Property owners in Liberty may see an increase in their annual tax bills this fall.
In order to bring in more revenue to a general fund budget which has been showing a shortfall, the Liberty Aldermen Monday night voted 4-1 to double the city property tax rate from .0915 to .1830 per $100 of assessed value for the 2015-16 budget year.
Aldermen Jason Ray, Todd Dodd, Joe D. Bratten, and Howard Reynolds, Jr. all voted for the increase. Alderman Paul Neal cast a vote against it. WJLE was at the meeting.
If approved by the aldermen on second reading in April, taxpayers would see their bills double in October, which for some would only amount to a dollar or five dollar increase per year. While the aldermen were reluctant to vote the increase because of the impact it could have on the town’s residents, especially the elderly and those on fixed incomes, they felt it necessary to help get the town’s financial house in better order.
For year ending June 30, 2014, General Fund expenditures exceeded revenues by $20,982. In order to balance the budget, city officials had to appropriate $20,982 from the town’s fund balance (reserves).
Over the years as costs to operate have increased, the town’s revenues have not kept pace. ” We’re getting less money from the state and interest rates have dropped to nothing. That was one of our big incomes because of the CD’s we have”, said one city official.
According to town leaders this proposed tax increase may be the first in Liberty’s history. Even at eighteen cents, the rate is the lowest among the town’s in the county that have a property tax rate. Still, the new money derived from the proposed tax hike won’t erase the shortfall. Currently, the town receives $4,273 from its tax rate. That would go to $8,660 with the increase. City officials may have to consider cuts in services in the future as a further option to reduce costs and save money
The mayor and aldermen will hold a town hall meeting or public hearing at the next council meeting on Monday, April 6 at 7:00 p.m. at town hall to give residents a chance to comment on the proposed tax increase. The aldermen are then expected to take action on second and final reading.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is placing the final concrete to complete a barrier wall in the main dam embankment of Center Hill Dam this week. These concrete pours complete the $115 million foundation barrier wall, a key component of the Center Hill Dam Safety Remediation Project.
“The barrier wall provides a permanent ‘barrier’ to potentially harmful seepage beneath the main dam earthen embankment,” said Linda Adcock, project manager. “Completion of this phase of the project significantly increases the safety of the dam.”
Adcock explained that the concrete barrier wall is approximately 2.5-feet thick constructed vertically along the embankment in overlapping rectangular columns as deep as 308 feet from the top of the dam and deep into the solid-rock foundation.
Bauer Foundation Corporation performed the work to protect the earthen portion of Center Hill Dam. The “first bite” of a giant auger drill rig turned up the first dirt of the project July 11, 2012.
This is the second of three contracts to remediate the Center Hill project. The third and final contract expected to be awarded later this year involves the installation of a concrete berm downstream of the auxiliary dam embankment. The auxiliary dam is a secondary earthen embankment that fills a low area in the landscape just east of the main dam.
The lake levels continue to be operated between elevation 630 feet above mean seal level in the summer and no lower than elevation 618 MSL during the late fall and early winter.
Center Hill Dam is rated in the Corps’ “Dam Safety Action Classification I,” which is the most urgent category for Dam Safety modification in the Corps. Even though the concrete barrier wall is complete, the classification of the dam cannot be changed until the third and final contract is completed, the remediation works are assessed and the project is reclassified. The final reviews are expected to be completed in 2018; the lake level is expected to be raised in time for the summer recreation season.
(The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorpsand on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps.)
Photo Cutline: Members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District and Bauer Foundation Corporation put the finishing touches on the last concrete placement of the Center Hill Dam Remediation Project at Lancaster, Tenn. The Corps of Engineers and its Contractor Bauer Foundation Corporation installed a 2.5-feet thick concrete barrier wall vertically along the embankment in overlapping rectangular columns as deep as 308 feet from the top of the dam deep into the solid-rock foundation. The placement completes the $115 million foundation barrier wall project that began July 11, 2012. Enough concrete was placed into the embankment to build a four-foot wide sidewalk 200 miles or about the distance between Nashville and Knoxville in Tennessee. (USACE photo by Lee Roberts)

Smithville Police Chief Randy Caplinger is apparently ready to fight for his job.
(VIEW VIDEO OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING BELOW)

During a special meeting of the Mayor and Aldermen Tuesday evening, Caplinger appeared with his attorneys, Sarah Cripps and Brandon Cox seeking due process after being placed on suspension pending termination by Mayor Jimmy Poss last Friday. Speaking on his behalf, Cripps said that Caplinger, a veteran law enforcement officer, has done nothing wrong and will not resign. A contingent of Caplinger supporters filled the meeting room to back the embattled Police Chief.
