07/08/2002

We are not nonessential personnel - House Bill 3301 was poorly titled. Two days after it was introduced, Representative Matt Kisber said that he should have called it the emergency government services act instead of the essential government services act. But the damage was done and everyone continued to call it by its original name. So, we, along 22,000 other state employees, were branded as nonessential. It's a misnomer. We are nonemergency personnel, certainly not nonessential. What we do is essential to better government in cities in Tennessee. I don't know about you, but I took some kidding from friends and especially at church Sunday about being nonessential. It was good natured, but I had to keep explaining that I was nonemergency, not nonessential!

Budgeting in Nashville - I came home Sunday night, June 30. If not, I would have (as a nonemergency, nonessential person) been unable to be reimbursed for my travel and come off of workers compensation coverage. Ross, Mike, and I decided that we could support TML as well from home. So, Mike and our calling team of consultants stayed close to the phones Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We activated our calling tree for a time Tuesday, but then were asked by TML to stop it because the situation had changed. The final budget result was not great public policy, but it does fund MTAS at the level we had last year. And, it does solve the revenue problems for the state for the next two years at least.

Sick List - As you've heard in an email from Brenda, Mike Pentecost is doing well after undergoing a liver transplant last week. Mike was a senior management consultant in West Tennessee who retired in March 1999.

And, you may not have heard that Jean McGowan on the administrative team in Knoxville is at home recuperating from an unfriendly encounter with some horses. She has three broken ribs and had a punctured lung. With luck she will be back at work in a couple of weeks or so.

TML executive director - The TML Board of Directors meets tomorrow (Tuesday) to discuss selecting a new executive director to replace Rae Bond. I'll attend and let you know what happens.

Professional Development Database - We've all been somewhat distracted. Please be sure to complete your professional development entries for FY2003 by Friday of this week. Include your requested out of state trips. We may ease up some on our out of state travel restrictions and this way we'll know who wants to attend what conference.

Personnel Openings - We have several unfilled positions. We are having a management team meeting next week to review all our openings and decide which ones to fill when.

FORMS - Rex has had the idea to set up a database of all forms that cities might need. This will be a location on our web site. If you have any samples of any forms used by cities, please email or mail them to Frances.
Thanks.