Commissioner Becky Golden has made her grievances known

At the Oct. 6 White County Commission Committee meetings, Commissioner Becky Golden spoke up about complaints she has raised with the Ethics Committee.

It is Golden’s belief that the commission has discriminated against her as a commissioner because she is the only woman on the commission. She spoke up in the final few minutes of the nominating committee meeting.

“I would like to address the nice little elephant in the room of you all that like to discriminate against me because I’m the only woman,” Golden said. “Not all of you. Not you, Dakota. Not Kyle, but there are several of you in here that have made it known. Not to my face because you’re not brave enough.”

David Cranford spoke up in defense first, saying, “I didn’t say anything about a woman.”

“I didn’t say anything about you, David, but thank you for admitting,” Golden responded.

Commissioner Cranford continued, “I just said I never said anything about a woman. You said, ‘not Dakota and not him,’ you didn’t say me.”

Commissioner Derrick Hutchings spoke up next, saying, “There was specific people that were singled out as not, then that means everybody else is. That’s the way I take it.”

“I said a few,” Golden responded.

“That is a strong accusation, in my opinion, to accuse people of,” Hutchings said.

That is when Golden claimed she has brought this before the Ethics Committee and filed a complaint.

“And if I need to step down, I’d be glad to step down because I am not comfortable serving with some of you anymore,” Golden said. “That I thought were my colleagues and friends, but you’re obviously not. You’re politicians. It’s all you are. You don’t care about this county. You don’t care about the people. And you know who you are.”

That is where the matter stood as the Nominating Committee adjourned. Last month, during White County Board of Commissioners’ meeting, the matter of Golden’s nomination to the budget committee was addressed by some commissioners. They cited some of her previous comments during the budget process, and there was a motion to remove her from the nominations at the time. During that meeting,  Golden walked out after feeling she was being targeted by the commission.

The other committees did not have nearly as much debate, but there were important details about various projects and topics that needed addressing.

All the committees, except for the budget committee, chose their chairman, vice chairman, and secretary for their committees. They are as follows: Solid Waste elected Dakota White as chairman, Chris Brewington as vice chairman, and Roger Mason as secretary. Steering Committee A elected T.K. Austin as chairman, Roger Mason as vice chairman, and Chris Brewington as secretary. Steering Committee B elected Robert McCormick as chairman, Cain Rogers as vice chairman, and Derrick Hutchings as secretary. The budget committee will choose their positions if, and after, their nominations are approved by the full court, on Oct. 20

The members nominated for the budget committee were Chris Brewington, Dakota White, Derrick Hutchings, and Robert McCormick. Typically, the chairman of the county commission would serve on the budget committee, but, after reviewing the county’s by-laws, the nominating committee realized that was not an actual rule, so they elected four members instead of three.

One of the biggest topics of the evening was the property tax freeze proposal, during Steering Committee B. County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson gave information about this to the committee. For residents of the county, age 65 and older, there can be a freeze on a certain amount of property tax, in this case the maximum would be five acres. If that property tax is frozen, the resident will have their tax frozen for the year they qualify, meaning that if taxes increase, they will not have to pay that increase on that property, only what they originally owed.

While Robinson presented the information that evening, the committee wanted to wait to gather more information about the potential of this freeze. Some of the downsides would likely be another position in the local government to record-keep all the submissions and individuals who apply for the freeze and the overall implementation. Putnam, Smith, and DeKalb counties all have a similar property tax freeze in effect.

The BonDeCroft Volunteer Fire Department approached Steering Committee B as well, asking if the county would be interested in purchasing a truck from them that they have no room for. The commissioners showed interest in the arrangement, but they tabled the discussion so they could ask other departments in the county if there is an immediate need or space for other departments to house it.

Steering Committee A also had news on the parks and recreation director position that was a hot topic during the budget process. The state is assisting the county executive in putting together a job description for the position, and the job is expected to be posted soon.

The budget committee had several amendments to go through, and several amendments to address.

The only amendment that raised any concern was an amendment for an emergency medical service grant for extrication equipment. Commissioner Austin was curious if the equipment was purchased, would there be training for said equipment. The amendment was tabled until next month so the commission can contact and speak with White County EMS director Mike Kerr.

The full commission meeting will be 6 p.m.,  will be Oct. 20, and the next committee meetings are scheduled for Nov. 3. All county commission meetings are open to the public and  livestreamed on their YouTube page at youtube.com/@WhiteCountyTNCommission.