Jackson Mayor Scott Conger said city council members broke Tennessee's open meetings law before the council picked a new city court judge this week, WBBJ reported. The council ended up appointing Caroline Ballentine to the bench after several rounds of voting.
The dispute started with a claim from Councilman J.P. Stovall, who represents District 1. He told the council that before the meeting began, two members approached him and brought up one candidate's voting record. "I think it is absolutely disgraceful," Stovall said.
District 4 Councilman Richard Donnell asked who the two members were. Stovall named Councilman Lowrance and Councilwoman Busby. The exchange happened at the meeting just before the judge appointment.
The candidates were then called up to answer questions. Conger urged the council to ask theirs, then noted that no one had any. He said the earlier conversation was a problem. "It needs to be said. It was a Sunshine violation," Conger said. Tennessee's Sunshine Law generally requires public bodies to deliberate in open meetings.
Ballentine said she wanted the job "to make a difference and make a lasting impression here in Jackson and also to follow in Judge Anderson's footsteps."
The council handled several other items at the same meeting. Members took up a contract with Flock Safety for gunshot detection technology for the Jackson Police Department. Conger said the city's Flock cameras sit on arterial and collector streets. He said the cameras closest to neighborhoods face the entrance and exit of North Park on Demonbreun and the entrance to Wallace Road Park. WBBJ noted that several Flock cameras are in residential areas, including one on Old Malesus Road.
Conger also said the city's overdue 2025 audit should be finished by early or mid-December because the city has turned over all of its records. The council approved two road matches: $400,000 for Airways Boulevard and $150,000 for an Interstate 40 westbound ramp.
Sources: WBBJ