The Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen met on Tuesday, March 3 to discuss their bi-monthly business meeting agenda which occurs on the first and third Tuesday of every month.
The board consists of the Kingsport City mayor, vice mayor, five aldermen, city manager and deputy city manager. The mayor is appointed by popular vote at large and holds office for two years while the aldermen serve for four years. The city manager and deputy city manager are professionals that are hired out by the board. This set-up is the same throughout the Tri-cities, but the Bristol and Johnson City board serve under different names.
All meetings are livestreamed and begin with the usual attendance taking, pledge of allegiance, a prayer from a local community church and an approval of the past meeting’s minutes.
“Our biggest mission is setting the tax rate and approving the budget,” said Mayor Patrick Shull before the meeting began. “The agenda tonight is fairly routine. I don’t see a bunch of four-three votes happening tonight.”
The board members also set aside two different time-slots for citizens to speak their minds, as the meeting is a public event. The first time-slot is for agenda items only and allows for citizens to add any unknown information or different points of view on a specific item on the agenda. However, no one spoke during this first initial time-slot.
There were many budget adjustment approvals that took place during this meeting. All of these agenda items were passed with a 6-0 vote on all of them. This vote should have been a 7-0 vote, but one of the aldermen was unable to make it to this specific meeting.
Two agenda items were the approval of city use vehicles to be bought. One of which was the purchase of a four-by-four extended cab truck, which would be purchased from a Kingsport City dealership. The other was the purchase of two four-by-four trucks with snow plows attached, which were purchased from a Big Stone Gap, Virginia dealership. Both of these agenda items were approved by a unanimous vote.
Another interesting point on the agenda was the approval of the yearly agreement with Carfax. Carfax works with the city providing accurate vehicle information both the Kingsport Police Department and the citizens of the city.
Carfax provides the police department with accurate information on the current owners, colors, makes and models of specific vehicles, allowing for easy tracking. It also provides previous owners and damages on specific vehicles for citizens looking to purchase vehicles. This agreement also comes at no cost to the city and was unanimously approved.
After all agenda items were voted on, each board member is allotted time to say some either inspirational words or things they hope to see improved upon in the city.
“Shop local. We’ve got Sip ‘n Stroll coming up this Thursday,” said Aldermen Darrell Duncan. “Everybody get out and see some of our local businesses.”
The second time-slot allotted for citizens to speak is specifically for city issues that were not on the agenda for the meeting. The rules for these hearings are that they should not be personal issues, but city-wide issues. Two citizens spoke during this allotted time.
“I noticed that tonight you all did several purchases and it all came from Auto World in Big Stone Gap and you all talk about buying local,” said Luanne White, an active member of the community. “Will not a dealership in this town give you all a good deal?”
White, addressing a good point, sparked a debate between herself and the board members. The board believed that Virginia dealerships offered better deals on utility vehicles, as they buy them in bulk and sell to many surrounding counties.
Other off-agenda topics were also touched on during these parts of the meeting. One of those topics was the upcoming 2020 United States Census. Shull is part of a committee made for the sole purpose of the census. “We simply are trying to publicize that the census is going to happen,” said Shull. “The approximate amount if we undercount one citizen is $1,100. A lot of grants come through the federal government based on population so undercounting is very serious from that point of view.”
This committee consist of many members including the mayor and Alderman Duncan. “We need to count as many people as we possibly can,” said Duncan. “There are many ways to be counted: mail, internet and there will be people on the ground as well.” The census will take place in mid-April of this year.
The meeting took place the night after the tornado that struck Nashville, Tennessee. The council gave their condolences, thoughts and prayers to all of those affected by the storm.
