Erlanger aims for more transparency at meetings

The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority Board of Trustees meets and discusses bonuses for management.
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority Board of Trustees meets and discusses bonuses for management.

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photo The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority Board of Trustees meets and discusses bonuses for management.

Starting this month, Erlanger board meetings will be videotaped and posted on YouTube as part of an attempt to rebuild trust.

"This provides the opportunity to view every resolution, to follow every discussion and vote, as well as watch all special presentations," Erlanger board Chairman Donnie Hutcherson said in a letter to legislators.

The board also will open its traditional pre-meeting dinners to guests. The Times Free Press has not been permitted to attend the dinners, which officials called "informal assemblages [that] do not constitute meetings.'"

The policy is a response to state lawmakers, who blasted the board for discussing bonuses behind closed doors. In January, Tennessee's attorney general ruled the discussions violated open meetings law.

"Trust is paramount for Erlanger and for those of us who serve on the Board of Trustees," Hutcherson said. "Our board's intent is to only discuss items in closed meetings that are consistent with the state statute and only if those items clearly meet a conservative interpretation of Tennessee law."

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