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DeKalb County Government |
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DeKalb County Courthouse
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Assessor of Property
Mr. Timothy "Fud" Banks
Term: Four Years [2008-2012]
The assessor determines the value of all property in the county, whether
real, personal or mixed, including mineral rights, leaseholds and all other
property except property of public utilities valued by the state. The
office of assessor is mandated by the Constitution of the State of
Tennessee.
[Read More] |
DeKalb County
Courthouse
Room 202
Smithville, TN 37166
615 597-5925
615 597-5110 |
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Circuit Court Clerk
General Sessions Court Clerk
Juvenile Court Clerk
Mrs. Katherine Pack
Term: 4 years [2006-2010]
Clerk for: General Sessions, Circuit and Criminal Courts. Keeps detailed
records of all court proceedings and collects all fines, fees and litigation
taxes ordered by the court. [Read More] |
DeKalb County
Courthouse
Room 303
Smithville, TN 37166
615 597-5711
615 597-5159 |
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Clerk and Master
Chancery Court
Mrs. Debbie Malone
Term: 6 years - appointed by Chancellor
Clerk of the Chancery Court. Keeps records of all orders and proceedings. [Read
More] |
DeKalb County
Courthouse
Room 302
Smithville, TN 37166
615 597-4360 |
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County Court Clerk
Mr. Mike Clayborn
Term: Four Years [2006-2010]
Serves as clerk of and keeps records of the county legislative body. Minutes
of county commission meetings are required to be promptly and fully recorded
and open to public inspection. Collects business taxes, handles motor
vehicle registration and licensing. Issues marriage licenses and may
solemnize a marriage. Keeps a record of the notaries public.
The office of county clerk is
mandated by the Constitution of the State of Tennessee. [Read More] |
DeKalb County
Courthouse
Room 205
615 597-5177 |
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County Mayor
Mr. Mike Foster
Term: Four Years [2006-2010]
Chief executive officer of the county. Primary duties focus on county
financial management. Compiles a budget for all county departments, offices
and agencies. Custodian of all county property not placed with other
officers, may also examine the accounts of county officers.
The office of county mayor is
mandated by the Constitution of the State of Tennessee.
[Read More]
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DeKalb County
Courthouse
Room 204
Smithville, TN 37166
615 597-5175
Fax: 615 597-2986 |
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DeKalb County
Fire Department
Chief:
Donny Green,
Chief is annually nominated by members and appointed by DeKalb County
Executive and Commission.
Provides fire protection and prevention services to DeKalb County.
15 officers, 65 volunteer firemen.
9 Substations:
Cookeville Highway
Short Mountain
Midway
Keltonburg
Liberty
Belk
Temperance Hall
Johnson's Chapel
Blue Springs
6 Pumpers and 3 pumper/tanker combinations
1 Equipment First Response Truck
ISO Rating: 9
Organization Date: 1975
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P.O. Box
526
Smithville, TN. 37166
615 597-1332
615-464-7176
Website:
www.dekalbfire.com
Emergencies:
911
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Register of Deeds
Mr. Jeff McMillen
Term: Four Years [2006-2010]
Records and stores all records pertaining to ownership of real and personal
property. Including deeds, deeds of trust (mortgages), financing statements
called fixture filings under the Uniform Commercial Code (U.C.C.),
assignments, plats, court decrees, leases, liens, releases and many other
instruments. The
office of register of deeds is mandated by the Constitution of the State of
Tennessee. [Read More] |
DeKalb County
Courthouse
Room 201
Smithville, TN 3766
615 597-4153 |
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Road Supervisor
Mr. Kenny Edge
Term: 4 years [2006-2010]
Chief Administrative Officer of the county highway department. Supervises
and controls the machinery, equipment, tools and supplies of the department
and must complete an annual inventory. Files with the county commission an
annual listing of all roads included in the county highway system and
recommendations for classifying, adding or removing roads from the system.
[Read More] |
720 Smith Road
Smithville, TN 37166
615 597-4144 |
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Sheriff
Mr. Patrick Ray
Term: 4 years [2006-2010]
Duties include crime prevention, investigation of criminal activity and the
arrest of criminals. Proper disposal of contraband, abandoned motor
vehicles, and unlawful weapons. Supervision of the jail and inmates. Civil
duties include keeping order in the courts and serving all process handed
down by the courts. The
office of sheriff is mandated by the Constitution of the State of Tennessee.
