County Commission - Regular Meeting

Thank you. Can we take them all at once? Can we take them all?

This station is at 48th Street. I'm gonna sit right here.

My name's Raymond Clayton.

We'll just give that to him in place of the proclamation and tell him we'll get it to him when we get it.

Marcus needs to do his. So we won't be here until .

I'd like to call this meeting to order. The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners quarterly meeting. Please call the roll. 17 members present, 4 absent. We've got 17 present, 4 absent. Next, we have the prayer. We'll be led by Miss Katie Huffaker. And remain standing for the pledge led by Mr. Sammy Solomon.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for letting us be able to gather here in a public place all together. Thank you for our nation and those who are defending it. Please be with us. Give us peace. Give us wisdom. Help those in our community who are sick and who have recently lost loved ones. Please be with our meeting, and thank you for blessing Jefferson County, and please continue to do so. In Christ's name I pray, amen.

Amen. Attention, salute, pledge.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Next on the agenda, we have proclamations and courtesy resolutions. Hometown hero, Willie Garfield-Renaud. You have the floor.

Thank you. Thank you again, commissioners, for allowing us to recognize a local hero at our quarterly meetings. Today's hero is, as the chair said, private first class Willie Garfield-Renaud. Willie lived in what is now District 8. He was the youngest of eight children. His family was a long line of Tennessee farmers who served in the Civil War, the War of 1812, and the Revolutionary War, so a long line of patriots. He died at the age of 26 in World War II near Cologne, Germany, two months before the war ended. We have with us today his daughter Ruth, his son Willie, his granddaughter Lisa, among other family members. And at this time, we would like to read the proclamation.

The youngest of eight children, Willie Garfield Renaud, was born in Inman, South Carolina on April 29th, 1918. His family, including his parents, Martin and Amy Gann Renaud, and siblings, George, Jesse May, Mary, Lesty, Beulah, Sam, and Arville, moved to rural Tennessee near downtown of Dandridge. According to the family, Willie Bill Renaud came from a long line of East Tennessee farmers who served their country in the Revolutionary War the War of 1812, and the Civil War on the Union side. On June 25, 1937, Renault married Nina Worth from nearby English Mountain, Tennessee. The couple later welcomed daughter Ina Ruth and son Willie Lee. With war raging across Europe and in the South Pacific, Renault enlisted in the United States Army on March 13, 1944. After training at Camp Fannin in Tyler, Texas, Renault was assigned to Company G, a rifle company in the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division, and sent to Europe, the European Theater of Operations, in August of 1944. By the time PFC Renault joined the fighting in the summer of 1944, Allied forces had stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, and had begun to push the German army out of Western Europe. But final victory would not come easily as his 36th Armored Infantry Regiment moved into Western Germany, pushing east toward the Rhine River. On March 1st, 1945, PFC Renault's regiment was involved in heavy fighting 35 miles west of the strategically important German city of Cologne, a vital hub for German industry, supply, and transportation located on the Rhine River. Renault's 36th Armored Infantry Regiment successfully secured the German towns of Weidendorf and Thor, but at very high cost in men and material. Among the many casualties, PFC Willie G. Renault was lost at age 26. Two months later, on May 7, 1945, the German Third Reich unconditionally surrendered. PFC Renault was laid to rest in his hometown with full military honors.

We'd like to ask the two county commissioners from District 8 where PFC Renault resided, Mr. Ronnie Colvin and Mr. W.D. Henry, to join us up here as we present the plaque of honor to PFC Renault's family. And in memory of PFC Willie Reno, we humbly and gratefully present this plaque of honor to you. As is customary, PFC Raynaud's portrait will be displayed in the lobby of the courthouse for the next 90 days in honor of his sacrifice. Thank you very much for allowing us this opportunity. And thank you for providing such a brave, wonderful man to this county.

If I could also ask if we could have a moment of silence for the three service members who have recently been killed in the Middle East and the one who is still missing. Thank you.

and there's nothing for him to do around here in that farm. And I always decided to find us to go to church.

Next we'll move right along with the agenda here. We got approval and corrections to the agenda. Resolution 2026-35 was not ready. So that will be struck from the agenda. Next, we have the consent. We need to vote on that. We have a motion on the floor, then seconded. Seek to vote. Question or comment? Seek to vote. 16 yes 0 no the agenda has been corrections to the agenda next we have the consent agenda we have approval of minutes open session june 15th 2026 approval of minutes special college section session june 25th 2026 approval of notaries and bonds. We have resolution 2026 dash 29 resolution declaring a surplus and authorize the Jefferson County Circuit Court to the surplus and transfer said equipment. He we have resolution 2026 dash 30 resolution declaring a surplus and authorize the Jefferson County Circuit Court to surplus and transfer said equipment. One more, if resolution 2026-31 resolution declaring a surplus to authorize the Jefferson County Clerk to surplus and dispose of said equipment. Question or comment? Proceed to vote. Hold that just a second. Mr. Creighton. All right. That's the consent agenda, and now we'll run along the appearance of citizens. We've got quite a few this evening, so let's try to get them in as quick as we can. We have our speaker will be Brad Toomey. And, sir, you have come to the microphone, please state your name, address, and what you wish to speak about. You have three minutes. Next on the deck will be James Lance. You will be next, sir.

Thank you very much, fellow commissioners. My name is Brad Toomey, 2199 Watkins Road, Talbot. the topic I want to talk about I think just came off the agenda but it probably will be coming back in the next few months spoken to a couple of you here the the issue of eminent domain around data centers I think is something we all should pay attention to It's happening in a few other states around the country, and I know politically it's being talked about by a couple of candidates that are running for governor of our state here. So I know the commission has done some things around data centers and zoning specifically, but I think we need to definitely start to pay attention, talk to a state legislature, and make sure that the county's on the forefront of this. A couple of the neighboring counties have taken the approach of just putting a building moratorium in place. that's temporary that's not something that's a long-term solution it might be a good quick fix to buy a little bit of time but I think this is something you really have to pay attention to especially in some of the zones that we have in this county along railroad tracks along the interstate that can be easily subjected to eminent domain from the government thank you thank you sir next we have James Lance on deck we will have Dennis

Good evening Jefferson County Commissioners. My name is James Lance. I'm a 27-year veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces residing at 2246 Peninsula Drive, Jefferson City. I'm here on behalf of the citizens of Dogwood Acres. Tonight I want to address the Commission on one issue. This Commission has publicly professed its support for our over 4,100 veterans residing in Jefferson County on numerous occasions during the past two and a half years. Subsequently, I respectfully request you pass 2026-32, establishing a Jefferson County Veterans Advisory Board. Creating this board with the individual skill sets identified by Commissioner Reid in his resolution will significantly enhance our county's leadership team's understanding of issues and concerns impacting our veteran community. It will also provide informed recommendations on applicable county procedures and policies. This is not an original idea. In fact, many counties in Tennessee, for example, Blount and Anderson counties, have already established their own veteran service boards. Failure to pass this critical resolution will reflect on the entire commission and calls your commitment to our over 4,100 veterans into question. I stand ready to answer any questions regarding this request. Hearing none, thank you.

