Norris hearings
Utilities changes final vote set for June 26 meeting
Public hearings and final votes are set for next Monday evening in Norris on a group of three ordinances that would move the city’s water and sewer utilities into a new department under control of the city manager, as well as the new fiscal year budget and some other proposed ordinances.
The public hearings will begin at 6:30 p.m. June 26, followed by a special called meeting of the City Council to consider passing these measures on second and final reading.
As for the utilities issue, on June 12, the council voted 4-1 to approve on first reading the ordinances that would make the utilities a regular city department, like fire, police and public works, rather than keeping them under the direct control of the Norris Water Commission, as they are now.
The only “no” vote on moving the utilities to department status came from Councilman Will Grinder, who has continued to oppose changes in the utility setup as part of his alignment with three former water commissioners who resigned from the Norris Water Commission in April.
During a meeting of the newly constituted Water Commission on May 31, with the five City Council members now sitting as the Water Commission, a majority of the members signaled a willingness to move the utilities into a department.
It had been a controversial proposal that had been fought by Water Superintendent Tony Wilkerson and the three recently resigned water commissioners – Richard Dyer, Sue Hill and Margueritte Wilson.
Under that plan, which Mayor Chris Mitchell said last month that he would like to see implemented by July 1, Wilkerson would remain in charge of the utilities, but he would be reporting to City Manager Adam Ledford, rather than to the five-person Water Commission as he has been for decades.
Even Wilkerson now supports the move of the utilities to department status, and has signed a statement in favor of the move, written by Mayor Chris Mitchell and co-signed by City Manager Adam Ledford, along with City Council members Chuck Nicholson, Bill Grieve and Loretta Painter.
The mayor’s statement reads:
“The Norris City Council is in a process of building on the progress/successes of the previous Norris Water Commission (NWC). We are currently serving as the NWC and in the process of the Operations transiting to be a department. The purpose of the change is to provide the Superintendent with additional support to address increased regulations in both Water and Sewer scopes.
“I encourage you to attend/participate in upcoming meetings and provide support to the Water Superintendent. We will succeed by working together and focusing on the future.”
Painter first brought up the idea of making the utilities a department at the end of the City Council’s December 2022 meeting.
After the resignations of four water commissioners in all during April, only Painter was left on the commission, where she served as the City Council’s representative.
In an emergency meeting May 2, the City Council appointed itself to serve as the interim Norris Water Commission, which could last as long as nine to 12 more months, the mayor said last week.
Also on the agenda for public hearings next Monday, with votes to follow during the special council meeting, are:
1) Ordinance 650: “An Ordinance of the City of Norris, Tennessee, to Amend Title 17, Refuse and Trash Disposal, Chapter 1: Refuse, Section 17-107, Refuse Collection Fees.” This would raise the residential trash-collection fee by $1 a month beginning July 1.
2) Ordinance 651: “An Ordinance to Title 3 of the Norris Municipal Code Regarding Municipal Courts,” updated procedures for Norris City Court.
6) Ordinance 655: “An Ordinance to Amend Title 16 of the Norris Municipal Code Regarding Outdoor Advertising.”