If Delores the administrative assistant loses her father, a letter in the Hamilton County Commission’s private chambers asking if commissioners would like to donate toward flowers for Delores is one thing.
If Hamilton County commissioners want to change state law and set their own pay scale, a letter left in the private chambers for them to see and sign is another thing entirely.
That’s what happened here recently. Eight of our nine commissioners signed the letter drafted by Commissioner Greg Beck that would remove the link between the county’s mayor’s salary and their salary.
The fact there was no public discussion about the letter — a subsequent private request also was made to members of Hamilton County’s legislative delegation to amend state law — is, at best, incredibly tone-deaf on the part of the commissioners, and at worst, manipulative, disingenuous and unscrupulous.
The bills submitted in the Tennessee House and and Senate as a courtesy to commissioners simply state they would amend the Tennessee Code by deleting certain language in the law and that the change would take effect June 30, 2015. The proposed bills make no mention of Hamilton County or of commissioners’ pay.