[Read More] |
100 Public
Square
Smithville, TN 37166
615 597-4935
615 597-4043
Fax: 615 597-2536
Emergencies:
911 |
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Trustee
Mr. Sean Driver
Term: Four Years [2006-2010]
Acts as the general banker for the county. Sends out tax statements and
collects the revenue. Receives and disburses county funds, keeping accurate
records of each transaction. Files monthly and annual financial reports and
manages the cash flow of county revenue.
The office of trustee
is mandated by the Constitution of the State of Tennessee.
[Read More] |
DeKalb County
Courthouse
Room 206
Smithville, TN 37166
615 597-5176 |
Top of Page
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The Information below is
from the County Technical
Assistance Service (CTAS)
publication
Tennessee County Government
Handbook. A full
copy of the publication may
be downloaded
in Adobe Acrobat by clicking
here:
Tennessee County
Government Handbook
[3.01MB] |
Tax
Assessor
Assessor of Property:
The assessor of property was a
statutory office for many
decades before it became a
constitutional office following
the 1978 amendments to the
Tennessee Constitution. The
assessor of property is elected
to a four-year term in the
August general election in even
numbered years in which there is
not an election for governor.
T.C.A. § 67-1-502.This places
the election of the assessor in
years different from the other
county constitutional officers
who are popularly elected.
Qualifications:
The office of assessor of
property does not carry any
election qualifications beyond
the general qualifications noted
earlier in this chapter for
county officers.
(General qualifications are
listed in the next paragraph).
However, the state board of
equalization is authorized to
prescribe educational and
training courses to be taken by
assessors and their deputies and
to specify qualification
requirements for certification
of anyone who is to be engaged
to appraise and assess property
for purpose of taxation and be
deemed a “qualified local
assessor of property.” T.C.A. §
67-1-509.
General qualifications of
officeholders:
are
located in the Tennessee Code
Annotated, which provides that
all persons 18 years old and
over, who are citizens of the
United States and of Tennessee,
and who meet certain residency
requirements are qualified to
hold office unless the person:
1. Has been convicted of
offering or giving a bribe, of
larceny, or, of any other
offense declared infamous by
law, unless the person has been
restored to citizenship as
prescribed by law;
2. Has not paid a judgment for
money received in an official
capacity, which is due to the
United States, Tennessee, or any
county;
3. Has defaulted to the treasury
at the time of election (in
which case the election is
void);
4. Is a soldier, seaman, marine,
or airman in the regular United
States Army, Navy or Air Force;
or
5. Is a member of Congress or
holds any office of profit or
trust under any foreign power,
other state of the Union, or the
United States.
T.C.A. § 8-18-101.
Additional statutory
qualifications are required for
certain county offices, such as
sheriff, and are discussed in
the individual county office
section. The offices and duties
noted in this chapter may vary
in counties with a metropolitan
government charter or a county
government charter.
Oath of Office and Bond:
Each assessor and deputy
assessor must take and subscribe
to a special oath of office. The
assessor’s oath of office and
constitutional oath may be found
in the appendix to this
handbook. The oath, which is
different from that of other
county officials, is to be
attached to and filed with the
bond in the amount of $10,000 in
the county clerk's office. T.C.A.
§§ 67-1-505, 67-1-507. The
official bond of the assessor
must be approved by the county
mayor as well as the county
legislative body, recorded in
the office of the register and
transmitted to the comptroller
of the treasury. Also, the
county legislative body by a
two-thirds vote is required to
determine whether the assessor’s
official bond will be with two
or more good sureties approved
by the body or with a corporate
surety. T.C.A. § 67-1-505.
Compensation:
The assessor of property is
listed as one of the “general
officers” who must receive at
least the minimum salary amount
determined by statute. The
county legislative body may set
a greater amount for the
“general officers.” T.C.A. §
8-24-102.Also, the county
legislative body may set a
greater amount just for the
assessor if in the judgment of
the county commissioners,
additional compensation is
necessary to attract and retain
the service of assessors of
professional competence,
technical skills and needed
administrative abilities. T.C.A.
