During last week’s meeting of the Carthage City Council, City Recorder Jennifer Parker announced her resignation, effective December 20, 2019. In her resignation letter, Parker specifically mentions the “inability to effectively perform [her] duties due to the toxic environment created by the Mayor.” Parker addressed the council about her resignation after concluding her monthly City Recorder’s report. “I hope the council will look into this issue,” Parker told the council. “Losing two recorders in eight months should be a problem, and I really hope it’s addressed.” She encouraged the council to speak with department supervisors and other city employees.“This is not just me. I’m not just speaking for myself. I’m speaking for all of us,” she said. In addition to her resignation letter, Parker submitted the following letter to the council: Council members, Along with my resignation letter, there are several concerns that I have for the City that I feel you need to be aware of. Issues with the Mayor, that if aren’t corrected, I feel you will lose so many more valuable employees. I have been told repeatedly to talk to certain male council members “the way that I do” to convince them to change their mind on a vote if it is not what her agenda is. This is unethical and highly inappropriate. I have been told to question everything, but I’m not allowed to question or voice my opinion if I feel things are incorrect, illegal, or unethical when it comes to her because “she is my boss and what she says goes.” This statement has been said to numerous supervisors when standing up to her. This created an extremely toxic work environment. It is a constant issue to obtain her signature on checks. She refused to sign the last set of Fire Department fire call checks because she felt they “didn’t earn them.” It took two days to obtain her signature. This was at the same time she refused to sign a check for an American flag for the ladder truck. Mayor Smith also refused to pay Mr. Poindexter for use of the porta johns at the Carthage Market Fest. Employees and a member of that committee were told to tell Mr. Poindexter that we would not pay the $100 previously agreed upon because the City didn’t make any money. One of my employees and myself were told to cut off electric services to The Spot, claiming that the issue was with a Council Member not cooperating with getting services changed over. At the same time, this Council Member was being told by the Mayor to wait to swap services over because she would be getting a donation for the deposit, but that the services would be cut off due to my employee saying it had to be. My employee does not have the authority to make that decision, nor did she. It is an issue every month when a council member wants to put an item on the agenda that she doesn’t want to speak about. I have been told several times not to put an item on the agenda if she feels it doesn’t need to be. I have also been told to go against what the council votes on; for example, paying certain bills she doesn’t agree with. When hiring for our City Cashier position, Mayor Smith wanted to hire a certain applicant that was her friend. I had no particular problem with hiring this applicant except for the fact that at the time their water service was repeatedly being turned off for non-payment. This would not have been appropriate for an employee that has to turn off services each month. She stressed the importance numerous times that we needed to hire this applicant due to their race and gender and it would look good on the City. For the past six months, I have been chastised for being a working mother and caretaker for my family members. I have been fortunate enough to juggle the long hours, meetings, my child’s sports schedules, caring for my grandmother on Hospice, and my mother with Dementia. All the while being criticized for leaving work (after hours) to care for whomever and then returning to work later in the evening. When I asked to be off to take a family member for surgery, I was told to “have a member at church take them, that’s what they are there for.” One of my office staff was told the same thing with their family member prior to this. The constant paranoia of the Mayor, false accusations and lies told by her (which she later will claim she does not remember saying), and hostile work environment have all been addressed with her numerous times with no remedy. I am saddened to leave and pray that this can be corrected for the sake of the City and the employees. Losing two City Recorders in a matter of eight months is detrimental to the functioning of the City. I can no longer take the personal risk of possibly being held liable for any of her behavior or lies told every day. Jennifer Parker 12/5/19 Smith County Insider reached out to Mayor Sarah Marie Smith for comment but did not receive a response. The City of Carthage is expected to post a job opening for the City Recorder position. The Carthage City Council will also hold a special-called meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 7, 2020, to further discuss the claims made in Parker’s resignation letter. You can watch the full December 2019 Meeting of the Carthage City Council below. [wdca_ad id=”11404″ ] [wdca_ad id=”11484″ ]

The Carthage City Council met on Thursday, December 5, 2019.

You can watch the full meeting below.

 

Thanks to Smith County Animal Clinic for sponsoring Smith County Insider’s live broadcast of this meeting.

Subscribe to Smith County Insider’s YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on meeting coverage, business spotlights, video features, and more!

The Carthage City Council meets on the first Thursday of each month at Carthage City Hall, located at 314 Spring Street. All meetings are open to the public and streamed live at https://www.facebook.com/smithcountyinsider/.

