New AG Opinion on Filling a Vacancy on the County Commission

Below you will find a link to an Attorney General opinion that was issued August 19, 2008. It relates to the proper method for filling a vacancy on a county commission when the vacancy occurs after the regular August election, but more than 60 days before the November election. The short answer is that the vacancy is filled in a special election held in conjunction with the November 4th state and federal general election. Political parties may choose nominees for the position by way of a countywide nomination convention. The county commission in these circumstances may appoint a temporary successor to fill the vacancy until the November election, but is not required to do so.
http://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/op/2008/OP/OP138.pdf

Excellent Source for Environmental News and Information

Another resource in the myriad of services provided by CTAS is the CTAS "Environmental Blog." This website, found at http://ctasenvblog.tennessee.edu/ has been up and running for a little over a year. You can find up to the minute information on environmental issues affecting county government that is useful both for county officials and employees and the citizens in the communities you serve. For example, the most recent post from August 19 lists details for household hazardous waste collection events for Maury and Sequatchie Counties. Other topics covered on the site include landfill management, fuel conservation and renewable energy, recycling, waste collection and transfer, grants and loans for environmental programs and more. If you are concerned about environmental issues and how they affect your county's operations and your community, I strongly recommend you visit this site regularly. It is updated frequently and you can post comments and ask questions if you need more information on a topic.

Training Opportunities for County Commissioners

Education and training resources can help us all do our jobs better, help us make more informed decisions and give us a broader understanding of the context and environment in which we live and work. In Tennessee, there is a nationally recognized training program for county officials. It is the County Officials Certificate Training Program or COCTP.

The COCTP is a comprehensive training program administered by the University of Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS). The COCTP is designed to provide specialized, office-specific, technical, administrative, managerial, and leadership training to elected officials and their employees in order to help county government run more effectively. Training is offered in the classroom setting, through on-line courses and through correspondence courses. Often, classroom training courses are offered in conjunction with TCSA conferences and meetings. In addition, many of the lectures and breakout sessions at TCSA meetings count for credit hours in the COCTP.

If you are interested in this program, you can find a brochure about COCTP here:

http://www.tncountycommissioners.org/coctp_brochure.pdf

and you can find much more information about educational opportunities on the training portion of the CTAS website here:

http://www.ctas.tennessee.edu/PUBLIC/web/ctas.nsf/COCTP?readform

Status of Planning in TN Communities

If your county is considering adoption or revision of zoning, building codes or subdivision regulations, there is a report available through the Department of Economic and Community Development (EC&D) which may be of interest to you. The annual Status of Planning and Land Use Controls report is produced by the Local Planning Assistance Office within EC&D each year. The report for 2008 can be found here:

http://tennessee.gov/ecd/pdf/status_of_planning08.pdf

This report is approximately 80 pages long and includes maps and charts identifying which counties and municipalities have subdivision regulations, building codes, zoning, active planning commissions and building inspection programs. The report also indicates which counties participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, the Tennessee 3-Star Program and the Retire Tennessee Program.

To find out more about these programs and others administered by the Local Planning Assistance Office, visit their website here: http://tennessee.gov/ecd/locplan.htm

Public Records Access Forms Available

With the passage of 2008 Public Chapter 1179, the Office of Open Records Counsel was created to answer questions and provide information to records custodians and citizens regarding public records requests. The Office of Open Records Counsel has prepared three forms for records custodians that are now available on its website at http://www.comptroller.state.tn.us/openrecords/forms.htm

The first form is an Inspection/Duplication of Records Request form to be used by both the records requestor and records custodian when someone requests a record. The second form is a Records Request Denial Letter to be used by a records custodian when denying a records request. This form lists reasons why a request may be denied and provides a place for communicating why the information cannot be provided. Finally, the third form is a Records Production Letter to be used by a records custodian when a record cannot be made available within seven (7) business days. Detailed instructions on the use of these forms can also be found at the above-referenced website address. Should you have any questions regarding the use of these forms you may contact the Office of Open Records Counsel at (615) 401-7891, toll free 1-(866) 831-3750 or by e-mail at open.records@state.tn.us.

County Profiles and Census Data

Ever wanted to find basic information about the demographics and statistics for your county? One source you may find useful is on the Internet site for the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. www.state.tn.us/tacir

Consisting of public officials from state and local government and private citizen members, the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) "serves as a forum for the discussion and resolution of intergovernmental problems." The commission and its staff research and examine a multitude of public policy issues related to government in Tennessee.

At their Internet home page, you may want to browse the catalog of publications available or look at the profile for your county or other counties. To view the profiles, click on the tab for "County Profiles," then either click on a county on the map or enter the county name in the appropriate blank and then choose the format for viewing the data.

The profile includes:

• Basic population data
• Income and poverty information
• Health and healthcare statistics
• Employment and wage data
• County finance and budget information
• Results of the TACIR public infrastructure needs survey
• Statistical information about educational attainment, and
• Statistics on the county public school system.

This information may be helpful to you or useful to share with community groups and organizations to help them understand and learn more about your community.

Re-Design of Main Association Website

You are likely linking to this page through the main association website: www.tncountycommissioners.org. If so, you have probably noticed the re-design there. If you have bookmarked this page and are coming here directly, I invite you to go to the main site to see some new features we've added.

There is updated information about our 2008 regional meetings and an on line form you can use to let us know which regional meeting you plan to attend. There is also a new "Legal Issues" section where we will be posting updates and information about new laws, court cases or legal opinions affecting county government from time to time.

Check out the new features and watch for more additions in the coming weeks.