Thank you, sir. Next we have Dennis Nabel.

Good evening, commissioners. I stand before you. My name is Dennis Nagel. I live at 2205 Peninsula Drive. I'm a veteran of 33 years, and this town is now my home. This county is now my home. I want to voice my support for Commissioner Reid's resolution for a veteran advisory council. I think it's warranted. I think it's due, and I think these people have earned it time and time again. If I were to ask, and I know I should not have to, simply because I know for me some patriots, and how can you not vote for something like this, something that helps these veterans? They have provided everything that you need to live the lives that you do in freedom. They're not asking very much. What they ask for is very small. And I appreciate the fact that I'm sure I will see this pass unanimously. There's no other reason to vote any other way.

Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Kim Starr on deck Kathleen Billers.

Good evening. My name is Kim Starr. I reside at 1815 Bridgecrest Drive, Dandridge. I'm here speaking from myself, but also in my role as treasurer of companion animal rescue and education, which is the county shelter. We are entering into a very crisis state, and I don't use that word lightly. As you all know, you hear information all the time, all the shelters are overloaded all over the place. There is such an influx of animals that are just being dropped off and left. There are kittens being born left and right and being brought into the shelter five, six, seven at a time. We just had 13 puppies brought in in one day at the shelter. And the staff has to scramble. You have to vaccinate all of them. You have to keep them separate from all of the populations. The other day I was at the shelter, there were five large animals in crates in the lobby because there's no place else to house them. They were brought in by animal control. Again, they have to be segregated until we're sure that they don't have any diseases or illnesses to be put into the population. Although where they're even putting them, I am not sure because all of the space is taken. we need to start really looking at ways to stop the amount of animals that are being abandoned. A large portion of it is a spay-neuter. Many people do not want to spay-neuter, or the other issue is the cost. If you try to go to a vet, they're gonna charge you $300. People don't have that to spay or neuter their pet. Yes, there are a lot of spay-neuter clinics, People will sign up for those. They'll even pay for their $20 slot. But then for whatever reason, I don't know, it's too hot outside, they don't show up. And then that space has already been taken for a person who wants, you know, would have liked to have had their animal come in. We have a backlog of people. We're constantly taking calls and trying to get spay-neuter. Many other organizations are. The other issue is I think a lot of people don't even know about them. You know, we try to post out on social media and stuff like that, but I think that something else needs to be done. We need more clinics, we need to get the information out faster, and we also need to come up with other ways that will actually get the people to come in to have their animals spayed and neutered. The other thing that has been talked about is dog licenses. I know that's not a great topic. It's never happened in this county, but we have a lot of new people coming into this county. They're used to having to license their animal, and maybe we're not going to get 100%, but if at least some of that income can come in from licensing dogs, maybe that can help pay for more spay-neuter programs to help give incentives to people to bring their animals in for spay-neuter. Currently, our shelter is shipping dogs up north because they have very stringent laws regarding that. They need animals. What a wonderful position to be in. We're doing everything we can to try to help with that.

The other thing... Could you close the time zone?

Oh.

Could you please close?

Okay. Well, we would love to sit down with some commissioners to come up with some solutions, some answers. It doesn't have to be a big thing. I don't think it's going to be a difficult thing. It will take time, yes, but not difficult. So if any commissioner is willing to sit down with any member of the board, we would love to speak with you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next we have Kathleen Villers. And on deck is Davidson.

good evening commissioners kathleen villars 2202 arrowhead dandridge representing my husband and self i'm speaking in strong support of commissioner reed's resolution to establish a formal jefferson county veterans advisory board for 4100 veterans this board is a pro-ac proactive step to properly represent veterans' experiences, coordinate local services, and ensure families receive the support they deserve. Advisory boards should not be dismissed. They are a proven best practice. Tennessee neighbors like Blount, Anderson, and Knox counties all utilize dedicated veterans' advisory bodies to maximize veterans' support. Beyond Tennessee, mature boards, to name just a few of many, many boards include Granville County, North Carolina, Clayton County, Georgia, Hillsborough County in Florida. Proving that these bodies successfully streamline resources and directly advise county leadership, Jefferson County, please, should join these leading communities. This brings me to our internal Veterans Service Office operations. Our past Veterans Service Officer did publicly note she's dealt with PTSD. As a county government, we do have a legal and ethical obligation to follow federal guidelines regarding special workplace accommodations for service-related conditions. A review of the VSO situation should look closely at whether our county provided the necessary support required in matters like this. Establishing a formal Veterans Advisory Board could potentially provide oversight on matters like this, ensuring we navigate these complex sensitive situations safely, lawfully, and with human empathy. Finally, addressing some online behavior and leadership, it is deeply disappointing to watch local social media channels deteriorate during campaigns. where candidates, their supporters, even their family are subjected to a massive amount of harassment and bullying. Most discouraging is that many of the commissioners, including those in current or future leadership positions, have remained completely silent on this. Good leadership means publicly rejecting toxic behavior and setting a standard of respect. Silence, again, silence signals a failure to protect the decency of our community. In conclusion, back to veterans, let's back our gratitude for veterans with real structural commitment. Please vote yes on the resolution to establish a Veterans Advisory Board. Thank you.

Thank you. Next we have David Seale. And on deck will be Jackie Russell.

Thank you, Chairman, members of the board, David Seale, 730 San Martin Road in Dandridge. Two other activists and I are holding a property rights symposium on July the 28th and 29th at the main library in Severe 408 High Street. The meeting is open to the public and hopefully some of you all can attend. The first day of the symposium is July 28th from noon to 6 p.m. It will be a fact-finding and discussion on eminent domain abuse, data centers, and current state laws that govern property rights. That day, people are welcome to come by, come and go as they please, and contribute information and have discussions with us for the panel. The second day, July 29th, there will be a panel discussion from 6 to 8 p.m. presentation of information including information on data centers and that's directly related to your data center resolution 2026 35 my friends at wjhl tv and johnson city reported on friday that 86 percent of 6 000 respondents to a survey were extremely concerned about the impact of data centers on their community we're going to have data centers i'm not against them But they need to be located properly, and they need to be absent eminent domain. Fortune is also reporting similar concerns. I'm linking that to you. Tennessee Stans published my data center article yesterday, which outlines one of the Tennessee statutes that may enable property to be taken by eminent domain for data centers. And you received a report from me on that last week on Georgia Power. And again, their actions may circumvent your local zoning regulations. My article expands on that, and so does the Institute for Justice. You'll get full details via email, and if anyone in the audience would like to contact me, I can be reached at david at tennesseeconservativenews.com. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Next we have Jackie Russell, and on deck will be Deborah Bailey.