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Students in Mrs. Stephanie Jenkins-Inyart’s 4th grade class at Union Heights Elementary School hosted a very special guest in their classroom on Tuesday: Governor of Tennessee Bill Lee.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Governor shared pictures of his visit on social media. Lee tweeted, “Back in the classroom this afternoon to chat state government with Mrs. Inyart’s 4th grade class at Union Heights Elementary. Always great to see our young students interested in civics education.”

Mrs. Inyart expressed her excitement about the visit and praised her students for asking thoughtful questions.

She provided the following statement to Smith County Insider:

“Teaching fourth grade Social Studies, we always study the foundations of America. I decided this year that I would love for my students to experience more than just words in the textbook. I found on the state website that you could request an appearance with Governor Bill Lee. I filled all the information and sent in the request. That night, I received an email from Alex Martin, Deputy Director of External Affairs-Office of the Governor. He stated that Governor Lee would love to come and speak with my class. However, they had to work on his schedule. After two months of waiting and working on schedules together, I received an email from him asking if Governor Lee could come to Union Heights on December 3rd. I had a conference call with Mr. Martin, who told me that Governor Lee wanted to visit all 95 counties and this was his only stop in Smith County. I was asked to provide information about our little community and our wonderful school.I was in constant contact with the Governor’s team preparing for his visit.The Office of the Governor made notifications of other dignitaries, including State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver, State Senator Mark Pody, among others. I made notifications to Smith County Board of Education Central Office staff, School Board, and County Mayor Jeff Mason.

Leading up to the day, my students and I continued completing our standards on how our government runs and operates. I wanted my students to truly comprehend the differences in each level of government. I also wanted them to have an experience they would never forget. They worked together and came up with questions to ask Governor Lee. Some examples that were asked during his visit were, “Is it hard to separate your personal life and being the Governor?”, “How do you decide what bills are important to pass?”, “How are you going to help Title I schools?”. I always want my students to know more than just dates on a timeline or boring pictures in a book. I wanted them to be a part of Tennessee History. All 29 of them have told me how exciting Governor Lee’s visit was and it was something that they would never forget.

I want to personally all those that helped me obtain this goal for my students- Governor Bill Lee, Alex Martin, Deputy Director of External Affairs-Office of the Governor, Wendolyn Kittrell, UHS Principal, Joe Taylor, School Board District 4, Barry Smith, Director of Schools, Judge Michael Collins, Sheriff Steve Hopper, SCSD Deputy Chief Eugene Roberts, County Mayor Jeff Mason, Angel Williams, Supervisor of Federal Programs- Smith County Schools, my teaching team Jessica Baird and Susan Reeder and all the faculty and staff at Union Heights.”

See the gallery below for pictures of Bill Lee’s visit to Union Heights Elementary School.

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The Smith County Board of Education met on Tuesday, November 19, 2019.

You can watch the full meeting below.

Subscribe to Smith County Insider’s YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on meeting coverage, business spotlights, video features, and more!

The Smith County School Board meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 5:00 p.m. at the Smith County Board of Education, located at 126 Smith County Middle School Lane in Carthage, Tennessee.

All meetings are open to the public and streamed live at https://www.facebook.com/smithcountyinsider/.

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During the November meeting of the Smith County Commission on Tuesday night, Dr. Roger Duke was appointed to fill an empty seat on the commission.

This seat became vacant on September 6, 2019, when District 6 Commissioner Barbara Kannapel turned in her resignation.

Registered voters living in District 6 (Carthage) had the opportunity to submit their names for consideration.

During Tuesday night’s meeting, two candidates submitted their names: Dr. Roger Duke and Steve Babcock.

Both candidates were nominated by the commission, and current County Commissioners took a vote to decide which candidate would fill the empty seat.

Dr. Roger Duke was elected by a vote of 13-8.

Dr. Duke is a longtime Carthage resident and physician. He currently serves on the Carthage City Planning Commission and Carthage City Board of Zoning Appeals.

You can watch the November 2019 meeting of the Smith County Commission below.

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The Smith County Board of Commissioners held its November session on Tuesday, November 12, 2019.

You can watch the full meeting below.

Thanks to Powell & Meadows Insurance Agency for sponsoring the live broadcast of this meeting.

Subscribe to Smith County Insider’s YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on meeting coverage, business spotlights, video features, and more!

The Smith County Board of Commissioners meets on the second Monday of every month except December. Commission meetings are held in the General Sessions Courtroom of the Smith County Jail and Courts Facility, located at 322 Justice Drive in Carthage.