§ 67-1-508. The state board of
equalization prescribes
educational and training courses
to be taken by assessors and
their deputies and provides
certification to those who
complete these courses. T.C.A. §
67-1-509.Assessors (and deputy
assessors) may be additionally
compensated by the state board
if necessary course work and
training has been completed and
the assessor has been designated
as a “Certified Assessment
Evaluator” by the International
Association of Assessing
Officers. The additional
compensation ranges from $750 to
$1,500 annually. Also, any
assessor (or deputy assessor)
who has completed the necessary
courses of study and training
and has been designated a
“Tennessee Certified Assessor”
or a “Residential Evaluation
Specialist” by the International
Association of Assessing
Officers will receive from the
state an additional $750 per
year. T.C.A. § 67-1-508.
Deputies and Assistants:
Unlike many other officials who
obtain authority for deputies
and assistants through court
order or letter of agreement,
the assessor is limited by the
budget adopted by the county
legislative body with the
following restriction: The
assessor is authorized by
statute to appoint one deputy
for each 4,500 parcels of
property over and above the
first 4,500 parcels in the
county. Each deputy has the same
power, duties, and liabilities
as the assessor concerning the
appraisal, classification, and
assessment of property. If an
assessor does not have enough
parcels of property to qualify
for a deputy, a secretary may be
employed to assist in the
operation of the office, with
the approval of the legislative
body. T.C.A. § 67-1-506.
Duties:
The assessor’s duties include
two basic functions: appraisal
and assessment of taxable real
and personal property in the
county that is not appraised by
the state. After the assessor
has determined the appraised
value of property in the county,
the assessed value is
calculated. This is done by
applying the classification
percentage, as stated in the
Tennessee Constitution, to the
appraised value of the property.
TENN. CONST., art. II, § 28;
T.C.A. § 67-5-901. For example,
real property will have the
constitutional percentages
applied (public utility - 55
percent, industrial and
commercial- 40 percent,
residential and farm - 25
percent) to the appraised value
to determine the assessed value
of nonexempt real property. For
purposes of ad valorem taxation
of property, the assessor of
property places a value on
commercial, industrial,
residential, and farm land,
including mineral rights and
taxable leaseholds, but public
utility property is valued by
the state. T.C.A. §§ 67-5-101,
67-5-, 1301. Superimposed upon
this classification scheme for
real property is the special
treatment for so-called
“greenbelt” property under the
Agricultural, Forest, and Open
Space Land Act. Pursuant to that
act, land classified as
“greenbelt” receives valuation
based upon its use value rather
than its potential for other
higher uses (e.g., market value)
unless the use or classification
changes. In that case, taxes
known as rollback taxes are
assessed on the difference
between the assessment as
“greenbelt” property and the
property’s reclassified use to
recapture “lost” tax revenue for
up to three years for
agricultural land and five years
for open space land. T.C.A. §
67-1008.
The assessor also appraises and
assesses taxable tangible
personal property. T.C.A.
§67-5-901 et seq. The
assessor must assess and place a
value on all county property for
taxation purposes by May 20 of
each year; the date of valuation
is January 1. T.C.A. §67-5-504.
This assessed amount is taxed
according to the rate
established by the county
legislative body. In order to
keep appraisals current,
reappraisals are done on a
four-, five- or six-year cycle.
In counties using a six-year
cycle, updating is done in the
third year of the cycle.
Counties with a four- or five-
year cycle do no updating or
indexing to reflect current
value as do those on a six-year
cycle. However, in order to use
the alternative five-year cycle,
the assessor and the county
legislative body must agree to
its use. Assessors are also
required to maintain the
property maps of the county.
T.C.A. § 67-5-1601. The assessor
also makes “back” assessments of
property, land or improvements,
that were omitted from the tax
rolls or escaped taxation and
makes corrections of erroneous
assessments within certain time
limitations. T.C.A. §§67-1-1001,
67-5-509.
A more detailed description of
the duties of the assessor is
found in the County Property Tax
Manual, a CTAS publication that
may be found on the CTAS Web
site at
www.ctas.utk.edu. Also, the
division of property assessments
of the office of the comptroller
of the treasury provides
assessment manuals for the
assessor.