I'm not a politician. I'm just an old country boy. But I would like to speak in reference to the former VSO. She really helped me and all of my family, and she has been a lifesaver for us veterans. And I would just like to encourage everybody to get behind your VSO and support them. And the commissioners need to listen to them. They don't need to put politics in front of them and let their eyes be blinded. But that's all I've got, thanks.

Thank you, sir. Next we have Deborah Bailey. And on deck will be Chad Cardella.

Hi, Deborah Bailey, 670 Washington Avenue, Harrogate, Tennessee. I'm running for state executive committee woman, Senate District 8. I'm the past chair of Claiborne County Republican Party. I have served two terms. Presently, I serve as head sergeant of arms for our National Federation of Republican Women outside of Washington, DC. Why am I running? I'm running so that our voices, your voices, our voices in our counties will be heard down at the state level. Presently, I don't think they're being heard. One of our big problems is why do we have to pay money in order to have an R by our name? I had to pay $100 just to have an R by my name running for this position. I have been a lifelong Republican. And I do not agree with that. And I think anybody, no matter the amount of money that you can put out, should be able to run for an office if you have a bona fide record. Also, I'm running so that our young Republicans, our college Republicans, and our federated women across the state will always be heard. have a voice at the state level, GOP. Last December, there was a vote taken to try to remove our young Republicans, our college Republicans, and our federated women who have been around. The college Republicans have been around since the 1890s, the federated women from the 1930s, and our young Republicans from the 1930s. These organizations have been proven to go along with the Republican Party. So I ask that their voice will always be heard and not be squelched down there. I humbly ask for your vote. Thank you.

Thank you. Next we have Chad Cardellan. And on deck will be Mike Parker.

good evening my name is chad cardella i'm a resident of white pine at 2465 parkertown road i'm also a marine corps veteran over the last several years i've spent more time dealing with the va than i ever wanted to between claims appeals appointments trying to hunt down medical records figuring out effective dates and if you've been through it you know that it isn't something that you figure out all by yourself that's why a good veteran service officer matters before miss gilliam king took over that office I can't remember a veteran recommending Jefferson County's VSO office. Every veteran I talked to told me the same thing, go to Sevier County or go to Hamblin County because our VSO was not going to be able to help you. Then that changed. For the first time, I heard veterans telling other veterans to use Jefferson County. We started hearing about claims moving, veterans getting answers and benefits finally being approved. Veterans finally felt like Jefferson County was working for them instead of sending them somewhere else. That's why this matters. I'm not here to debate whether Ms. Gilliam-King was a perfect employee. I'm here because I don't understand what happened and I don't think the veterans of this county have been given an explanation that answers the questions that they are asking. She submitted a resignation with a transition plan. She intended to work through that notice. Instead, she was relieved early. Why? Who made that decision? Under what authority? If that authority exists, I'd like to know where it's written. Another thing that's bothered me throughout this entire situation is the amount of oversight that seemed to surround this office. Is it the responsibility of any commissioner to make sure that the VSO is sitting at her desk by looking through the office windows? I don't know that that's written anywhere either. What I do know is that veterans walk into that office carrying things that most people do not have to carry. PTSD, death of a spouse, combat, military sexual trauma, terminal illnesses, financial hardship, disabilities that they've spent years trying to prove. Those conversations deserve privacy. No one would think it was appropriate for someone to be looking through the window while you're meeting with your attorney. No one would think it was appropriate to do the same while they're meeting with a doctor. I don't understand why we would think it's appropriate when a veteran is meeting with a person who is helping them navigate one of the most complicated bureaucracies they will ever encounter. Whether it was intended that way or not, I cannot imagine any veterans feeling comfortable that if they believe that elected officials may be checking on that office by looking through the windows while they're sitting inside. That doesn't sit right with me. Before I close, I want to recognize those commissioners who have been willing to stand up for the veterans of this county, in particular Commissioners Austin Brooks and Colonel Marcus Reed. Commissioner Brooks isn't a veteran, but I've watched him consistently be a voice for veterans because he believes they're worth advocating for. Commissioner Reed dutifully served our country and continues to serve this county with diligence and fervor. Whether you agree with every position that they have taken or not, they've both been willing to ask questions that a lot of veterans have been asking themselves. I thank you, gentlemen, because at the end of the day, that's all most of us want. Answers, not rumors, not Facebook arguments, not it's under review, just answers. If everything was handled appropriately, then transparency should be easy. If mistakes were made, acknowledge them, learn from them, and fix them. The veterans of Jefferson County deserve that much, and I'd ask everyone in this county to pay attention as well. Veterans are fortunate. We have a community that's willing to stand up when we think something affecting veterans isn't right. My concern is for every other county employee and every other citizen who doesn't have that. If this many questions can surround an office that exists solely to serve veterans, what happens in the part of county government where nobody is watching? That's a question that every citizen of Jefferson County should be asking. Thank you.

Thank you. Next, we have Mike Parker. On the deck, we have Victoria Schubert.

Good evening, Mr. Chairman, County Commission. I'm coming to you tonight to talk about YouTube and YouTube Live videos. Now that we have the work sessions started back, I think it's imperative that all videos for County Commission, whether it be work sessions or like we're live tonight, everything be live. Because we have a lot of folks in our county that work and cannot make these meetings that want to be able to watch and be part of this process. And last week's meeting, for instance, there was a lot of discussion about the VSO and different things. None of that was recorded, nor is it live. So there's no way to know except for the minutes that have been presented. And so I think for our county, for transparency, for accountability, I believe that every single meeting that we do as a county should be available for our county citizens on YouTube, whether it's live or whether it's recorded and posted later with no edits. And so I want to ask that you pass a resolution, whether it's tonight or maybe the next meeting, to bring all of these meetings to YouTube so that the other thing it does is it stops the social media garbage of he said, she said, and all of that. We live in an age of technology now to where there is no problem whatsoever to bring these meetings on live. The technology we're using tonight, that's a Mevo camera that's over seven years old. That's dead technology. We should have better cameras, better microphones, so that we can make sure that we have a great recording to be able to go back to even three or four years from now for public record. There's no reason for that not to be the case with the technology that is today. So I'm just asking that you please consider this tonight or again in the next meeting, because I know everything goes to work sessions now. because I think it's imperative to our people. I've talked to several voters over the last few weeks that are frustrated with that because when they go online to listen, it's hard to hear because if people aren't speaking to the microphones or different things like that, it's just really hard to make out what's being said. And I just think for our citizens, we owe them that, and the technology really isn't that expensive to be able to do what we need to do. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Next we have Victoria Schubert. On deck, Wally Goodman.

