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Citizens made their voices heard regarding multiple issues at the opening of the December Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting.

During the public comment section at the beginning of what would be a four and a half hour meeting, several citizens spoke their minds, starting with Tullahoma resident and Chairman of the Coffee County Republican Party Greg Sandlin.

“Good evening, Mayor and Board, I have three short comments on issues coming before this board. The first is in the agenda, Ordinance No. 1619. If I read this right, you’re asking to be paid another $150 per meeting for each additional board you’re appointed to. My comments are that’s a lot of taxpayer’s dollars. More than $25,000 per year, if my math is right. Just a year ago, you increased your salaries, so if this ordinance passes, you’ll essentially be doubling or tripling your salaries come the next election,” he said.

“This board was not meant to be a full-time paying job but an act of public service, and your job, I’ve done it before, I’ve followed it closely, is to lead and direct your one employee, the City Administrator. You lead, you set the budget and you direct Mr. Quick, in this instance to implement your plan and then hold him accountable to that plan. That’s the job of a board, so I ask you not to pass that ordinance.”

“And if there’s an extra $25,000 in the budget,” he added, “I would encourage you to lower our property taxes. There’s a lot of Tullahomans hurting from the crazy inflation, fuel prices, the increase of property values costs, so I would urge you to lower taxes, that’s what conservatives do.”

Sandlin’s second complaint regarded the moving of mayoral and aldermanic elections from August to November.

He requested that they keep municipal elections separate from state and federal elections. Sandlin said that “there’s no cost savings for moving the election to November,” and added that the moving of the election “has an air of partisanship about it that does not serve our city well.”

His last concern regarded the potential change in the charter. He requested that the board eliminate the August 2025 city election for city judge and a couple of school board spots and move it to 2026. Sandlin stated that the elimination of the 2025 election could save another $30,000 which could be returned to taxpayers and decrease property tax rates.

As Sandlin moved to take his seat, Mayor Pro Tem Jenna Amacher said she had a question for him.

“Just out of curiosity,” she said. “You said [the November election move] would give an air of partisanship, are you not still the Chairman of the Coffee County Republican party?”

He stated “I am the chair of the Republican Party, proudly so, but I still feel like the city elections should stay less partisan in my opinion. I’m not speaking for the Coffee County Republican party or the state party, I’m speaking as Greg Sandlin.”

“Yet you’re advocating for a tax decrease,” she said.

“Oh, you bet I’m advocating for a tax decrease, I’m advocating for you to give our property taxes back,” he said.

Several others spoke out regarding the issues Sandlin brought up, including Mark Shimp, who stated “Let’s keep local ‘local’ and not in with all the noise and the current of the politics that come out of the National elections and the state. I appreciate your consideration that you’d stay the course and keep our elections the way they’ve been.”

Also speaking in favor of Sandlin’s request regarding elections was Ashli Shockley, who started by saying “I actually agree with a lot of what Mr. Sandlin said, which is funny since I am a die-hard liberal, or as Ms. Amacher likes to say on Facebook, a mentally ill liberal.”

In response to this comment, Alderman Daniel Berry asked Mayor Ray Knowis for point of order, and Knowis obliged. He requested Shockley keep her comments relevant to the board.

“I think changing the elections to November is a big mistake. I think the only reason some people were elected on this board because they ran under the Republican name, and this is their way of still trying to get elected.”

One other commentator in favor of keeping municipal elections was Jim Woodard.

Later in the meeting, BoMA voted to postpone their vote on Ordinance No. 1619, regarding appointed meeting payments and voted to postpone the Charter amendments which included the moving of the municipal elections from August to November.