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The Board of Mayor and Alderman recently approved charter changes to be submitted to state legislation after several meetings in December.

BoMA had several questions about language in other items, including an item about changing the Mayor and/or Alderman appointing and removing officers to and from committees to the Board of Mayor and Alderman, which Alderman Kurt Glick motioned for, and Mayor Pro Tem Jenna Amacher seconded. The board agreed that the language didn’t really change the way things were, as they could still delegate appointments to the mayor through ordinance. The vote passed five to two, with Alderman Derick Mann and Mayor Ray Knowis voting against the change.

There continued to be discussions about changes to the Charter, with Worsham warning they maybe should be cautious about making any further changes.

Berry motioned a further change dealing with the same issue that Finance Director Sue Wilson pointed out in another section of the Charter relating particularly to the Tullahoma Utility Authority.

“The board authority shall consist of five directors, one of which shall be a member of the city board and be appointed by the BoMA,” motioned Berry. “Strike Mayor from the language.”

“So the mayor has no appointing power left,” said Knowis. “This board has just removed any appointing power from the mayor. That’s what this board has just done, if you pass this amendment.”

“Not necessarily, we can still change it by ordinance,” said Amacher.

“No he can’t, on this one” said Berry, referring to TUA in particular.

Amacher clarified that she was addressing Knowis saying they were stripping all appointing power from the Mayor, not this particular amendment.

Before more discourse took place, Mann directed the board to City Finance Director Sue Wilson, who had a question for Berry about his amendment.

“If you’re going to amend that, if you go halfway down the paragraph, it goes on to say the Mayor shall fill each vacancy however created in the position of directors appointed by the mayor. So you would have to change that sentence as well,” she said.

Glick suggested that “anywhere it says Mayor, they could substitute Board of Mayor and Alderman.” Amacher agreed with him, but after some consideration, Berry withdrew his amendment. He said he thought it was fine to leave the language as it was, and that it should be pertinent to being mayor to make such appointments.

Amacher then declared a motion but said “I’d like to caveat that this is not at all personal.”

“I would like to add a sentence that the Mayor may defer to the Board of Mayor and Alderman for such appointments,” she amended. “Though he may not self-appoint.”

Berry suggested they make such a change through ordinance, not Charter.

Knowis said he didn’t think there was any difference in Amacher’s amendment from Berry’s withdrawn one.

“No, you still get to appoint,” she said to Knowis. “You just can’t self-appoint.”

Glick seconded her motion.

Knowis said “Again, I’ll certainly insist that motion fail.”

The motion failed with Amacher, Glick and Alderman Bobbie Wilson voting yes, and Knowis, Berry, Mann and Alderman Jerry Mathis voting no.

Knowis prompted the original motion, and asked if everyone was ready to vote.

Glick said “I’m not ready.”

Amacher said she would like to review one more time before voting.

“Didn’t the attorney from MTAS (Municipal Technical Advisory Service) tell us that it was unethical to self-appoint (as mayor)?” Glick asked. “I’m just wondering why we wouldn’t have that in there if we have that legal opinion.”

“Because it’s already state law,” Berry replied. “If it’s violated, then there’s a process to handle that. So, if we feel that has been violated, there is a process for us to handle that.”

Amacher said the process was too vague, and added that a complaint had already been made “that self-appointments are unethical and illegal.”

Her argument was the board “has no teeth” in their own law to deal with the issue. Berry said that if it is covered in state law, there’s not much they can do.

Amacher said “We want to have the authority here to enforce what we want to enforce. You can’t depend on the state to come in and save you.”

“The local control is where we have to manage our own affairs, and if we believe something is wrong, we need to state it here (in the charter),” she said.

Her main concern was self-appointment to a paid board.

Berry’s response was that they should use the ethics committee they’ve already laid out to handle such issues. He said they should finish their work on the ethics committee and lay out law in ordinance. He said he would support discussion for it, just not in the charter.

After a short recess, BoMA voted on the charter. The vote passed six to one, with Knowis voting against it.