Relationship to County
Legislative Body and Other
Officials:
The assessor must interact with
the county mayor and/or a
finance/budget director as well
as the county legislative body
regarding the assessor’s budget
and budget amendments. The exact
procedures vary from county to
county depending upon whether
the county operates under a
charter or optional general law
regarding budgeting, or has a
private act dealing with this
subject. However, all assessors
must submit budget requests in a
timely manner in the first half
of each calendar year for
inclusion in the county’s annual
budget. Most counties have
budget committees that may
recommend appropriations for the
assessor’s budget that differ
from that submitted by the
assessor. The county legislative
body determines the amount of
the assessor’s budget, subject
to certain restrictions such as
the requirement to fund a deputy
for each 4500 parcels of land in
the county over the first 4500
parcels.
The assessor has an important
relationship with the county
trustee. The assessor annually
submits to the trustee the tax
roll of the county, which
includes the appraised and
assessed valuation, including
use value for “greenbelt”
qualifying property; submits
certification to the trustee for
errors discovered in the tax
rolls within specified time
limits, as well as back
assessments and reassessments of
property; and certifies to the
trustee changes in the
classification of “greenbelt”
property that requires the
collection of rollback taxes.
The assessor also has an
important relationship with the
register of deeds in gathering
information as each change of
property ownership must be noted
by the assessor as well as
changes in value reflected in
affidavits of value on deeds
subject to the state transfer
tax. Some county legislative
bodies cause the offices of
register and assessor to be
located next to each other to
facilitate the transfer of
information. Other changes of
ownership may be reflected in
probated wills and divorce
decrees; therefore, a good
working relationship with the
clerks of court also helps the
assessor maintain up-to-date
assessment rolls.
The assessor must also interact
with county and state boards of
equalization in determining the
correct valuation of property
when the taxpayer appeals the
assessment.
The assessor receives assistance
from the Division of Property
Assessments, which has a major
role in the periodic
reassessment of property in the
county. Certain utility
property, such as that of
telecommunications companies,
railroad companies and pipeline
companies, are centrally
assessed by the state
comptroller of the treasury. The
state Board of Equalization
reviews the assessments made by
the comptroller and upon
certification of these
assessments, the comptroller
certifies these valuations to
the assessor and trustee of the
county where the properties lie.
T.C.A. §§ 67-5-1329, 67-5-1331.
The assessor incorporates these
central assessments into the
county’s tax roll.
Vacancies:
As with other county offices,
vacancies in the office of the
assessor are filled by the
county legislative body. The
appointee will hold office until
a successor is elected at the
first regular August election
after the vacancy. The new
assessor holds office until the
close of the term for which the
predecessor was elected. T.C.A.
§ 67-1-504. If the office
becomes vacant due to death,
resignation, or removal, the
assessor's duties must be
temporarily discharged by the
chief deputy or by the deputy
designated by the assessor in
writing as the temporary
successor until a successor is
elected or appointed and
qualified according to law.
T.C.A. § 67-1-504.
[See the section covering
general information on
COUNTY CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES]
Top of Page
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The Information below is
from the County Technical
Assistance Service (CTAS)
publication
Tennessee County Government
Handbook. A full
copy of the publication may
be downloaded
in Adobe Acrobat by clicking
here:
Tennessee County
Government Handbook
[3.01MB] |
Circuit Court Clerk
Clerks of Court
The Tennessee Constitution in
Article VI places the judicial
power of the state in one
supreme court and in such
circuit, chancery and other
inferior courts as the
legislature creates. The
Constitution further provides in
Article VI, Section 13, that
chancellors appoint the clerk
and master for a six-year term
and that clerks of other
inferior courts are elected for
a four-year term. The Tennessee
Constitution provides that the
clerks of the inferior courts
may be chosen on a district or
county basis. Many counties have
only the circuit court clerk and
clerk and master to perform
clerking duties for all of the
courts held in the county, but
others have additional court
clerks established by private
act or charter, such as general
sessions court clerk or juvenile
court clerk. In any county in
which a separate general
sessions clerk is created by
private act, the clerk serves in
accordance with the private act.
