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County Commission's controversial discretionary funds can't be spent on schools, attorney says
Fiscally irresponsible? Jim, you're too nice.
After having their taxpayer financed re-election slush funds (aka "discretionary funds") stripped out of the 2016 budget by Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger, six commissioners made moves in the last two weeks that shouldn't surprise anyone who follows politics.
They made a desperate grab for cash.
All but Joe Graham, Greg Beck and Marty Haynes voted to rob the county's rainy day coffers to support pet projects in each of their districts.
As reported by the Times Free Press, discretionary funds have been a part of Hamilton County budgets, off and on, since 1981. The original 2016 budget submitted by Mayor Coppinger marked the first absence of these allocations since 2008, and the majority of commissioners just couldn't stand the thought of it.
After all, $100,000 per commissioner per year can curry a massive amount of favor among district voters. Think about it, with discretionary accounts in place, each commissioner gets to dole out nearly half a million dollars to whatever projects tickle his or her fancy over the course of a single four-year term.
You know what tickles political fancies more than anything? Re-election. And who needs to throw a campaign fundraiser when the taxpayer wallet supports your Robin Hood act?
Sure, most of the projects funded by discretionary spending are good causes. Just go look at some of the line items: high school band uniforms, nonprofit fundraisers and neighborhood art exhibits. None of these are unimportant, but when there is no revenue on the county balance sheet to support these projects, as the mayor has repeatedly noted, it becomes clear that none of these spends are necessary.
If they actually were necessities, they'd be included in the formal budget.
Critics of the discretionary accounts - and there are many of them - are calling for more transparency to be added to how monies are awarded. As it stands right now, there is no formal way to apply for funding. If you have a project that needs a cash injection, you better be able to score some face time with your commissioner. Otherwise, good luck.
Is it just me, or does that sound like good ol' boy-ism?
Not long after overriding the mayor's budget veto on Wednesday, the commissioners who voted to withdraw $900,000 from the county's savings account took turns mounting the soapbox to justify their actions. Here are some summarized excerpts and quick thoughts in response:
Sabrena Smedley - "There are two new commissioners, myself included, so this obviously isn't vote buying money." Sabrena, the seat you won was vacated before you ran, and Randy Fairbanks' predecessor, Fred Skillern, was famously hesitant to use his discretionary account.
Randy Fairbanks - "Only think tanks in Nashville are upset about this. Everybody I talk to favors how I've voted." Nope. Not even close, Randy. I'd suggest your focus group needed to include people other than those who've received your checks.
Tim Boyd - "Well, Jim Coppinger used discretionary funds when he was a commissioner!" How on God's green earth is this relevant, Tim? The county finance report in 2008 looks much different than today. Your argument sounds like something schoolyard kids say when they're being reprimanded for bad behavior. Oh, the irony.
Discretionary accounts don't need to be tweaked for more transparency. They need to be thrown out altogether. It's a scam of a system, whereby individual commissioners get to play sugar daddy (or momma) to handpicked organizations across the county - with public money.
A common line of reasoning recited by commissioners who favor discretionary spending is that the projects they support offer residents a visible return on investment for their taxes. That's ridiculous. There are plenty of other ways, sans slush money, to show voters you're working efficiently on their behalf.
Mayor Coppinger, you're too nice. What those six commissioners did on Wednesday was more than being "fiscally irresponsible." It was a joke.
David Allen Martin is a syndicated columnist who writes from Chattanooga. Email him at davidallenmartin423@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @DMart423.