for Making Reform Happen!

The Rest of The Story on $20.00 Per Hour Wages

The Flaws in the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Hardin County - Annual Average 2004 by Department of Labor

It appears their data is reasonable, but their computations are flawed.

Manufacturing Industry Hardin County

Reported Totals vs Data Reflected Totals

Average Number Of Reporting Units - - - - - 43 vs. 28
Average Annual Employment - - - - - - - - 2,089 vs. 966
Total Wages - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - $84,470,637 vs. $25,135,328
Average Annual Wage - - - - - - - - -- - $40,431 vs. $26,020
Average Weekly Wage - - - - - - - - - - - - $778 vs. $500
Taxable Wages - - - - - - - - - - - -- - $17,6926,646 vs. $8,162,599
Total Premiums Paid - - - - - - - - - -- - $680,000 vs. $349,976
Average Premium Rate - - - - - - - - -- - - 3.86 vs. - -

Per Hour Wage (52 wk-40 hr/wk) $19.45 vs. $12.51

The Questions:

Why would anyone repeatedly base their representations on obviously flawed information?

Why hasn’t anyone at Team Hardin County ever questioned the representations of these obviously flawed totals?

Where, What and Who are these 43 Reporting Manufacturing Units in Hardin County.

Think about it.
These are the folks who we have been paying to oversee our industrial and manufacturing facilities and assets. Go look at their web site. Listed 7 valid manufacturing companies. Who are the other 36? Hasn’t it never crossed any responsible persons mind to say, "Say What?"

Fact: There can be no excuse for misquoting our average manufacturing wages and claiming that Hardin County has one of the highest average manufacturing wage in the state. It shouldn’t take a lot effort to qualify their facts, when they are the Joint Economic and Community Development Board for Hardin County, by law.

Fact: It is not beneficial in our recruiting efforts to attract manufactures to locate in Hardin County by claiming to have "one of the highest average manufacturing wages in the state," even if it were true. Can you say, Duh?

Monday, June 12

An average of $20 Bucks an Hour - You Must be Crazy

As noted earlier, in The Couriers’ May 18, 2006 edition the retiring Chief Executive Officer of Team Hardin County is quoted as saying that we have one of the highest average manufacturing wage in the state, at about $20.00 per hour.

You know, sometime what one doesn’t say can cause a lot of confusion with what one does say.

The $20.00 figure cited in The Courier is actually quite accurate when one considers that the U.S. Department of Labors’ most recent data (2004) reflects a $19.45 average per hour wage for the manufacturing industry. But then again, this reflects raw data provided by the responding units, who sometime misstate reality.

Having said that, one should remember that the average per hour wage for all of the reporting privately owned industries in Hardin County was $13.03.

The U.S. Department Labor divides private industry into two primary groups, Goods-Producing, and Service-Providing. Goods-Producing, dominated by manufacturing (78%), reflects an average of $17.50 per/hour wage and Service-Providing reflects an average of $9.58 per/hour wage.

This set of data reflects that of the 7,516 average annual employment, the manufacturing industries account for 2,089 employees, or 27.79%.

The next highest employee group was in the Service-Providing, Trade, Transportation and Utilities group with 1,412 ($10.65 p/hr) followed by Local Government industry group with 1,328 (11.86 p/hr) employees.

One could argue that a better way to present the employment picture in Hardin County would have been to qualify the $20.00 per hour figure with the disclaimer that it applied to about only 28% of our workforce, while the total workforce averaged about $13.00 per hour. But than again we would have to disclose where we rank in the state. Doubtful that $13.00 would be "among the highest in the state.

Respectfully submitted for your consideration,
Ted

Thursday, June 1

Is Team Hardin County A WOMBAT?

Is Team Hardin County a WOMBAT?
(Waste Of Money, Brains And Time)

The concept of centralized or joint economic and community development is certainly NOT a WOMBAT. The effectiveness of Team Hardin County’s responsibility in filling that role could be, and certainly should be from time to time, challenged, evaluated or questioned.

