CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Montrgomery County Commissioner Wallace Redd (District 16) has proposed a resolution requesting Montgomery County’s legislative delegation to eliminate the practice of County Commissioners being employees of county government.
“Certain ethics measures are necessary to provide the public with confidence and integrity of government,” Redd said. “It is essential to the proper operation of local government that all officials should be an independent and impartial voice for the people. In addition, officials should have the appearance of being unbiased, evenhandedness and fair minded.”
Redd, a former Clarksville City Councilman, said he believes county officials should be held to the same standard as their city counterparts.
“Being a legislator and employed within the same government, at the very minimal, gives the appearance of favoritism,” Redd said. “This law in effect would have the same ethics practice that the City of Clarksville and other Tennessee cities already have lived with for years.”
Redd said if the request is taken up by the Tennessee General Assembly and approved, Montgomery County Commissioners, the County Mayor and their spouses would be prohibited from employment within Montgomery County government.
Those commissioners and mayor already employed by Montgomery County would not be affected but would be grandfathered, according to Redd.
“This is not a shot or an attack against any of my fine fellow commissioners,” Redd said. “However, the community is watching us and they want to know for certain that we’re acting in their best interests alone.”