Good afternoon. My name is Victoria Schuper and I live on 621 Forgedy Road in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Welcome to our favorite reality show where the politicians make up the rules and the points don't matter, except unfortunately they do. We voted our local officials into office. We thought that we were hiring public servants, not auditioning actors for a silent movie. It is actually time for all of us to pull up a chair, grab some popcorn, and watch these elected officials like a hawk. We need to dissect every syllable they mutter, every nervous sweat, and exactly how they subtly pretend to care about our community the moment a camera turns on. But let's be honest, watching them isn't easy when our local media is busy doing gymnastics to protect them. Let's talk about the elephant in the room. Bias local news. It's not only annoying, it's dangerous. When the local press decides to spoon-feed us a heavily edited, one-sided narrative, they aren't informing the public. They are running PR for the status quo. A biased media acts as a giant pair of blinders on the community, desperately trying to distract us with shiny objects so we don't look at where the actual smoke is coming from. And speaking of smoke, let's look exactly where those blinders are trying to point us away from. The VSO situation and the blatant misconduct happening right under our noses. Our veterans sacrificed for this country, yet when it comes to supporting them, some of our leaders seem to have a sudden case of collective amnesia. We had a couple people that did run their elections that they supported veterans. To our elected officials sitting in the back, the entire public is watching you. We see the tap dancing. We see the strategic coughing fits whenever the word misconduct comes up. In this town, silence isn't golden. It's an omission of guilt. So here's a friendly public service announcement for our leaders. Every word you say, every word you aggressively try not to say, is being recorded in the public receipt book of public opinion. If you think the biased media is going to shield you forever, you're in for a very rude awakening. We are watching, we are remembering, and come election day, we will be voting. Let's keep our eyes open and hold the fire to them. Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am. Next, we have Wally Goodby on deck. Russell Turner.

Wally Godby, 1935 Buck Hollow Road, District 7. I spoke last week. This is regarding the VSO situation. I would like to give kudos to our Marine that spoke a minute ago. Having just gone through this process, when I moved here three years ago, I was a 50% disabled veteran. I met Marissa less than two years ago, and last week I reported that I was a 90% disabled veteran. Well, on Thursday I got my notification that my 100% had come through. This is all due to Marissa. She took me from 50% to 100% in less than two years. I don't know how many of you guys are in the VA system and understand what that means, but as a 50% disabled veteran, I draw about $1,100 a month. As a 90% disabled veteran, I draw $2,500 a month. as a 100% disabled veteran, that goes to $4,150 a month. It's very significant, and that doesn't count the benefits that come with being 100% disabled. Now, one of the things that I have found, and it's very disheartening to me, with our local Jefferson County government is the pervasiveness that if you're not from Jefferson County born and raised here we're not cared about well this is my home now I pay property taxes here I pay gas taxes I pay sales taxes and up until today thanks to the help of our clerk up here I don't pay wheel tax anymore so Sorry, I lost my train of thought here. It's very disheartening to know what happened behind the scenes with Marissa. It seems that there was a hostile workplace created. That's what precipitated her resignation. Quite frankly, I'm not on social media. I'm glad I'm not on social media because of what I've heard that has occurred there. I would challenge all of you commissioners and anyone in our government to stay off the social media unless you're posting something that, hey, we're having a meeting or something like that. Keep your freaking comments to yourself. It's not needed. Because you get into all this he said, she said garbage that you're only getting one side of it. And in fairness to Mr. Carmichael, I've only gotten Marissa's side of this. But based on what I've been told and based on things that I've talked with Marcus Reid about, I'm hoping that there's an ethics investigation and not at the county level, but that this county commissioner, government, whatever you guys want to call yourselves, ask for a state level so that you guys stay out of it. Let somebody else do this. And I would like to also say that I support the creation of the commission that Mr. Reid is asking for. Thank you, sir.

Next, we've got Russell Turner. On deck, Jim Fox.

Okay, Russ Turner, District 4, and I've spoken with several commissioners this morning and a few other commissioners previously to today. And I am from this county, born outside but raised all the way inside, and I am also retired military. I served on this commission before. I've been a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars for a couple of decades almost, and I've served veterans in this county. It's what I do every day, and those of you who know me know that my commitment to veterans is the thing that I'm most passionate about now. I don't come here to bash anybody. I don't come here especially to bash you as commissioners. I know how hard your job is. I know how hard it is to do and make the right decision, too. And the hard decision is usually your right decision. And I don't come here to disparage anything that Marissa did. All I ever heard was that she was a great veteran service officer. Fortunately, I didn't need to go in and see her at any time, but I heard many good things about her. And with respect to anything that happened with that position, I'm not speaking to that either. What I'm gonna ask you to think about is something a little different. To go after the problem and not symptoms. Don't throw a board. in the way of good communication. I don't think that a board is needed. And I stand here. I'm a long-term veteran. I'm a long-term supporter of veterans. I just don't believe you throw a board in the way of things, you complicate things. And what I mean by that is I've been here before. I've hired two veteran service officers. I was part of it, hiring two and firing one. It's hard to get beyond firing one. It's hard to move on from that. But sometimes people have to be fired. I'm not gonna argue that point one way or the other. But what I'm gonna say is, when you establish boards that are not by state law authorized, by state law, it was just the county commission, you set up a veteran service office and you have a veteran service officer. That's it, it doesn't say and then go ahead and have a board and let that board tell you when to hire and fire. No, it's your job to hire the right person, the best possible person, most qualified. And if you put the most qualified person over there, you can stop worrying about the veteran service office. Because that's the way it's been. It doesn't take, it's not rocket science. You just put a good person in there. They're going to do a good job. But when people don't do a good job, you have to handle that too. Let me offer this because time gets away quick. I offer this as an idea going forward because you can't go back. Lean forward. The county commission has a personnel committee. personnel committee is responsible for seeking out position people to be hired to positions why can't they also be responsible to provide a performance evaluation of a veteran service office officer and provide that information to this body and that way going forward if there's a problem if there's shortcomings they can be addressed if there are good things happening they can be applauded that way everybody stays more informed i recommend that the county commission take that action with the personnel committee. And I thank you for your service, and I really appreciate all the veterans and everyone attending. Thank you. Thank you, sir.

Next, we've got Jim Fox, and that'll be it. Pulling up the rear.

Jim Fox, Abilene Trail, and Dandridge. A little sidetrack here a second. This may be a question for Mr. Drennan more than anything. With respect to Ms. Deborah Bailey, is it appropriate to do campaign speeches during a county commission meeting? That would be my question.

I can't answer that. It's public comment.

