Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Unprecedented: Godsey removed as chairman of board

02.19.2014

BHC 021914 Commission 1.jpg
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. — In an unprecedented move, the Sullivan County Commission voted Tuesday to remove Mayor Steve Godsey as its chairman and place longtime Commissioner Eddie Williams at the helm.
“We are going to run our commission with our people and be responsible for what we are supposed to be responsible for,” Bristol Commissioner Bryan Boyd said, adding, “You can take this as a sign of discomfort [with the mayor].”
Williams, who has been involved in county government for decades, said he could not remember a time when the mayor did not serve as chairman, whose job is to run the meetings.
Up until Tuesday, Godsey sat at the front of the commission room, gaveled the meetings to order and called upon commissioners when they wanted to speak.
As he left the building, Godsey initially told the Bristol Herald Courier he was not willing to talk about the commission’s action. Later, he said he was surprised by the vote, but added that it is within the commission’s right to appoint a member as chairman.
“I had a lot of people in there I thought were my friends,” Godsey said. “You would have thought some of them would have let me know.”
In losing the chairmanship, Godsey is granted veto power under state statute, which means he can veto resolution approval, but that can be overridden by a simple majority vote of the 24 commissioners.
Over the last few weeks, some of the commissioners have become increasingly unhappy with the mayor and some have blamed him for the confusion and problems surrounding interim Highway Commissioner Bobbie Manning.
“We get feedback from the public,” Boyd said. “That is what we are supposed to do. We represent our constituents’ concerns. A lot of them think there are distractions. We are separating ourselves from that.”
When former Highway Commissioner Terry Shaffer resigned in December, he wrote a letter that named Highway Department employee Bobbie Manning to the interim post. Godsey either ignored the letter or thought it did not apply to the situation – he has said both — and he asked Highway Department employee Jim Montgomery to oversee the department until the County Commission named a highway commissioner to serve until the August election.
“We are now in a mess, and I fault the mayor for not following protocol, essentially ignoring the letter,” Commissioner Cathy Armstrong, of Bristol, said during the meeting.
Part of the mess she is referring to is the surety bond that Manning needs to function in the job. The letter was not made public until a month after Shaffer resigned, giving the county a short timeline for Manning to get the bond, which protects the county against fraud and theft by public officials.
Manning had difficulty getting the bond. He also had a heated exchange with Godsey. Shortly after taking over the helm of the department, Manning fired six employees. Manning said Godsey advised him to clean up the department and dismiss the employees.
Godsey denied the allegation, and the back and forth between the two has resulted in a lot of publicity in the last few days.
“We are headed down a path that is detrimental to this county,” Armstrong said.
The controversy occurs as election season gets underway. Godsey is seeking re-election and will likely face former Mayor Richard Venable of Kingsport in a May Republican primary.
Williams, of Kingsport, also serves as chairman of the commission’s Budget Committee. As commission chairman, he is allowed to vote on issues before the board but he said Tuesday he’s not sure if he’s comfortable voting and running the meeting. He said he will think about his role over the next few days.
“I want to do whatever is best for the commission and the least recognition for me,” Williams said.

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