Since no action could be taken by the aldermen on a severance package, the reason for which the special meeting was called Tuesday evening, Mayor Poss now has the option of sending a letter to the chief informing him that he is being terminated. If so, Caplinger has seven business days to request a hearing before the entire board of aldermen who has the power to sustain or overturn a termination . Caplinger’s request for a hearing must be made to the mayor. The mayor then has five business days to respond. If the process were to get that far, both Mayor Poss and City Attorney Vester Parsley say Caplinger would be granted a hearing.
Saying he felt the department needs new leadership, Mayor Poss took the action to suspend Chief Caplinger Friday with the support of Police Commissioner Jason Murphy. Both Alderman Murphy and City Attorney Parsley were at the meeting.
According to Cripps, the Chief was first presented a letter of resignation at that meeting with the mayor but Caplinger refused to sign it. “On Friday March 13 suddenly and without any foreknowledge, Mr. Caplinger was presented a letter of resignation prepared beforehand by city officials of whom we know not. He was requested to sign that at a meeting attended by Mayor Poss, City Administrator Hunter Hendrixson, Police Commissioner and Alderman Jason Murphy, and Attorney Parsley. At that time he (Caplinger) declined to sign the letter presented to him,” said Attorney Cripps.
But Parsley told the Aldermen Tuesday evening that Caplinger brought up the subject of a buyout in consideration for his resignation at the Friday meeting. “We met with him last week. He requested that he appear before the board and ask that they consider a payment of six months to a year of his upcoming salary in consideration of his resignation,” said Parsley.
According to Parsley, the reason for the special called meeting Tuesday night was to consider the “buy out” or “severance pay” option since only the aldermen can make that decision. Parsley, however said he would not recommend authorizing a “buy out” because Caplinger does not have an employment contract with the city and that it sets a bad precedent for the future. “I would point out first of all that we don’t have a written contract with the Chief and in the past we have not paid anyone an annual salary when they weren’t actually working. That being the case I think it does set a bad precedent for the city to pay someone who isn’t on a written contract. Therefore he is an employee at will. It would be my recommendation that the city not do that,” said City Attorney Parsley.
Cripps said Chief Caplinger has not tendered a resignation nor has he been given a reason for his suspension. ” Chief Caplinger spent 30 years in public service with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and then came to this job in May 2010 desiring to continue to serve the public. As I address you tonight, Chief Caplinger and his counsel still have not been apprised of the reason or reasons behind his sudden suspension without pay that occurred on March 13. Chief Caplinger comes here tonight asking very little of you. He will not resign under a cloud and he will not go quietly into the dark night. Chief Caplinger wishes to make it clear to everyone who is here that he categorically denies wrongdoing in any shape, form, or fashion. Moreover, he stands before you tonight ready, willing, and eager to defend himself in a public forum with zeal and energy and to allow the chips to fall where they may and upon whomsoever they will.”
“The foundation and the cornerstone upon which our American Judicial System is founded is the concept of due process and that encompasses a few key elements. One of those is a written statement notifying the accused or in this case the person who is being asked to resign of the allegations and charges against him. Secondly, written notice of a hearing that is scheduled to hear these matters. Finally and maybe most importantly, an opportunity to be heard and to state his case in a full and fair hearing. We welcome that scrutiny. We demand due process because for 30 years with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and almost five years as Police Chief for the City of Smithville, Chief Caplinger has not received any reprimands. He has not been the subject of disciplinary action by this honorable board nor by officials in the State of Tennessee’s government. In closing, as I stated we will not resign. We demand due process and I’d like to ask all of those present who support the Chief to stand and be heard,” said Cripps
The crowd attending the meeting then rose to their feet and applauded and cheered their support for Chief Caplinger.
Both Aldermen Josh Miller and Shawn Jacobs expressed frustration for not being made aware of the decision on Chief Caplinger until after he was suspended. “Friday a board member called me and told me about what had taken place with Chief Caplinger. I was in the dark about this,” said Alderman Miller. ” I did not know until after the fact. I immediately started making phone calls to find out why and what for. I wanted to know. I think I have a right just like everyone else. I started hearing about a list. Later that evening I also found out that many city police officers and many city employees knew this. I was one of the board members who did not know this. In business or anything in life if someone goes behind my back deliberately I question the motive. I met with Mr. (Hunter) Hendrixson yesterday (Monday) and I saw the list and after I read it I immediately asked him for any write-ups on Mr. Caplinger. I did not get any. All I want is facts. I don’t care what “he” says or “she” says. I want facts. People have put their trust in us as a board and its our duty to make sure that the motives are pure and clean,” said Alderman Miller.