OK. Secondly, I would like to congratulate General Purser and Doug Epperson for their work with this hometown hero project. They work very diligently on it and do appreciate that. To move on, for two plus years the subject of the veteran service officer and veteran related issues have come before this commission by far more often than any other issue. Why is that? I mean, from hiring an officer to hiring an assistant to standard operation procedures, applying for grants, among many others, each time is met with massive delays and discussions. Yet in nearly every other department of the county, there is barely a blip on the radar for these same requests. And coincidentally, this is the only department that's under the purview of the county commission. So And now it looks like we're headed to lawyers and courts. It has been well documented the impressive work that the VSO has done in the past two years, generating $48 million annually. That is equivalent to over $950,000 a year jobs with 4,100 vets. That is quite an industry. The mines have been a hot topic recently, and this commission has steadfastly supported them. But the VSO creates significantly more income, and it represents more folks, but is not given the same courtesy. Why is that? Obviously, the way we've handled the Veterans Affairs in the past is not working. So we need to try something else. I urge you to support the resolution to install the Veterans Advisory Board or at least look at something besides what we're doing because it obviously is not getting the job done. Also, many of you ran on a platform supporting our veterans. Now it's time for you to put the money where your mouth is and support them like you said you would. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Next we have County Mayor Mark Potts. Mayor appointments for confirmation. You have Bill Newman, Hospital Oversight Board, July 2026 to July 2029. And you also have a Carolyn Boyles, Nursing Home Board, 2026 to July 2029. Question or comment? Not hearing any, we'll proceed to vote. We have 16 yes, zero no, one abstention. It passes. Next we have reports of committees, boards and commissions, budget committee, county budget amendments, fund 101, one, items one through nine. Mr. Tim, do you have anything on this? No, we went over Monday night. If you've got any, Brian might have a question that we shouldn't have. Brian, do you have anything to add?

No.

Question or comment?

I'm your substitute teacher here today.

Is your microphone working? I don't know. Is it working now? It's working now.

You're on now. Just draw your attention to what was used in fund balance on 101. We're increasing. $13,166.21. Those are items one and two. And then we're also using reserves, which will be reduced by $63,419.81. Question or comment? Not hearing any, we'll proceed to vote.

We have 17 yes, 0 no. Passes. The next one, do you have it?

Yeah. Next one is Fund 171. It's capital projects. What we are doing is reducing a reserve and we are creating another line. for any kind of emergency. An example we've been giving is if an HVAC goes out, Mr. Denton has money in the line to take care of it.

Question or comment? Not hearing any, we'll proceed to vote. We have 17 yes, zero no, it passes. Do you have any more business to be before this? It's not on the agenda. Do you have anything, Tim? I believe this will be your last meeting as the budget committee chairman. We've run long into the agenda. We have new business. Resolution 2026-32, resolution to establish the Jefferson County Veterans Advisory Board, is now on the floor. Question or comment? We have a motion on the floor. Been properly seconded. Floor is open for discussion. We have one request to speak. Katie Huffaker.

OK. I apologize because I wasn't here last Monday, but we changed our schedule and I already had plans before that. But I wanted to say a few things. I want to say I love our great nation and the freedom we have where we can meet in public and discuss and debate in a friendly conversation. And for this, I thank our veterans because that's why I have that. Lately, our conversations, or some of our conversations, have been passionate and emotional, especially in regards to our veteran services. I support the veterans, and I believe everyone in this room supports the veterans. I think everyone in our county probably supports the veterans. We lose veterans every day, and last week we lost one who was a dear friend and mentor to several of us in this room, and his name was Coach Bradley. Regarding this Veterans Advisory Board resolution, I've tried to do my due diligence by talking to citizens and previously elected officials, some of which of those were veterans. And I do this because I try to get the history of the county. I try to see what we've done well through the years and what we could have improved upon. And here's some concerns that I was told. So this committee is not referenced as part of the state statute. The state statute references the Veterans Service Office. Only the county commission has authority with regards to the veteran service officer presently. And this committee will have no authority. It appears in this resolution that part of our duties as the commission will be relinquished or diluted. And we're the elected officials. And we're responsible for the veteran service officer or the office at this time. And the commission cannot delegate duties. But the other issue I have with this resolution is our county attorney has not reviewed this, yet it relates to state statute. And so at present, I don't support this resolution. But I think we need to take a step back and re-evaluate our practices regarding our veteran service office. I was told that since the 1970s, there's been an issue with the oversight design of the VSO with our county, because the county commission is the oversight. I think we need to research placing the VSO under the county mayor, where the county mayor will be available for day-to-day operations, and it will have better oversight. I think part of that's the frustration and the confusion And I think it would be better for the veteran service office. I also think rather than having a veteran service officer and an assistant, the veterans would be better served in Jefferson County by having two veteran service officers. I think it would be a good idea to have the regional veteran service director come and speak to the commission regarding our services we provide. I think we should let them look at our system and tell us what we do well and what we can improve upon. I think we need better communication, oversight, and quicker benefit coordination for our veterans because that's my job up here is to make sure the veterans get service through our Veterans Service Office. So I'm going to motion to table this resolution until after the new commission and mayor are seated and we have better research on this topic and our county attorney can review what we're doing.

Yeah, just on your stand.

Wait a minute.

There was already a motion on the table, so are you wanting to amend?

There was already a motion on the table, so we've got to deal with the first motion first.

No.

No, the table takes priority over the motion.

Can we ask our parliamentarian?

No, it takes presidents.

What does?

Well, actually, we shouldn't be speaking or debating on the subject until a motion is made on the table. I thought it was.

We have a motion.

We do have a motion. And if you make a motion to table it, you have to have an... You have to make an amendment. You have to have a date when it comes back on the table. Otherwise, you can't just use it to kill the project.

OK, then maybe postpone is the proper word I needed to say, rather than table. But I think when you put it on the table, it sits there until the commission brings it back down for vote again. So I would like to ask parliamentarian, I am not trying to kill it. I'm trying to take a step back. The commission and the mayor are about to change hands. And I would like to see us research where we can set this Veterans Service office up better than it is today. And I would like to see it come back around to us. So is the appropriate word to table or to postpone?

Postpone makes it more clean, as long as you put a date with it.

I'd like to ask the county attorney if it has to have a date.

In the first instance, that's the question for the parliamentarian with respect to you can postpone it either to a definite date or indefinitely. The indefinite is to basically kill it. The motion to pick it up at a definite date and time is not. In other words, the county commission would be bound to take it up at that time.

OK, I'll randomly pick three months after the new commission is seated. . OK, I'll make it. The new commission gets instated September, which we will have a September. I'm going to make it the November meeting, because that will give them one meeting to be here, and it will come up the next meeting.

Are you speaking of the November work session meeting?

Well, it would be on the, yes. the November work session meeting, because we currently are operating out of that office. So all this is regarding is to this resolution. Yes, November meeting.

Is that what I was just fixing to ask? Are you amending the motion?

I'm going to table. I want to table this resolution until our November meetings so we have better research on the topic.

I don't know if it amended. Okay, did you get a second?

I'll second it.

Heidi, did you second that? Yes, I did. Okay, that's what I got to have. Discussion?

