Tue
Dec 22 2020
09:26 am
Knox Co. Commission votes to limit Board of Health's power
By: jbr

Who voted for/against?

The ordinance would remove the board's ability to create policies and make it an advisory board.

Knox Co. Commission votes to limit Board of Health's power

Topics:
bizgrrl's picture

Does this path leave all the

Submitted by bizgrrl on Tue, 2020/12/22 - 12:30pm.

Does this path leave all the power with Dr. Buchanan?

jbr's picture

This shifts the policy making

Submitted by jbr on Tue, 2020/12/22 - 1:09pm.
(in reply to bizgrrl)

Some extra stress for Dr Buchanan...

This shifts the policy making power to the Department of Health, specifically to Health Director Dr. Martha Buchanan.

fischbobber's picture

Sorta

Submitted by fischbobber on Tue, 2020/12/22 - 2:07pm.
(in reply to bizgrrl)

She is an at will employee who can be fired without cause by Mayor Jacobs, according to her predecessor.

This is about Mayor Jacobs seizing power at the expense of Knox County citizens. He has a pattern of this sort of behavior. There is a reason Knoxville has the worst Covid response in the world and that reason’s name is Glenn Jacobs.

Rachel's picture

Nope. She has to be fired

Submitted by Rachel on Tue, 2020/12/22 - 5:12pm.
(in reply to fischbobber)

Nope. She has to be fired jointly by Jacobs and the State Board of Health and it's not easy.

fischbobber's picture

Good to know

Submitted by fischbobber on Tue, 2020/12/22 - 7:02pm.
(in reply to Rachel)

Earlier today I had read her predecessor claimed she could be dismissed at the will of the mayor.

You don’t know where the statute is defining the terms under which she can be dismissed, do you? I’d like to familiarize myself with it.

Thanks

fischbobber's picture

Eliminating the position

Submitted by fischbobber on Tue, 2020/12/22 - 7:18pm.
(in reply to Rachel)

The Board of Health members are only allowed to be removed for cause and they are just disbanding the board to get around that. Is there anything to prevent the elimination of the position of Health Director? It is an optional position as I understand. And this County administration doesn’t seem to be bothered by making up stuff as they go along.

Tamara Shepherd's picture

Elimination of County Health Director

Submitted by Tamara Shepherd on Wed, 2020/12/23 - 7:46am.
(in reply to fischbobber)

The establishment of a County Health Director is *not* optional. Appointment of the position is by the (state) Commissioner of Health "in concurrence with the county mayor."

I do not see that process for removal of the County Health Director is explicitly addressed in statute, although I suppose, given that the (state) Commissioner of Health appoints the position, the Commissioner's approval to remove is implicit.

See TCA 68-2-603 Establishment of County Health Department-County Health Director.

fischbobber's picture

Our Commissioner of Health

Submitted by fischbobber on Wed, 2020/12/23 - 8:42am.
(in reply to Tamara Shepherd)

(link...)

At issue will be whether she accepts Jacobs arguments on ancillary issues and economic impact on Knox County over public health. This wouldn't be the first redefinition of terms during this crisis.

Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, insects, fungi, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form, in much the same way in biological warfare. Further, modern agribusiness is vulnerable to anti-agricultural attacks by terrorists, and such attacks can seriously damage economy as well as consumer confidence.[1] The later destructive activity is called agrobioterrorism and is subtype of agro-terrorism.[2]

That definition from wikipedia has been redefined as appropriate government response to a pandemic in Knox County. Just saying.

Tamara Shepherd's picture

Zachary

Submitted by Tamara Shepherd on Tue, 2020/12/22 - 4:22pm.
(in reply to bizgrrl)

No, Biz. Commissioners are working in tandem with Rep. Jason Zachary, whose intention is to leave local Health Department directors with *no* power. He wants their positions to be strictly advisory to each municipality's County Mayor, in whom he would place *all* power.

See Zachary's HB 0007 (and companion bill SB0015, introduced by Sen. Mike Bell), applicable to Shelby, Davidson, Knox, Hamilton, Madison, and Sullivan counties only.

jbr's picture

TN HB0007

Submitted by jbr on Tue, 2020/12/22 - 4:32pm.
(in reply to Tamara Shepherd)

TN HB0007

jbr's picture

Individually, what are the

Submitted by jbr on Tue, 2020/12/22 - 1:14pm.

Individually, what are the backgrounds of each of commissioners?

What is each ones area of knowledge?

fischbobber's picture

Ward

Submitted by fischbobber on Tue, 2020/12/22 - 2:08pm.
(in reply to jbr)

Kyle Ward is a garbage man.

jbr's picture

For and Against

Submitted by jbr on Tue, 2020/12/22 - 5:31pm.

From KnoxTnToday ...

Yes votes: Beeler, Biggs, Busler, Dailey, Schoonmaker, Ward
No votes: Durrett, Hill, Jay, Lundy
Pass: Randy Smith

Commissioners debate role of health board

wisdom4all's picture

stimulus checks

Submitted by wisdom4all on Wed, 2020/12/23 - 12:10pm.

last night trump said that the proposed stimulus checks should be $2000 instead of $600 (which was a compromise). Democrats called for $1,200 checks. Most Republicans didn't even want to include direct checks to working class americans because they felt they had given enough aide already, through other programs and in previous bills. I tried calling Alexander's office and they've all closed for the holiday.

jbr's picture

City moves to suspend beer

Submitted by jbr on Tue, 2020/12/29 - 1:39am.

City moves to suspend beer licenses at Knoxville bars where citations stack up

bizgrrl's picture

It's about time. Otherwise,

Submitted by bizgrrl on Tue, 2020/12/29 - 6:13am.
(in reply to jbr)

It's about time. Otherwise, what's the point?

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