Members of the Carter County Commission voted down a resolution to reduce the group’s numbers on Monday night, but the idea is not completely dead as the governing body voted to put a proposal to reapportion the districts on the agenda for consideration at their meeting next month.
The resolution to downsize the Carter County Commission would have reduced the number of commissioners from 24 to 16 — changing the number from three representatives for each of the eight districts to two per district.
Commissioner Nancy Brown made the motion to approve the resolution, which was seconded by Commissioner Cody McQueen.
Much of the debate surrounding the issue hinged on one specific point — is it legal for the Commission to reduce the number of members outside of the reapportionment process?
Carter County Attorney Josh Hardin weighed in on the matter after commissioners asked for his opinion and said in his opinion he believes state law does not allow a Commission to alter its size outside of reapportionment.
Some on the Commission asked Hardin to point to a specific state statute that prohibits the action and makes it illegal. Hardin said the matter is not that simple because laws work differently for individuals than they do governments. State law prohibits certain actions as criminal, Hardin explained, citing the law against murder makes it illegal to commit murder. As for governments, Hardin said, rather than prohibiting certain things state law grants the government entity power to do something.
“We are given the authority to do things,” Hardin said. “We are told what we can do.”
State law says that a county can change the number of commissioners as part of the reapportionment process, Hardin said.
“If we were changing district lines or looking at district populations, then yes we would have that authority,” Hardin said. “We’re not given the authority to do what you’re trying to do.”
Some commissioners spoke in favor of proceeding with the resolution despite the advice from Hardin.
“This is not what I want. This is not what the Mayor wants. This is not what you want. It’s about what the people want,” said Commissioner Randal Jenkins, who proposed the resolution in the Rules and Bylaws Committee. “If I truly thought this was illegal I wouldn’t have brought it to Rules and Bylaws.”
Brown agreed that citizens were asking for the Commission to be reduced. “In my District, all I’ve heard is ‘Yes, do this,’” she said.
Others voiced opposition to the move.
“In my 16 years of being on this Commission, I have never had one person come to me and say we need to downsize,” Commissioner Buford Peters said, adding he felt reducing the size of the Commission could lead to citizens not being equally represented, particularly in small communities within the districts.
Others felt downsizing was the right move, but this was not the right time to make it.
“I’m not against reducing the Commission, but I’m against this resolution,” said Commissioner L.C. Tester, adding he felt the county should wait until reapportionment when they can do it accordance with state statute.
Ultimately, the resolution was voted down by a margin of 10-14. Those voting in favor of downsizing were Commissioners Nancy Brown, Bradley Johnson, Ronnie Trivett, Charles Von Cannon, Timothy Holdren, Randall Jenkins, Ray Lyons, Scott Simerly, Robert Carroll, and Cody McQueen. Those voting against the resolution were Commissioners Willie Campbell, Buford Peters, Dr. Robert Acuff, Mike HIll, Al Meehan, Isaiah Grindstaff, L.C. Tester, Danny Ward, Ross Garland, Bobbie Gouge-Dietz, John Lewis, Larry Miller, Sonja Culler, and Kelly Collins.
After the resolution failed, Carter County Mayor stepped down as Chairman of the Commission and turned the gavel over to Vice-Chairman Lyons so that he could address the group.
Humphrey proposed the county form a Reapportionment Committee to redraw the district lines and reduce the number of Commissioners. Based on data from the 2010 census, Humphrey said the reapportionment completed in 2011 left portions of the county without equal representation. Proceeding with reapportionment now rather than waiting until 2021 after the 2020 census would correct that problem and allow the Commission to downsize at the same time, Humphrey said.
When Commissioners asked Hardin his opinion on the legality of the Mayor’s proposal, Hardin said initiating a reapportionment to ensure equal representation would grant the county authority to reduce the size of the Commission during that process.
“This is the closest we’ve ever come as a Commission to doing what the people want,” Humphrey said regarding downsizing.
Humphrey provided the commissioners with several handouts prior to the start of the meeting on Monday that he said detailed the reapportionment conducted in 2011 including the inequality of representation.
If the county proceeds with reapportionment now, Hardin said they would have to use the population data collected seven years ago during the 2010 census. Also, he said, the county would still be required to reapportion again in four years 2021 once the data from the 2020 census is available.
Hill made a motion to defer discussion and debate on reapportionment until next month which would give the commissioners time to look through the data provided by Humphrey and research the issue. Ward seconded the motion.
The motion passed by a vote of 13-11 with Campbell, Acuff, Hill, Johnson, Grindstaff, Ward, Garland, Holdren, Jenkins, Culler, Lyons, Simerly, and Collins voting in favor of adding reapportionment to the agenda for the group’s September meeting. Those voting against placing the matter on the agenda next month were Peters, Brown, Meehan, Trivett, VonCannon, Tester, Gouge-Dietz, Lewis, Miller, Carroll, and McQueen.