Brooks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Once again, here we are with the delay tactic. To say we need to do more research on this, Marcus has been very forthcoming with information on this. We had a work session last week, really at the insistence of Commissioner Huffaker. She did not attend. What is there to discuss? We have a facilities committee, an animal control oversight board, a finance committee, a nominating committee, a budget committee, an ag committee, a personnel committee, a sanitation board, joint committee between the County Commission and the school board why does the veteran one of the veterans not deserve to have some some more input in these meetings none of these have any authority by the way all of the authority stays with the County Commission there's no reason not to approve this resolution tonight this is simply a delay tactic in hopes that you all don't come back in November they don't want to vote no in front of you This is simply a delay tactic. It's absolutely unnecessary.

Mr. Brooks has the floor.

This is absolutely unnecessary. There is no harm that would come from this Veterans Oversight Board. It would carry no authority. The only thing that would change is now the veterans would have a little more input in the operations of their veteran service office. I think we've forgotten who we're working for up here. I rest, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Reed and Mr. Blevins.

There's a couple of things that I would like just to repeat. We have had two veteran service officers soon as, I'll call her top, but Rebecca received her credentials. So we've had two veteran services officers. And one of the things I'd like to say is I don't have an agenda. I want the veterans in the county to have a say-so about their own selves. That's the reason I set up the board the way that I recommend. I did talk to CTAS, to Charlie Curtis, and there's other cities in the state, counties in the state that has a veteran advisory board. The key word is advisory. I worked for eight years with a 911 board as a director of Justin County 911, and the board worked well. When I needed their help, they were there. And just like Commissioner Brooks says, you'll notice the mayor's on that board, the veteran services officers on that board. And how many times they don't get together? Maybe once a quarter. What's wrong with that? To get together and listen to each other and respect each other and work with each other. I think we've lost that attitude within our society. We have to get so, I don't know what to say, mad at each other. And you know, I quickly read over or I listened to the thing about who's leading this charge. Listen, I guess I'm leading the charge. I don't have an agenda. My agenda is to serve you, the people. and to work with my commissioners, my colleagues. I'll have a problem with this resolution. I think it would be awesome, because you're going to have even one citizen that does not have any military background at all. And what are we going to do? Are we going to argue over things, or are we going to try to solve some issues that they don't blow up in our face? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Rob Lewis. Remember a long time ago, we talked about how they use calendars and dates against you. We used to do work sessions because it gave us an insight on what they were going to do. And we could formulate a way to combat it next week. There was never any fireworks at the work sessions, not when Major Turner sat up here beside me or for the last 16 almost years here. Then we switched it over when things changed. It is a delay tactic, just like the schools like to use. It's the same playbook. If they don't like it, they can vote it down when the new commission comes in, whoever that is. They can change it. Just change it right away. We sure did that to the school system our first term when we went in in 2010, September 1, 2010. See, the previous commission had met and gave them a whole lot of money to waste for no reason at the last possible time they could meet and do it. So it fell on us to change it, and we did. And if they don't like this, that's what the incoming commissioners can do. I worked for the police departments all over this state and this region and sheriff's departments, and we had park commissions, police advisory review commissions. And that's it. They're just advisory commissions. That's it. Advisory. Everything we do in any of these committees, this 21 person body can change it. That's all. There's no reason not to vote on this.

We'll proceed to vote. just to clarify voting yes means just fixing to do that yes is for the table no is for not is there anybody got a question for that we'll proceed to vote We have seven yes, 10 no, neither one makes 11. So it fails. So we're back to the original motion. If you are for the original resolution to establish the Jefferson County Veterans Advisory Board 2026-32, If you are for this resolution, you vote yes. If you are against it, vote no.

Yep, we're ready to vote.

We have 10 no's, 6 yes's, fails for lack of 11. Next, we have Veterans Service Office discussion. Is there any business to be conducted here, Mr. Reid? This is a voting meeting.

Mr. Chairman, I just, I know I'm down on the lift, but I would like to say just a few things. You know, since last Monday, I've been thinking about a lot of things. And then, of course, I've seen and heard some things. I still have never heard from the mayor. I haven't heard from my chairman. I haven't heard. Well, yes, I did. I talked to our mayor-elect. I don't have an agenda. I'm not trying to build power. I'm trying to make sure eight years ago, when I first was elected to the office, I took my oath seriously, and I stated in my ask for votes that I believed in transparency, I believed in integrity, and I believed in the truth. I still believe that way. So I take responsibility for causing this. I guess I've been told that I politicized the veteran service officer. That's not true. I did say something in that veteran service office, but the veteran service officer wasn't in there. She was out of the room. She left. So she took no part in it. I've watched her be treated wrong. That's going to be solved evidently by legal action. But what I want to do is ensure that if we give someone the authority to make a decision, And we've quoted a lot about meeting the Tennessee code. Well, we've got one for the veteran service officer. It says county commission is over to the veteran service officer. It does not say that the county commission chairman has the authority to fire her or hire her or to discipline her. And if we're going to discipline her, we need to do it by the rules and regulations that we have within the employee manual. There's rules in there for immediate dismissal. There's rules in there for what I call like a meter trying to get a good employee who has problems to come around. And I would ask again, please show me in writing where our chairman had the authority to do what he did and where he had the authority to say that he could pay her through the 15th and not be at work. That's all I'm asking. If not, then when this new commission is seated in September and we have 90 days to work on our rules and procedures, we better get them squared away because we need to follow them. I've seen people held accountable for not following so-called policies, which are out of date, It's not right. And it's time that this commission and all of this falls upon the leadership. And all of us are supposed to be the leaders in the county. And I'll remind you what I believe in. To be a leader, you have to have intellect. You have to have moral character. You have to have human understanding. And that's the key. If you have good employees, you better take care of them. And Was she a perfect employee? Probably not. But was she a good one? Heck, yes, she was. And you guys and ladies that are veterans have attested to that fact. And I appreciate you showing up here. I appreciate you taking involved in your government and weigh everything carefully. And I will be honest with you, I didn't think this proposal would fail, would pass tonight. Because I know the attitude. Marcus Reid is the one that proposed it. And there's that kind of attitude on this commission. And hold your leaders accountable. I'm talking about every commissioner. I'm talking about the mayor. I'm talking about finance. And by the way, the finance department does, the head of the finance department does fall underneath the county commission purview. But all I'm asking is show me what you did was right. Is that a hard answer or a hard question to answer? I don't think so. If we screwed up, let's fix it. But let's make sure that we don't lose a valuable employee because we handle it in an improper way. Thank you.

