IF YOU GOThe board will revisit the issue of its own retirement pay at a called meeting Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the board room at 3074 Hickory Valley Road.
Under intense fire for voting to give themselves retirement benefits, Hamilton County Board of Education members are stuck with their decision until at least next week.
At a meeting Thursday, school board attorney Scott Bennett said that, even though two board members asked to vote again on the controversial item, there had not been enough time to provide adequate public notice under state law.
Local school board policy defines adequate notice as 72 hours.
"I think you'd be ill-advised to ignore your policy," Bennett told the school board.
Shortly before last Thursday's meeting, board members were slid a memo outlining the retirement pay policy and voted 7-0 to pass it. Rhonda Thurman and Everett Fairchild abstained, saying they hadn't had enough time to consider the option.
Fairchild said Thursday he had been misled to believe the retirement pay would not cost the school system any money. As it now stands, the plan would cost the district $6,750 annually. Each board member would be given $750 for each year of service, which would count retroactively.
Fairchild said he didn't understand why school officials could add the retirement pay to the agenda at the last minute, but the board could hold a re-vote with similarly short notice.
"I resent being put on the spot like that," he said. "I guarantee you that 90 percent of the people in Hamilton County know about this. And half of them have called me."
Bennett said last week's meeting was a regularly scheduled session that the public has known about for months. The public can expect anything to be added to such an agenda, he said.
But state law requires the extra notice when something is added to a called meeting, he added.
Several board members, including George Ricks, expressed frustration over bringing up items on which the board had already voted.
"We made a decision. Move on," Ricks said. "Majority rules, that's the democratic way. There have been things that have passed that I'm not happy with."
The school board is not the only local elected panel whose part-time members receive retirement benefits. Both the Chattanooga City Council and the Hamilton County Commission receive retirement pay.
County commissioners got a private pension plan act adopted in the Tennessee Legislature in 1981, records show. Commissioners and their widows or widowers are eligible for monthly payments based on their years of service.
A 2009 actuarial study provided by County Auditor Bill McGriff's office showed a range of monthly payments to former commissioners. The lowest was $160 a month to Brenda Bailey, while the highest was a little more than $628 to Harold Coker.
Former Commissioner William Cotton, convicted of extortion and bribery in 2005's Tennessee Waltz FBI sting, receives nearly $400 a month from his commission pension, according to the 2009 study.
Commissioners must serve at least five years and be at least 55 years old to receive a monthly payment.
The study showed that Curtis Adams, who left the commission this year to take a job as city manager in Crossville, Tenn., would be eligible for $872 a month.
Richard Casavant will be eligible to receive $446; Larry Henry could get $316; and Fred Skillern, $352, according to the 2009 study.
Commissioners Greg Beck, John Allen Brooks, Jim Coppinger and Warren Mackey don't have five years service yet. Brooks lost his re-election bid in the Aug. 5 elections.
Bill Hullander would qualify to receive $473, but he cannot collect as long as he works for the county. Hullander was elected county trustee on Aug. 5.
Staff Writer Dan Whisenhunt contributed to this story.
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