“”I was caught totally by surprise. I actually think I was the last Alderman to be notified of the Chief’s suspension,” said Alderman Jacobs. ” I heard that from Mr. Miller who called me at work Friday. I was totally shocked. I had no idea this was coming down. I really did not know what to think. I really felt betrayed. I am the longest serving member on this board. I have been police commissioner. But no one took the opportunity to discuss it with the rest of the board before anything was done or at least with Mr. Miller and myself. I just think that this is not good government. That does not smell like good government to me. I think its reprehensible that something like that occurred in a vacuum without us being able to sit down together as ladies and gentlemen and discuss things. I’m not really aware of any problems at all with Chief Caplinger’s performance. No one is perfect. I think the Chief has done a good job for us. The biggest complaint I have heard is about morale in the police department which is a huge shock to me because we have not lost but one police officer in almost five years. We’ve been retaining our officers. May I say I would like to compliment the entire department. They have been doing a fantastic job. Even if morale is low the department has been doing a fantastic job in my opinion under the Chief’s leadership be it good or bad. And if you have a morale problem, I don’t think firing someone is necessarily the way you address that every time. It’s not always from the top that morale is set. I am truly bothered by the way this has gone down. I am truly bothered by the fact that it almost happened in a vacuum without input from other members of the board. I know this is a responsibility that the mayor does have. The mayor and the department head do have that option to do that (suspend) but given the magnitude of this position and given the fact that for ten years we’ve had a rotating chair in there with police chiefs, it’s time it stopped. It’s time we have a chief and allow him to build and run his department. If I am presented with evidence that shows that Mr. Caplinger has done something atrocious that deserves dismissal I might change my mind. But at the moment I think this has been a terrible rush to judgment and I think it has been a slap in the face not only to Mr. Caplinger but especially to this board which is duly elected by the citizens of this city, and of course to the great citizens of this city itself,” said Alderman Jacobs.
Alderman Gayla Hendrix stressed that the reason for the special meeting Tuesday night was not to make a decision on terminating Chief Caplinger but to consider action on a severance package had he chosen to tender a resignation, which he did not do. “I appreciate Mr. Jacobs and Mr. Miller’s comments but this is not a termination hearing. It’s not a public forum. I was notified that the mayor, the administrator, and the commissioner did meet with the chief and that the chief expressed his desire to resign or retire and that he asked for a severance package, which they do not have the authority to grant or deny and that we (aldermen) were having a special called meeting tonight specifically for that reason. There has been no reason for anyone to give us any kind of information of wrongdoing. Nobody has told me anything of the Chief doing anything wrong. The only thing I have heard is that he resigned or retired and asked for a severance package. We’re here tonight and people are bringing up things that are not on this agenda for this special called meeting. What I understand is that his attorney has announced that he is withdrawing a resignation or retirement, whichever it was. Therefore we have no reason to meet,” said Alderman Hendrix.
“My understanding is he is not asking for a severance package at all tonight and if he is not requesting that then there is no other business that can be conducted tonight,” added City Attorney Parsley.
“I just want to make clear that I was never officially notified of tonight’s meeting but I did indeed know that this was merely a meeting to consider the severance package. I know we could not take any other action tonight. I just think the people have a right to know the way this was carried out. It was very distasteful to me. This is public policy. People have a right to know what is going on in government. It is an open meeting,” Alderman Jacobs said in response to Alderman Hendrix.
“I agree with you on that Mr. Jacobs and when we get to a due process hearing I think all of that needs to be presented to us but at this point the only information I had was that the Chief was either retiring or resigning and its none of our business why he would do either one. There is no reason to look into that today,” replied Alderman Hendrix.
Attorney Cripps repeated that Chief Caplinger has not tendered a resignation.

Although he still has more than two years left in his contract with the Board of Education, Director of Schools Mark Willoughby has decided to retire, effective June 30, 2015.
Willoughby called a meeting with his central office staff and department heads Monday morning at the Board of Education building to make the announcement. WJLE was present for the meeting.
Willoughby then sent an electronic notice to members of the Board of Education. “My notice to the school board is Please let this serve as notice of my retirement as of June 30, 2015. Thank you Mark Willoughby”. ” I think it is in the best interest of the children,” said Willoughby to the staff.
During the meeting Willoughby spoke of his relationship with members of the school board, most of whom were elected in August and took office September 1.
“I had a real good working relationship with the board for eight years. It’s no secret that since September a couple of members of the board and I haven’t gotten along very well. Hopefully their interest is in the best of the children. My interest has always been for the best of the children. I have fought for all the children of DeKalb County. But I don’t think it is good for the Director of Schools and Board to have conflict. I think it is good for them to get along,” Willoughby told the staff.
Willoughby has served as Director since July 1st, 2006. Just over a year ago, he was offered a new three year contract by the board of education. Board members at that time John David Foutch, Charles Robinson, Kenny Rhody, and Chairman Johnny Lattimore voted in favor. Members Billy Miller, Doug Stephens, and W.J. (Dub) Evins, III voted against it, preferring a one year contract instead.