Next, we move to Rebecca Easton, hiring as a VSO. Mr. Brooks.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, fellow commissioners, as you all are Most certainly aware by this point in the meeting, our veteran service officer resigned a few weeks ago, and we need to fill that vacancy. We already have a Marine in the office, Ms. Rebecca Easton, and my motion tonight is to hire her as the veteran service officer for Jefferson County. The reason I feel that we need to do this is so that we have continuity in that office and ensure that we are taking care of our veterans. We don't want any lapse in that office, just as we would with any other department. We need to get her installed, and she needs to hire an assistant, which we have already funded for this fiscal year. So that is my motion. I'll take any questions if there are any. Thank you.

question or comment not hearing any we'll proceed to vote

I agree with what Katie said. If we're going to have two people in that office, we need two fully certified veteran service officers. I think Rebecca is doing a great job. Even Marissa said that she was doing a good job. She would be good to step into that position. I'm 110% behind that. But I think instead of them, we need to go through the proper process of hiring. She's already put in place as the interim, so nothing's going to change. So all I'm asking is, that we move forward with it and consider making two VSOs to serve the county if that is indeed what's needed instead of an assistant. I have no problem with it, but I think we need to go through the proper channels and the hiring process. And she would be a shoo-in to step up into that position, but I think we need two. We don't need an assistant sitting there that can't handle the cases for you veterans. And I know I've got a bad rep. Jim Fox put the thing up there, bells for veterans, and I've heard people say that I was against veterans. That's absolute bullshit.

I understand.

I got you. But the thing is, we need to support the veterans. We need to back them up. We need two veteran service officers in there instead of an assistant. If we're going to have two people in that office, they need to be able to carry forward and do what's needed for the veterans. And I would like to go through the proper procedure for hiring those people. And that's all I got to say.

All right. Katie Huffaker, you're next. Mr. Brooks, you've already spoken.

Get closing comments, Mr. Chairman.

Sure.

My motion.

OK, so.

Are you amending?

No, I'm trying to speak first. Press your button. It won't work. It does not work. Thank you. OK, I just want to clarify. When we, the commission, approved to hire an assistant before. So I'm assuming our assistant was paid assistant pay and not as a veteran service officer, because that's not what the commission approved. And I want to restate that I believe We need two veteran service officers and not an assistant so our veterans get served quicker. And I would like to amend the motion that we send this to the personnel committee to follow our proper policy and procedures. And Rebecca's the acting interim, which there's no lack Laps in service to the veterans. I've heard she's doing an amazing job. I don't have a problem with the job she's doing, but we just need to send it to personnel and then back across. So I just amended the motion.

It won't work.

It's not working.

We have a motion to amend on the floor. It's been properly seconded by Mr. Ronnie Coleman. Discussion after the motion. That is Mr. Brooks.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Here we go once again with the delay tactic. This is unbelievable. I am glad that you all are getting to witness this firsthand. You've already heard several commissioners who seem to be in favor of having Ms. Easton as a veteran service officer. But yet we want to delay this. Here's something important you should know. There's a pretty substantial pay discrepancy between the assistant position and the veteran service office position. She is now doing the work of the veteran service officer. Tonight, she should be installed as such and receive that pay. And then she should go and hire the assistant, which you all have already paid for. We have put this in our budget for this fiscal year with your money. This is ludicrous. There is absolutely no reason to continue delaying this other than perhaps they're wanting to put somebody else in, but they just don't want to do it in front of you. And the hiring process, the personnel committee is strictly advisatory. The hiring process is, and Mr. Drennan, correct me if I'm wrong, the county commission gets to vote A majority of the county commission votes to hire and to fire the veteran service officer. Is that correct? Thank you, Mr. Drennan. All right. That's it. That's the whole process right there, folks. We can do it right now tonight. It's on the agenda. But for some reason, we have to delay it, send it through all these committees, and pray that you all don't show up to see whatever it is they have planned for this office. This is disgusting.

There'll be no speaking in the courtroom. Mr. Blevins, you have the floor.

Why are we choosing to follow proper procedures in certain things and not others? And I agree, this is bullshit.

Mr. Blevins, the next one has to yield completely. This is getting out of hand. We will proceed to vote. I see no more. I had a request to speak. Hit the button. Did.

I think we got button trouble tonight.

No comment.

Rebecca, will you stand up please?

Rebecca.

What do you consider yourself as?

I'm a veteran service officer. I have been doing all of the jobs, every single one of the jobs that Marissa's been doing, and I've been doing them even before I was completely certified. I started doing that job the second week that I was on that job. I handled that office completely on my own, not as an assistant. I was only an assistant because I didn't directly report to the council or commissioner or the mayor. But I held the position as a best in service officer.

How long were you in the military?

23 years, sir.

And what would you rank when you retired?

I'm a master sergeant in the Marine Corps.

All right. I do not understand why if you get to the point where you don't like a certain commissioner that other people have to pay the price for it. I don't get it. I appreciate your service and you have my vote for the veteran service officer.

I had the opportunity of going in and meeting Rebecca one day and she is a fine veterans officer. I think she will do a good job. I don't know why we're dragging our feet on. Because she was in there in the office. Like she said, she's there a lot of times by herself in the office doing the job. That could be an issue. We won't go into that. But she was thrown into it. And that's one reason why. You want to know why I didn't want an advisory board? I would like to be able to just go ahead and do this now instead of going through boards. We got too many boards now. Just make the right decision now. Does that make sense? Let's put it in the board. Let's go through the board and drag it out two or three weeks, months, whatever. We can do it right now tonight. That's why I was against the advisory board. We already have the state doing it. We already have a good officer in it. And she's going to need help in that thing. My dad, and before anybody starts ticking me off on this thing, my dad died. waiting for his chance to get money. And it was after his death. I still think the veterans office in national, the national veterans office, once these veterans die, drags everything out. It took mom two years after his death before she finally started getting a check. He was a Marine veteran. I still wear his ring today. He was wounded at the Choson. He had a lot of disabilities. He had shrapnel. He had a bullet beside his heart too close to be able to take it out. So I understand the veterans thing. But there's a lot of times we have too many boards. Let's just go ahead and take this bull by the horn. Does that make sense? And dragging this out tonight is an example of why. If we have an advisory board, we have to go before that board before we can make this decision. No, yeah, you would. they can be no outcry from the audience common sense I would second that she needs to go ahead and get this job and then we look at her help you yield the floor sir yes

Mr. Snodgrass.

For him.

Oh, I'm sorry. I seen it go off. I thought you decided not to. My mic ain't working either.

Hello. Rebecca, this is for you. You said that when you first took the office, and thank you, by the way, for your service. I'm for the veterans. I'm not against veterans. I had family members that was in the veterans. They was veterans and everything. You said that you did most of the work. Where was Marissa at the time you was doing that?

trying to say is i did the same type of work that she did she taught me everything as i was going in the second week of work that i was there she was out on vacation and i made that office by myself because i couldn't get into all the computer systems at that time but now that i as soon as i got through my certification i was able to do it on my own program but there for a long time march well yeah march all of march i was doing the

But she was not in the office, correct? Only when she was on vacation.

Thank you for your service again.

Ms. Rebecca, hey, just a small question. So you said you've been doing this job already and you're interim right now, but are you receiving, did you get a pay raise with that? No, sir. And that's about a $20,000 pay gap from your current role, I believe, correct? Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you. $21,000. $21,000.

