Number 5 on the agenda for the commission meeting scheduled on September 24, 2020 at 9 am is to “Consider discontinuing Facebook live during commission meetings.”
This addition to the the agenda is said to be headed up by district 2 commissioner Mike Painter. The people of Blount County enjoy being able to watch these live streams at their leisure since most people have jobs which keep them from being able to attend in person. Taking these live streams away would prohibit the public from knowing what is going on in the county, they also provide a record to keep our government in check.
The timing of this agenda item is rather suspicious after the incident with commissioner Dean Calvert. A recording of a conversation between Calvert and a police officer was released in which Calvert was cursing like a sailor and using the N word while referring to a local contractor. Here is a link the the full video. Calvert later made an attempt at an apology via Facebook which he later retracted by deleting his video. The commission meeting following this incident was live streamed on Facebook thankfully, so we could get more details and see Mr. Calvert in action again attempting an apology… sort of. Here is that video, which, there would be no record of without streaming.
There have also been issues with physically attending the meetings for several reasons. Occupancy to the tiny room is limited due to the pandemic and if thats not the reason people can not get in it is because the Commission has told people who work inside the courthouse to attend the meetings to prevent the public from entering. These are on the clock workers that have other important tasks at hand. Several workers were asked at a meeting why they were in there and they said they did not know, they were just told to attend.
Our overview of local government is at stake. Many people think the County Commission just handles paving roads and patching holes, but they do much, much more. They can do things like impose fees for public records, Raise or lower taxes (just kidding taxes never go down), and so much more that the public needs to be able to see. All citizens are encouraged to attend the commission meetings but especially this one, we need to pack the house and show them we are watching!