Today, the school board has five new members. Four of them were elected last August including Danny Parkerson, Jerry Wayne Johnson, Jim Beshearse, and Shaun Tubbs. Billy Miller was re-elected from the fourth district but resigned later due to job obligations. His wife Kate Miller was then appointed by the county commission to Miller’s position until the August 2016 election. The other two members are W.J. (Dub) Evins, III and Doug Stephens.
Willoughby’s relationship with the new board has not been the same as the former board as was reflected in his annual performance evaluation in January when the new board found that Willoughby was not meeting their expectations. With a possible numerical rating of up to 6, Willoughby’s overall average score was 2.92 as a result of the evaluation.
Since the evaluation, Willoughby told the staff that he has been asked to renegotiate his contract. Willoughby said he did not feel that would be respectful to the past board members especially Kenny Rhody, who has since passed away.
Willoughby concluded the meeting by thanking the staff for their support. “When you work with people in the same building it’s like you become family. I love you and I think you are super, wonderful individuals and I am glad to call you part of my family,” said Director Willoughby.
“I want to thank the Board and all the people of the county for allowing me to work with DeKalb County schools for almost nine years. I think there has been a lot of things accomplished. I am proud of the accomplishments that’s been made. We’ve got some of the best employees that there are in the state of Tennessee,” said Director Willoughby in an interview with WJLE after the staff meeting.
“After the elections things have changed but I don’t think it’s that unusual with school systems. After an election new board members come on and they’ve got new ideas and different thoughts. I hope as they search for a new director, the board will find someone they will feel good about and take that director’s advice and do what’s best for our children. I think that’s what every director would want in any school system throughout Tennessee but that’s especially what I want for our children in DeKalb County. I’d like for our board to do their best to try to find the best candidate possible and then work with that candidate and get advice from educators. I think that is the best thing for our children,” added Director Willoughby.
Asked for a response to Willoughby’s announcement, Board Chairman Evins told WJLE “I feel it is my fiduciary responsibility to call a “Special Called Meeting” as soon as possible, in order to allow the entire Board the opportunity to consider and act on Director Willoughby’s retirement announcement and timeframe”.

The VFW POST 7623 is apparently gone for good.
Because of inactivity in recent years, the local VFW charter has been revoked by the State Commander, pending final approval by the national VFW organization.
A meeting was held Saturday at the county complex to give VFW members a chance to show their concern for saving the POST but only one active member showed up. “We revoked the charter as of today (Saturday). It now goes on to our national organization with our explanation,” said State VFW Commander William (Bill) G. Crawford who was in Smithville for the meeting Saturday. Crawford spoke with WJLE in an interview after the meeting.
Several weeks ago Crawford sent a letter to Ron Miller, the Acting Commander for VFW POST 7623, informing him that the charter was being suspended pending possible revocation because the local POST had failed to hold meetings and elect officers in violation of the national VFW BY-Laws. “They were suspended because there was no activity. There were no meetings and no community and VFW programs. Officers were never elected and there was some people not involved anymore so we (State VFW) took a stand two years ago and said we have to get it moving. It hasn’t been moved so we’re asking them to surrender their charter,” said State Commander Crawford.
While the POST will cease to exist, Commander Crawford said local VFW members may join other POSTS in the area. A new POST could even be started here in the future at a different location if at least one hundred members join. “The members will be able to switch to another POST in the area or district. They also have the opportunity to get a VFW POST back in DeKalb County with at least one hundred members. They’ll be able to start another POST if they get one hundred members who want to participate,” said Commander Crawford.
The existing property on Sparta Highway will be sold but the monument and cannons on the grounds of the local VFW POST could be placed in the care of the city or county to be put on display at other locations. “We’re going to work with the city and county to try and place them where the community can see and respect them,” said Commander Crawford.
An effort will also be made to dispose of pictures and other things inside the POST building according to Miller. “There are a tremendous amount of pictures that belong to residents of DeKalb County that need to be returned to them. There are some items in there that people may want. A lot of people built that place. There may be some sentimental things (their families) may want which they are welcome to. It needs to be passed on to the descendants of those people,” said Miller.
You may call Miller to inquire at 931-761-2307. Leave a message and Miller will return your call.
If the property is sold, the state VFW would have to place funds from the sale in a trust which could be used to obtain a new charter or start another POST within two years should there be any interest, according to Miller. “Even though they have pulled the charter on this we’ve got two years to make a decision. If the property is sold, it could still be put in a trust. They can’t mess with the funds for two years. If the POST acquires 100 members to start a charter back up again, it should all go to them,” said Miller.
The VFW POST 7623 was established in 1961.