I have a question. Yield. We have a call to the question. Okay, we're on the motion to send this back to personnel. If you are for this motion vote yes. If you're against it vote no.

Mr. Chairman, to clarify, you installed her as the interim, but she's still being paid her assistant salary, which is about $21,000 less. So by sending this to personnel, we're actually...

Which actually, you know, I was going to speak to that at the very end of this.

That's a problem.

That's a big problem. It is a big problem because as... I'm not sure that I can speak to this by being a chairman, but I'm going to try it. is that the key to this whole thing that's going on right here tonight, I know Rebecca Easton. I know her abilities. I've dealt with her. Mr. Gabriel Burns from the state of Tennessee and his assistant assured me that she can handle that job. That's good enough for Jimmy Carmichael. I can break silence on this right here. And the point of it is, she has done the job since day one. If you look at our numbers, if you look at our numbers for the VSO, I'm gonna share something with y'all right now. And if I need to step aside from the chair, I'll be more than glad to do that.

I mean, if you are speaking in favor of her being accepted as the VSO, you should step off the chair.

Mr. Solomon, would you please take the duties of the chair? Let's talk real numbers with the real actual VSO office and what's really going on here. And this will be more than glad to clear some stuff up. We have real data that I got from Mr. Gabriel Burns from the state of Tennessee. I have asked for data in this office for some time now and never did get data. You know, if you go to Knox County and you ask, how many phone calls did the VSO answer this month? Lynn Jacobs makes sure that you find out there's a little over 1,100 phone calls made. There's plenty of days that Ms. Rebecca has answered the phone probably in the 30 to 40 times and met with 23 people in one day. So let's look at the actual figures here. So if you go back to last July, there was 17 claims made. When you go to August, they was 27. When you go to September, they was 24. When you go to October, that office did 15. When you go to November, they did five. Slow month. When you go to December, there's 40. Big month. When you go to January, you got 24. When you go to February, you're at 22. now you enter into march when miss rebecca showed up we're 47. whoa whoa you know i get you i got you but in the next month of april we're 47 again so let's go on to may 48. now what made them numbers change

Why ask a question if you ain't going to listen? They ain't allowed to say stuff from the audience. They have no chance to speak.

This office had a total of 316 visitors that year for that 12 months. And you can see the visual difference in having two officers in there. That's why as I speak to this right now, the point of it is that Rebecca's getting it done. Okay, instead of hiring just anybody, we need another regular VSO officer. That can be done very simply. State of Tennessee will help you with this. They will put you in the proper position to do this. It's not a problem. What needs to be done in Jefferson County is we need to conform with every other county in this East Tennessee district. We have the ability to pick up the phone, call Mr. Gabriel. He'll give you the answer to anything that you ever wanted to know about the VSO. The VSO office pushes paper. The VSO office does not have a magic wand. They are the liaison between you veterans and the VA and the federal government. That's their job, no more, no less. So when you're dealing with, when somebody tells you, oh, my VSO officer's not there. I'm not going to get my money. That's a complete fallacy. It's a complete fallacy. Look at the nuts and bolts of this office. You deserve better. You deserve to get service. That's what I'm about. I'm about service and results. You need data. You should have data that's turned in monthly. to the County Commission or quarterly into the reports. Have a report and it will tell you what the contacts are. Other VSO offices in East Tennessee keep this data. They have it readily available. Mr. Gabriel will hook you right up with it. That's what I want to see for the veterans in Jefferson County. Let's get this right and let's start out tonight. Miss Easton's been doing the job. I rest.

I want to rescind my amendment I want to rescind my amendment but I want to ask Austin if I can change his wording to change her pay when she took over as interim along with this motion of yours that her pay changed. Can we do that? Yes. Can Brian speak to that?

No, she needs to be paid from the day she took over, heard that letter, that Wednesday morning.

Mr. Chairman, can we have our finance office speak to that?

I'm fine with it.

What?

We've not received payroll from July 1st.

Okay. All right. So I'll agree to the, so we're scrapping the motion to delay this and send it through all the committees, right?

Yeah. But we may have to take some money out of fund balance if we were paying Marissa that rate and now Rebecca. So there may be a little cash that the commission has to.

I won't be here to have to deal with that.

I mean, it could be in with that.

If I may interject, the point of it is you're actually saving money right now. Yeah. because my letter stated that Marissa would get paid to the 15th full benefits. Okay, it's past the 15th, so you're actually going to save money, so all you're doing is switching payroll.

That's all you're doing. Frank, can you get us back to the original motion?

That's all you've got to do.

Rob, you want to speak? Austin, are you done? I'm sorry.

I'll just repeat the motion after everybody's okay, Rob.

Nevermind. Marcus.

I know that on occasion, we talking about data, we had Dallas presented to us a commission meeting showing the results that Marissa had before Rebecca came on board. And then I know that for several times, Marissa was not even notified to show up for meetings because I sent her the agenda herself, correct? So I mean, there's a lot of this and that going on. Well, the court case, let's leave it at that. We got a new commission coming on. Maybe we can make ourselves more transparent and understanding to the citizens of this county, not just the veterans, but all citizens. They deserve that. You deserve that. I want commission to be more understanding because we built a building that cost us almost double what we were supposed to pay for it. And I did not even know they had cut it inside. So I'm a sitting commissioner. That don't make sense. We're not transparent with us self. Well, how in the world can we be transparent with you guys unless we have the transparency on our side also? I'm done.

Mr. Chairman, if I could provide closing comments, I just want to go over the motion. As long as Mr. Reid agrees with this, we don't have to amend it since he's the second. So the motion is that this body would hire Rebecca Easton as the veteran service officer retroactively to July 1, 2026. Do you agree to that, Marcus?

Yes.

OK.

Does everybody understand the motion? Need us to read it. I'll say it again. Say it again.

that this body tonight hire Rebecca Easton with a start date of July 1, 2026, to be the Jefferson County Veterans Service officer, which includes all the pay and benefits that come with that position.

Everybody in agreement? Let's vote.

i gotta do this Okay, next on the agenda would have been your resolution 2026-35, your AI data center resolution. David Seale will be presenting that at the next meeting. I got a thumbs up from Mr. David. So also in the announcements, we got a 30th anniversary of the Jefferson County Archives celebrations, July 24th, 2026, 1130 to 130 at the Jefferson County Historic Courthouse courtroom right here. Does anyone have anything else to come before this board tonight?

Yes, I didn't mean to hit my button to adjourn.

Sorry, John. Wait a minute. Before we adjourn, we would like to point out that Tim Seals, Mr. John Johnson, Ms. Heidi Thomas, this would be their last meeting. Mr. Brooks, don't let me forget Mr. Brooks. I won't get to hear Mr. Chairman no more for a while. So, John, what was you going to say?