T.C.A. § 16-15-301. In counties
without a separate general
sessions clerk, the circuit
clerk usually serves as the
general sessions court clerk.
T.C.A. § 16-15-301. In most
counties, the circuit court has
both civil and criminal
jurisdiction and uses only one
clerk, but some populous
counties have a separate
criminal court and elected
criminal court clerk.
In those counties in which the
general sessions court is also
the juvenile court, the clerk of
the court exercising juvenile
jurisdiction in such counties
prior to May 19, 1982,serves as
the juvenile court clerk unless
a private act or county or
metropolitan charter provides
otherwise. T.C.A. § 37-1-210.
Many county clerks inherited
this duty since the county clerk
was formerly the clerk of the
county court before its judicial
powers were removed in the
implementation of the 1978
constitutional amendments.
However, many counties have
since transferred juvenile court
clerking duties by private act
from the county clerk to the
clerk serving the general
sessions court.
Qualifications:
The clerks of court do not carry
any qualifications beyond the
general qualifications noted
earlier in this chapter for
county officers.
(General qualifications are
listed in the next paragraph)
General qualifications of
officeholders:
are
located in the Tennessee Code
Annotated, which provides that
all persons 18 years old and
over, who are citizens of the
United States and of Tennessee,
and who meet certain residency
requirements are qualified to
hold office unless the person:
1. Has been convicted of
offering or giving a bribe, of
larceny, or, of any other
offense declared infamous by
law, unless the person has been
restored to citizenship as
prescribed by law;
2. Has not paid a judgment for
money received in an official
capacity, which is due to the
United States, Tennessee, or any
county;
3. Has defaulted to the treasury
at the time of election (in
which case the election is
void);
4. Is a soldier, seaman, marine,
or airman in the regular United
States Army, Navy or Air Force;
or
5. Is a member of Congress or
holds any office of profit or
trust under any foreign power,
other state of the Union, or the
United States.
T.C.A. § 8-18-101.
Additional statutory
qualifications are required for
certain county offices, such as
sheriff, and are discussed in
the individual county office
section. The offices and duties
noted in this chapter may vary
in counties with a metropolitan
government charter or a county
government charter.
Oath of Office and Bond:
Court clerks and their deputies
must take an oath of office
specific to the office of court
clerk as well as the
constitutional oath. T.C.A. §§
18-1-103,18-1-104. Examples of
the oaths required of court
clerks and their deputies is
found in the appendix. The oath
may be administered by the
county mayor, county clerk, or a
judge of any court of record.
T.C.A. § 8-18-109. Also, the
judge of the general sessions
court may administer oaths of
office to all elected and
appointed officials. Clerks of
court file their oaths and
certificate of election (if
popularly elected) with the
county clerk.
Every clerk must enter into a
bond of $25,000 in counties with
a population of less than15,000
and $50,000 in counties with a
population of 15,000 or more, or
the court may require a greater
bond. T.C.A. § 18-2-201. After
being acknowledged before,
approved and certified by the
court, the bond must be entered
upon the minutes of the court
within30 days and must then be
recorded in the office the
county register of deeds and
transmitted to the comptroller
of the treasury for safekeeping.
T.C.A. § 18-2-205. See also
T.C.A. § 18-19-103 (Recording of
bonds of county officers); T.C.A.
§ 18-19-115(Time of filing).
Commissioner and Receiver
Bond:
Courts may also require their
clerks to give bond in such sum
as the court may deem sufficient
to cover property or funds that
may at anytime come to the hands
of such clerks as special
commissioners or receivers.
T.C.A. §18-2-202.
Special Bonds:
The court may also require
special bonds to meet particular
exigencies, and in a suitable
penalty, whenever, in its
judgment, the interest of
suitors render it necessary.
T.C.A. § 18-2-204.
Compensation:
As discussed earlier in this
chapter, clerks of court must
receive an annual minimum salary
in the amount for a general
officer as formulated in T.C.A.
