What This Story Is About
- Anderson County commissioners are deciding the fate of license plate cameras after the county’s law director said the contract behind them may not be valid.
Why It Matters
- The renewed, five-year Flock camera agreement was signed in December 2023 by the sheriff’s office operations captain but never went through purchasing, finance or a commission vote. Law Director James Brooks Jr. said this leaves the contract on shaky legal ground.
- Commissioners could ratify the contract, refer it back to budget, or reject it. Their decision determines whether the cameras stay up. Commissioner Tim Isbel said commissioners are sworn to uphold the Constitution in making that decision.
For Context
- The unapproved contract runs for five years, until 2028, and totals $55,000. Brooks said he does not believe the former operations captain did anything intentionally wrong, and said there wasn’t an issue with the contract until this year.
Catch Up
- Commissioners were set to meet at 6:30 p.m. in Anderson County to decide what happens next with the contract.
ANDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — Anderson County commissioners are set to decide the fate of license plate cameras across the county after the county’s law director said the contract behind them may not be valid.
The issue centers on a renewed, five-year Flock camera agreement signed in December 2023 by the sheriff’s office operations captain. The contract never went through purchasing, finance or a commission vote.
Law director cites approval process
County Law Director James Brooks Jr. said the missing steps leave the contract on shaky legal ground.
“The commission could kick it or refer it back to budget,” Brooks said. “Because there’s, there’s case law that says, um, it is a contract that could be ratified. So I don’t know what they would do.”…