Controversial Health and Safety Resolution causes backlash

 In December 2020, White County Board of Commissioners voted to send a resolution to the Tennessee General Assembly to request an amendment to Tennessee Code Annotated 5-1-115, but now that action is meeting with some opposition from residents throughout the county.

The requested amendment, which is to be taken to the General Assembly by Senator Paul Bailey, came after the county’s attorney, John Meadows, reviewed an amendment made in August 2020 that would establish a Health and Safety Standards and appoint an officer to help with enforcing the codes.

“Basically, what happened is that we didn’t realize that we don’t have the authority to enforce this,” Commissioner Roger Mason said, explaining that TCA 5-1-115 excluded some of the state’s counties based on population size, while allowing other counties the authority to enforce health and safety standards. “We didn’t know this. Our county attorney caught it after we passed the Health and Safety Resolution back in August. We are excluded based solely on our population size.”

During the commission’s full court meeting, in December, the board voted to approve a resolution asking the state to amend the code to include the following language:

Notwithstanding subdivision (e)(1), in any county having a population of not less than twenty-five thousand eight hundred (25,800) nor more than twenty-five thousand nine hundred (25,900), according to the 2010 federal census or any subsequent federal census, subsection (c) permitting a county to remedy such dangerous conditions shall apply to any parcel of property, including any parcel upon which an owner-occupied residence is located,

The commission voted 8 to 1 in favor of sending the amendment to the General Assembly. Lonnie Crouch, Dillard Quick, Andy Haston, Bobby McCulley, Terry Alley, and Lee Broyles were absent from the meeting, Dakota White cast the lone “no” vote.

“The constituents I’ve spoken with are at odds with this decision,” White said. “They believe the county is possibly overstepping, that their hand is reaching over the line.”

White explained his reason for casting the only “no” vote was he was doing what his constituents wanted him to do.

 “We have a pretty big district between Bon Air and Hickory Valley, and, if one person out of 26 wants it, I can’t vote yes when the huge majority is against it,” he said.

The concern of the constituents that White mentioned is now being echoed across the county. A petition requesting that Senator Bailey and Representative Paul Sherrell not take the resolution to the Tennessee General Assembly has begun circulating, and signatures are being gathered from residents throughout all districts of the county.

The concern, however, doesn’t stem from actually asking the state to amend TCA 5-1-115 but rather from not wanting the Health and Safety Standards to be put in place at all.

Mason said several constituents attended a recent Steering Committee meeting to voice their concerns about the standards and the new enforcement officer position.

“I think we had a good conversation and that they left the meeting with a better understanding of what the standards will entail and why we have come to the decision to create this position,” he said, stating that the constituents and committee spoke about the issues for over an hour.

“Basically, we had people coming to us and asking for help, and we didn’t have a way to help them,” Mason said about the beginning stages of creating the Health and Safety Standards. “It’s not about needing to mow a lawn. It’s about trash piled up and abandoned properties causing rats or other safety issues. It’s about the health and safety of all of our citizens.”

Mason went on to explain that, once passed, the resolution won’t give the enforcement officer a blank pass to simply go around and cite property owners for unsightly properties as some constituents have expressed as a concern.

“The enforcement officer won’t be out driving around looking for properties that don’t meet our set Health and Safety Standards,” he said, explaining that a complaint would have to be received from someone who lives a maximum of 500 yards from the property in question. “And those standards are being set at the minimum standards used across the country.”

Mason went on to explain that once a citation is received, a property owner will have the opportunity to come before a seven-person board, with one commissioner from each of the county’s districts serving on the board and present their case to explain what is happening on the property and what steps are being taken to ensure the health and safety of the community.

While Mason himself had originally asked for an amendment to the resolution that would call for the standards to only be applied to properties of five acres or less to ensure agricultural properties would not be negatively affected, it was determined that the language contained in the standards already protected those properties.

“That’s the whole reason we put language in about the 500 yards from the boundary line,” Commissioner Dillard Quick had said during the August meeting. “It doesn’t matter if you own one acre and your neighbor owns 1,000, if the violation is within 500 yards of your property line, you should still be able to complain.”

Mason also said that the goal behind the Health and Safety Standards is not to punish people but to ensure that properties are not jeopardizing the adjoining properties and to help residents clean up and create a healthier living space.

Mason said part of the board’s responsibilities, as outlined by the resolution, will be to help property owners find community organizations and resources available to help them clean their properties to ensure the health and safety of not only their neighbors but themselves as well.

While the resolution does call for a $50 fine per offense, with each day over 10 after having received official notice of the violation counting as an offense, it also specifies that liens will not be placed on properties that have an owner-occupied residence.

(a) The provision of Section VI(a) of this regulation permitting White County to remedy conditions pursuant to T.C.A. 5-1-115(c) and place a lien for the costs of remedying the violation on the property shall not apply to any parcel of property upon which an owner-occupied residence is located. Enforcement of these regulations upon owner-occupied properties shall be accomplished solely by civil penalties assessed in General Sessions Court.

The resolution also states that if a hearing by the Health and Safety Board is requested by the property owner, the 10-day stipulation is suspended until after the board hears the case and makes a decision as to whether there is an actual violation and how to help the property owner proceed.

“We aren’t going to be policing the length of your grass, and we aren’t aiming to punish people,” Mason said, although the resolution does call for the possibility of fines and/or tax liens for those who don’t work to get their properties back within the guidelines set forth in the Health and Safety Standards.