§ 8-24-102. The county
legislative body may increase
the salary of the general
officers above the minimum
amount, but may not increase the
salary of a court clerk without
also increasing the salary of
other general officers unless
the clerk of court serves more
than one court in the county. If
the clerk of court serves more
than one court in the county,
the county legislative body may
set additional compensation for
such clerk in the amount of 10
percent of the base salary of
the clerk of court. The amount
due the court clerk as
compensation does not vary with
the amount of fees or
commissions collected regardless
of whether the salary of the
court clerk is paid from the
clerk’s fee account or from the
general fund.
Deputies and Assistants:
The court clerk may receive
authority to employ deputies and
assistants through a letter of
agreement or court order as
explained earlier in this
chapter. If the court clerk
decides to petition for
additional deputies or
assistants or additional salary
amounts, the petition is filed
in the court that the clerk
serves, and the county mayor
defends the salary suit. T.C.A.
§ 8-20-101.
Duties:
Clerks serve an important role
in the operation of the
Tennessee court system, a role
that is outlined generally in
Title 18 of the Tennessee Code
Annotated. Some of the clerks'
duties include the following:
(1) attending each court session
with all the papers for the
cases on the docket; (2)
administering oaths to parties
and witnesses who testify; (3)
keeping minutes of the court in
a well-bound book or in an
electronic format so long as
certain rules relating to the
safekeeping of the records are
followed;(4) maintaining the
rule docket and an execution
docket in which all court
judgments or decrees are entered
in order of rendition and all
receipts and disbursements in a
case are entered; (5)
maintaining indexes for all
books and dockets that are kept
by the office; and (6) investing
funds pursuant to T.C.A. §
18-5-106. T.C.A. §§ 18-5-102,
18-1-105. The clerk must reside
in the county where the court is
held and maintain an office in
the county seat. T.C.A. §
18-1-102.
General sessions clerks have
duties similar to other court
clerks: (1) retaining,
preserving, and filing in order
all papers in civil cases; (2)
transmitting papers when an
appeal has been taken to circuit
court; and (3) keeping in a
well-bound book a docket of all
judgments and executions, or
storing such information in an
electronic format in accordance
with rules for the safekeeping
of these records. T.C.A. §
16-15-303.
Because court clerks deal with
voluminous paperwork, the
storage and retention of
documents are important aspects
of these offices, and it is
extremely important that there
cords of the clerk’s office be
well organized and accurate.
Clerks collect state and county
litigation taxes, criminal
injuries compensation tax in
courts with criminal
jurisdiction, county expense
fees, and depending upon the
particular court, funds for the
impaired driver’s trust fund,
Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation fees, misdemeanant
jail per diems, fines, sheriff’s
fees, clerk’s fees, witness fees
and other items of court costs.
Clerks prepare bills of costs in
cases, account for these monies
and make collection efforts when
these amounts are unpaid. Clerks
may elect to use certain “flat
fees” instead of itemizing the
fees according to the clerk’s
fee statute, T.C.A.§ 8-21-401.
Clerks maintain a cash journal
(general ledger) to account for
and summarize the cash
transactions of the office and
issue receipts for all
collections.
Clerks invest idle funds
according to T.C.A. § 18-5-106,
and often serve in a fiduciary
capacity to invest funds held
for third parties. Additionally,
clerks and masters conduct
delinquent tax sales, and clerks
more generally may conduct sales
of property ordered by the
court. Clerks, depending upon
the particular court, may
collect support, including
alimony and child support,
pursuant to court order and the
general law although the
responsibility for collecting
support in many cases has been
transferred to a central state
collecting agency.
It is the official duty of each
clerk of court to attend
meetings of the state court
clerks’ conference unless the
clerk is otherwise officially
engaged or is unable to attend
for good and sufficient reasons.
T.C.A. § 18-1-501 et seq.
Relationship to County
Legislative Body and Other
Officials:
The court clerk must interact
with the county mayor and/or a
finance/budget director as well
as the county legislative body
regarding the clerk’s budget and
budget amendments. The exact
procedures vary from county to
county depending upon whether
the county operates under a
charter or optional general law
regarding budgeting, or has a
private act dealing with this
subject. However, all court
clerks must submit budget
requests in a timely manner in
the first half of each calendar
year for inclusion in the
county’s annual budget. Most
counties have budget committees
that may recommend
appropriations for the clerk’s
budget that differ from those
submitted by the court clerk.
