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Power Grab: Mayor Seeks To Repeal Entire Private Act

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Red-faced and Red-handed, County Mayor Ernest Burgess is caught with his hand in the power jar

Red-faced & Red-handed, County Mayor Ernest Burgess is caught with his hand in the power jar

In a shocking display of arrogance, Republican County Mayor Ernest Burgess is proposing to repeal the entire Private Act of Tennessee State Law governing the hiring of Rutherford County’s legal representation. The current statute puts power in the hands of Rutherford County citizens through their elected County Commissioners to decide who represents the taxpayer’s interest. But Burgess will seek to completely to do away with current state law tonight before the County Steering Committee, and even proposes to make decisions for Sheriff Truman Jones on who he can and cannot hire to represent the Sheriff’s Department.

The proposed Legal Services Agreement stipulates that the County Attorney will decide who represents the Sheriff’s Dept. -

Section V. Subsection H- “…the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Dept. representation shall be handled by an attorney selected by the Sheriff, subject to the approval of the County Attorney, provided the hourly compensation for the attorney selected by the Sheriff shall not exceed $150 per hour”

It also stipulates that Rutherford County (aka taxpayers) will pay the bill if the County Attorney is sued for damages:

Section V, Subsection B - “…the County shall act in good faith to represent, defend, and pay liability claims against the County Attorney and associates”

In fact, County Attorney Jim Cope is currently a co-defendant in a lawsuit for his handling of the failed Bible Park. If County Mayor Ernest Burgess gets his way in grabbing the reins and implementing the Legal Services Agreement, will Mr. Cope be safe from liability and will taxpayers foot the bill?

UPDATE: The Daily News Journal’s Editorial Board is calling for revision of the Legal Services Agreement

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 12:41 pm and is filed under County Mayor Ernest Burgess, Radical Republicans, Republican leaders, Rutherford County Republican Party, Tax and Spend Republicans, Watchdog Alert. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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