Commission seeks Hurley resoluti

Tennessee Code Annotated 8-48-101 points out a vacancy will occur if an elected official ceases to be a “resident of the state, or of the district, circuit or county for which the incumbent was elected or appointed.”

“This is not a personal issue, this is not a vendetta, this is not somebody trying to get somebody, myself or any other commissioner trying to get Commissioner Hurley,” Shaver said. “Commissioner Hurley has set rules and regulations to go by just like we all do. We all have to abide by what the constitution says, what state law says and that stuff.”

Hurley during the workshop claimed the move was temporary. She did not attend Monday’s commission meeting.

According to TCA 2-2-122, a person does not lose residency if there is intention to return, “the person leaves home and goes to another country, state or place within this state for temporary purposes, even if of one or more years duration.”

“There’s no question that she’s moved. There’s no question that her intent was not to move back to begin with,” Shaver said. “Now after the fact she was briefed and given talking points by another elected official what to say to make it sound right. ‘That was, well, temporary I’m having foundation work.’ Well, there wasn’t no truth to that because she’s done leased her house twice, at least right now.”

On Monday, Shaver noted several options for commission: a quo warranto lawsuit, seeking declaratory judgment from a judge or doing nothing, the last of which he opposed because he felt it wasn’t right to ignore.

“Citizens can take a lawsuit, the county commission can take a lawsuit, the county commission could vote and have the district attorney take a lawsuit if he chose to,” Shaver said. “We can’t make him do it, but we can only ask him to do it. You have the lawsuit options.”

Commission agreed to send information to Johnson and get his input. Commissioners Kelly Littleton-Brewster and David Meers motioned and seconded, respectively, with the vote passing 9-0.

“Send it over to him and see what he has to say,” Henry Cullen, commission chairman, said after the meeting. “The problem is it isn’t going to be resolved easy. She’s saying it’s temporary. Temporary has no limit on it, so I think it has to be somebody other than us.”

Before the vote, Shaver favored declaratory judgment because he felt it was the most neutral option. However, it would require money to retain an attorney.

“What that amounts to is through an attorney, not Bob Bowman, he can’t handle it because he’s the county commission’s attorney, and if this body chooses that way we’ll have to decide who if we want to do it we’d have to get an attorney,” Shaver said. “But an attorney would take the information to the chancellor and say, ‘Here’s our situation. This person has done X, Y and Z. What’s your position on this?’ That person would have the ability to represent and say themselves, ‘Well, I did X, Y and Z; here’s why I did it’.”

The judge would then make a decision based on the evidence, Shaver said.

Before seconding Littleton-Brewster’s motion, Meers recommended Hurley sit down with attorney Joe Ford. Meers eventually rescinded his motion.

“I don’t understand with a move that’s made on temporary basis why was the mayor or the chairman not contacted?” Meers said. “Van, you made a statement, if she has been versed by an elected official, that is totally wrong and that should not happen.”

Commissioner Adam Waller said declaratory judgment was the better option.

“We need somebody who’s a legal expert who can make a decision for us,” Waller said after the meeting. “I think a declaratory judgment’s the fairest, best way to do it versus asking Russell Johnson to look into it and having to come back and maybe going to chancery court. I just think a declaratory judgment is what we should have done. This is the cheapest way and the fastest way to let DA Johnson look at it.

“We just need some resolution because every phone call I get from a constituent ends with, ‘What’s going on with Julia Hurley’s situation?’ I just want it resolved and put behind us,” he added.

Budget changes

Commissioners approved amendments in the sheriff’s office and jail budgets for revisions in job classifications. One of the 24 jailer positions approved in July will be removed to create an additional sergeant job classification at Loudon County Sheriff’s Office.

Tracy Blair, county budget director, said the net effect is a savings of $56,243. The amendment includes a reduction in the jail budget of about $64,000 and an increase in the sheriff’s office budget of about $7,900. The increase on the LCSO side is the difference between a corporal and a sergeant.

Shaver and Meers motioned and seconded, respectively, with the vote passing 8-1. Matthew Tinker was the lone opposing vote.

“A few weeks ago it was imperative that they have a certain number of jailers in the jail and then now it isn’t,” Tinker said after the meeting. “If they weren’t all needed at that time I wish we could have saved the money on the front end.”

In other action, Loudon County Commission:

• Rezoned 2.19 acres at U.S. Highway 321 and Hickory Valley Road from A-1 Agricultural-Forestry District to C-1 Rural Center District.

• Rezoned 20.18 acres at 10616 East Coast Tellico Parkway from R-1 Suburban Residential District to R-1 Suburban Residential District with planned unit development overlay of 2.5 units per acre.

• Rezoned 1.08 acres at U.S. Highway 411 South from C-2 General Commercial District to C-1 Rural Center District.