My problem in not with the concept or necessity of having a central contact group for those interested in Hardin County, for whatever reason. My problem has always been the management and effectiveness of Hardin County’s version of that group.

Each county is required by T.C.A. §6-58-114 to establish a joint economic and community development board (JECBD). The purpose of the JECDB is "to foster communication relative to economic and community development between and among governmental entities, industry and private citizens." A very worthy purpose, but is it working in Hardin County?

The simple answer to that question is, apparently not. At least not from the private citizens standpoint. One has to only read The Courier or even visit our internet presentations to find examples of it’s misstatements of reality and facts.

In The Courier’s May 18, 2006 edition the retiring Chief Executive Officer of Team Hardin County is quoted as saying that we have one of the highest average manufacturing wage in the state, at about $20.00 per hour. Also, that despite the loss of the backbone of the local manufacturing sector, the garment industry, there are now some 4,500 more Hardin countians working here than there were in the early 90s.

Based on my own research on the manufacturing sector in Hardin County that found that the average wage was less than $13.00 per hour, I would challenge and question both of these alleged facts.

According to the University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research, our manufacturing jobs declined from 2,262 to 2,089 and our total nonfarm employment declined from 6,618 to 6011 between, 2001 and 2004. This same report found that the average annual pay for nonfarm employment increased from $26,710 to $27,234 during the same period, reflecting about $13.00 per hour NOT $20.00 per hour.

One would certainly have to question the proposition that there are now some 4,500 more jobs here in Hardin County than there were in the early 90. Would that would mean that those that lost their jobs in the garment industry had found another job, plus an additional 4,500 more jobs had been created? Highly questionable at the least.

There is a propensity in Hardin County to either embellish, overstate or understate the facts to suit their pronouncements. A clear example would be that despite the U.S. census of 2000 findings that we have a 77.2% home ownership rate in Hardin County, our county government pronounced that only 38% of the population pay property taxes, when they wanted to justify the increase in our wheel taxes.

But I digress. If one were to review our County presence on the internet, one would find that it is full of mis-stated facts and figures and omits or misplaces other vital information.
So, the question becomes, what do we do about it?

The first recommendation would be that someone be placed in charge of a complete top to bottom review of our efforts to present a timely, factual and accurate communications effort relative to economic and community development between and among our governmental entities, our industry sector and our private citizens.

This could be accomplished with an organizational review and evaluation with recommendations for necessary improvements to accomplish our goals for having the organization in the first instance.


Organization Analysis/Functional Analysis

The most successful work efforts are accomplished with the right departments performing the right tasks with the right people. While that sounds simple, it is astounding how many organizations are not aligned for maximization of efforts. Cross-overs of tasks or gray areas in who owns the responsibilities can cost time and money. Analyzing the structure of the organization and then the functions in terms of what is done, by whom and which function(s) is/are critical to results.

This process would examine the organizational and functional alignment. This determines the structure that is the best for maximizing people and their talents.

Both organizational analysis and functional analysis are different, yet they go hand in hand. One looks at the total organization and the other puts the focus on the unctions/departments/groups and individuals.

In the functional analysis for example, one would ask questions such as:

How is the work aligned? Are jobs and tasks aligned correctly? Do you have accountability for all critical functions? How many tasks are not owned by anyone or are worked on by two people/groups resulting in a lot of finger pointing? Are the right functional responsibilities aligned with the right departments? Are some people overloaded while others have free time on their hands? Are the people aligned correctly in terms of FTE (Full Time Equivalents)? Do we have back up for critical people and their skills?

In the organizational analysis the study would exam the organization in the bigger picture...

How is the organization aligned to achieve the maximum efficiency and meet it’s goals. What are the interfaces between departments? What issues do we have in terms of breakdowns in our systems and processes (both technical and people).
Respectfully submitted for your consideration.