All meetings are open to the public and are streamed live at https://www.facebook.com/smithcountyinsider/.

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The Gordonsville City Council held its November Meeting on Monday, November 11, 2019.

You can watch the full meeting below.

Subscribe to Smith County Insider’s YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on meeting coverage, business spotlights, video features, and more!

The Gordonsville City Council meets at 6:15 p.m. on the second Monday of each month at Gordonsville City Hall, located at 63 Main Street in Gordonsville. All meetings are open to the public and streamed live at https://www.facebook.com/smithcountyinsider/.

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The Carthage City Council met on the evening of Thursday, November 7, 2019.

You can watch the full meeting below.

Thanks to Smith County Animal Clinic for sponsoring Smith County Insider’s live broadcast of this meeting.

Subscribe to Smith County Insider’s YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on meeting coverage, business spotlights, video features, and more!

The Carthage City Council meets on the first Thursday of each month at Carthage City Hall, located at 314 Spring Street. All meetings are open to the public and streamed live at https://www.facebook.com/smithcountyinsider/.

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Cookeville, TN – U.S. Representative John Rose left Washington Wednesday and returned to Tennessee where his wife, Chelsea, had been hospitalized earlier that day due to complications related to her pregnancy of their expected son. Sadly, even with careful medical treatment, their baby did not survive and his chance at life ended on Friday, November 1 at Cookeville Regional Medical Center (CRMC) where he was delivered.

John and Chelsea shared the following statement after the passing of their son:

“We are heartbroken by the unexpected loss of our anticipated baby boy. God filled our hearts with joy and hope when we learned that we would be blessed with another child. We may not get to walk with him in this life, but we pray we see him in Glory one day. We ask for your prayers for us, our son Guy, our family, and our close friends who will help us move forward in the days ahead. We extend sincere thanks to our doctor and the capable nurses who gave this child every chance. Further, we extend our sympathy to families who have gone through or are going through extraordinary loss, such as this.”

Chelsea Rose was released from CRMC Saturday in good condition. Sunday, the couple, their two year old son, Guy, and several family members held a graveside service for the baby, Mack Wayne Rose, in the Rose family cemetery on the Rose farm in Temperance Hall, TN.

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At Monday night’s meeting of the Smith County Commission, commissioners voted to have two wheel tax referendums appear on the ballot in the March 2020 Presidential Primary Election.

Discussion of a wheel tax began alongside the Commission’s property tax discussions this summer.

Commissioners passed a resolution calling for these two wheel tax referendums on a first reading in September, and the resolution came before the Commission for a second and final time in the October meeting held on Monday night.

In the voting booth, Smith County’s voters will be able to vote for or against two different wheel taxes, both in the amount of $25.

If passed by voters, one wheel tax will be collected for the county’s general fund, and the other will go into a highway capital projects fund to benefit the roads.

The proposed wheel tax for the county’s general fund, in the amount of $25, will have a three-year cap, meaning that the wheel tax will be collected until 2023.

The proposed wheel tax for the highway capital projects fund, also in the amount of $25, will have a ten-year cap, meaning that the wheel tax will be collected until 2030.

After some discussion, the Commission decided that both proposed wheel taxes will apply to “any motor vehicle taxable by the state.”

Currently, a $15 wheel tax is collected in Smith County to pay off debt associated with the new Jail and Courts Facility. Depending on the will of the voters, the two proposed wheel taxes would be collected in addition to this amount.

Smith County Mayor Jeff Mason and many commissioners have expressed their hopes to lower the property tax rate if these wheel taxes are passed.

The Commission was advised by County Attorney Branden Bellar that language specifying the amount that the property tax could be lowered could not be included on the ballot.

You can watch the October 2019 meeting of the Smith County Commission below.

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The Smith County Commission met at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 14, 2019, in the General Sessions Courtroom of the Smith County Jail and Courts Facility.

You can watch the full meeting below.

Thanks to Powell & Meadows Insurance Agency for sponsoring the live broadcast of this meeting.

Subscribe to Smith County Insider’s YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on meeting coverage, business spotlights, video features, and more!

The Smith County Board of Commissioners meets on the second Monday of every month except December.

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The Carthage City Council met on the evening of Thursday, October 3, 2019.

You can watch the full meeting below.

Thanks to Smith County Animal Clinic for sponsoring the live broadcast of this meeting!

Subscribe to Smith County Insider’s YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on meeting coverage, business spotlights, video features, and more!

The Carthage City Council meets on the first Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at Carthage City Hall. The next council meeting will be held on Thursday, November 7, 2019.

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