Highly Irregular Resolution Process Of Williamson County Commission Receives Scrutiny, Questions After Williamson Inc Debacle

Image Credit: Williamson County Television / YouTube

The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –

After a review of the rules governing how and in what cadence resolutions are brought to the Williamson County commission, D7 Commissioner Chris Richards is on a mission to ensure that the process is done according to those rules and in a way that promotes transparency and accountability. 

According to Richards and other Williamson County Commissioners, this is how the process generally goes: “The resolutions can be brought to the Commission by any individual, commissioner or dept head.  They go to committee for discussion and recommendation.  From there, they get signed by a County Commissioner (usually the Committee Chair if there isn’t already a sponsoring commissioner) BEFORE being filed with the County Clerk and going to the final commission meeting for a vote.” 

This appears to deviate from the rules for resolutions according to Williamson County’s own processes, which were updated as recently as 2022. 

According to the graphic, the rules indicate that while resolutions can be written by any individual, they are to be brought by no one other than a county commissioner, who with consent and understanding signs on as a sponsor, and that those resolutions, if you follow the order in which the rules indicate the stages of the process, are then sent to their respective committees for review and debate. 

What appears to be the process after that, is those resolutions which survive the committee process are then put before the entire board for a vote and possible adoption. 

If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is. From the top of our federal government all the way down to local municipalities, our legislative bodies are designed to work basically the same way.

Resolutions work the same way as bills work up on Capitol Hill in Nashville. They are recommendations for policy, brought forth by a representative of the people. 

What appears to be taking place in Williamson County for what was called “a long long time” is the Mayor’s office funneling resolutions directly to committees, where they receive a de-facto sponsorship when the chair of the committee signs the resolution after it has been discussed and either voted through or not. 

The County Commission and Mayor Anderson’s office do share administrative staff which is likely some of the rationale behind the deviation from the rules.

However, in skipping the important step of first seeking a sponsor and then having the sponsor file the resolution, it could allow Mayor Anderson to avoid the trouble of seeking and finding a willing County Commissioner to present his office’s resolution requests and sending them directly to the committee where a committee chair will sponsor it whether they know they are or not. 

The question arises, how long has this been operating this way, and how many county commissioners have no problem with potentially being a rubber stamp for Mayor Anderson’s office? 

The Tennessee Conservative reached out to County Commissioner for D7 Chris Richards, and he said, “It is yet another instance of the executive branch usurping the power from the legislative branch.  Sadly, in the case of the County Commission I think this is done willingly.” 

We will continue to follow this story if there are any new developments or changes. 

About the Author: Kelly Jackson is an escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers, she has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member.  An outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty, Kelly also has a YouTube channel @Tennessee_Truth_Teller and is planning on expanding out to other channels soon. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.