Last Tuesday (7/31/07), I filed a petition in Circuit Court on behalf of the citizens of Bradley County. This petition was filed as a last resort and as required by law after failing to reach an agreement with the Bradley County Commission and County Mayor Gary Davis regarding the 2007-2008 budget for the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office. I filed this petition for two reasons. First, it was the right thing to do. The citizens of Bradley County deserve the best that law enforcement has to offer, and the men and women of the BCSO deserve adequate and competitive salaries and compensation. These deputies risk their lives every time they pull a shift and they deserve the safest possible conditions within which to operate.Secondly, I did this because I was required to by law (Tennessee Code Annotated 8-20-101). Also, according to the CTAS Sheriff’s Handbook, the Sheriff must enter into a letter of agreement or file a petition with the court. “Doing nothing,” reads the CTAS code, “is not an option” (emphasis mine). Since an agreement with the Mayor and the Commission could not be reached, I did what the law requires.

To fulfill my mandated obligations under the law, I cannot agree to a budget that places deputies’ salaries at 22 percent below the regional average (and $5,000 a year behind the average pay for the Cleveland Police Department ). Nor can I agree to a budget that forces those deputies to depend on outdated equipment and exhausted patrol vehicles (over 30 BCSO patrol cars have logged 200,000-plus miles, with some approaching 300,000). Also, the Sheriff’s Office is the largest county department. It is a huge operation that combines law enforcement, patrol, criminal investigations, court security, warrant service and corrections. It is futile and a disservice to the citizens of Bradley County to try and effectively administer these critical areas without adequate equipment or staffing.

The petition I filed on Tuesday is not, as has been stated in the media, a lawsuit against the taxpayers of Bradley County. It is a petition on behalf of the taxpayers of Bradley County. Since the beginning of the budgetary process I have repeatedly tried to work with the Commission to reach a satisfactory solution. And let me stress ~ the budget I submitted never involved a tax increase. I suggested using some of the county’s excess fund balance, future expansion growth money, and/or funds from the sale of the hospital. I also proposed a three-year phase-in plan to accommodate increases in salaries, personnel and vehicles ~ all of which I feel are crucial to fulfilling my lawful obligations to the citizens of this county.

I have heard the term “Gobble tax” bandied about. That is not only unfair, but it’s untrue. I have offered budgetary alternatives that did not involve raising taxes. That is still the way I would like to go and I am still more than willing to discuss available options with the Commission. I respect that they have a job to do and it’s not always an easy one. The same can be said for myself. As always, I hope we can continue working together to reach a satisfactory consensus without compromising the public safety.

Whatever the court decides regarding the budget petition, the fact remains that the population of Bradley County is at the100,000 mark. We now hold Metropolitan status and are constantly growing. Each year brings fresh challenges and places more demands on law enforcement.  It will take a world-class department to meet those challenges and demands, and the only way to achieve that is to recruit and retain high quality, career-minded law enforcement professionals. If we can attain that goal, it will more than pay for itself in the long run.

Sheriff Tim Gobble