The county legislative body
determines the amount of the
clerk’s budget, subject to
certain restrictions, such as
following the requirements of
any court order regarding a
salary suit for deputies or
assistants. In many counties,
depending upon the applicable
law, the county mayor has the
authority to approve line item
amendments to the clerk’s budget
within major categories not
affecting personnel, whereas
major category amendments
require the approval of the
county legislative body. T.C.A.
§ 5-9-407.
Of course the clerks have a
close working relationship with
the judges or chancellors of the
courts they serve. A good
working relationship between
judge and clerk is vital to the
efficient operation of the
courts. Court clerks also
interact regularly with the
office of sheriff and collect
sheriff’s fees as part of the
bill of costs. Process directed
to the sheriff is returned by
the sheriff or deputy to the
court clerk. The sheriff
executes on property in proper
cases and returns funds to the
clerk to allocate according to
law. If a county has constables
who serve process, the court
clerk may also interact with
these officials in the
performance of their duties.
All clerks interact with the
trustee in the regular
remittance of fees and local
litigation taxes. Clerks and
masters interact with the
trustee and the delinquent tax
attorney regarding collections
of delinquent property taxes and
tax sales.
Vacancies:
Vacancies in offices of elected
clerks are filled by the county
legislative body as described in
Chapter 8. T.C.A. § 5-1-104. If
there is a vacancy in the office
of clerk and master, a new clerk
is appointed by the chancellor
for another six-year term,
beginning with the date of the
appointment. T.C.A. § 18-5-501.
In case of death of any clerk,
the deputy holds office until
the vacancy is filled. T.C.A. §
18-1-401.
Removal by Judge:
Clerks of court may be removed
from office for misconduct by
summary proceedings by the judge
of the court they serve, under
the provisions of T.C.A. §
18-1-301 et seq.
[See the section covering
general information on
COUNTY CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES]
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
 |
The Information below is
from the County Technical
Assistance Service (CTAS)
publication
Tennessee County Government
Handbook. A full
copy of the publication may
be downloaded
in Adobe Acrobat by clicking
here:
Tennessee County
Government Handbook
[3.01MB] |
Clerk
and Master
Clerks of Court
The Tennessee Constitution in
Article VI places the judicial
power of the state in one
supreme court and in such
circuit, chancery and other
inferior courts as the
legislature creates. The
Constitution further provides in
Article VI, Section 13, that
chancellors appoint the clerk
and master for a six-year term
and that clerks of other
inferior courts are elected for
a four-year term. The Tennessee
Constitution provides that the
clerks of the inferior courts
may be chosen on a district or
county basis. Many counties have
only the circuit court clerk and
clerk and master to perform
clerking duties for all of the
courts held in the county, but
others have additional court
clerks established by private
act or charter, such as general
sessions court clerk or juvenile
court clerk. In any county in
which a separate general
sessions clerk is created by
private act, the clerk serves in
accordance with the private act.
T.C.A. § 16-15-301. In counties
without a separate general
sessions clerk, the circuit
clerk usually serves as the
general sessions court clerk.
T.C.A. § 16-15-301. In most
counties, the circuit court has
both civil and criminal
jurisdiction and uses only one
clerk, but some populous
counties have a separate
criminal court and elected
criminal court clerk.
In those counties in which the
general sessions court is also
the juvenile court, the clerk of
the court exercising juvenile
jurisdiction in such counties
prior to May 19, 1982,serves as
the juvenile court clerk unless
a private act or county or
metropolitan charter provides
otherwise. T.C.A. § 37-1-210.
Many county clerks inherited
this duty since the county clerk
was formerly the clerk of the
county court before its judicial
powers were removed in the
implementation of the 1978
constitutional amendments.
However, many counties have
since transferred juvenile court
clerking duties by private act
from the county clerk to the
clerk serving the general
sessions court.
Qualifications:
The clerks of court do not carry
any qualifications beyond the
general qualifications noted
earlier in this chapter for
county officers.
(General qualifications are
listed in the next paragraph)
General qualifications of
officeholders:
are
located in the Tennessee Code
Annotated, which provides that
all persons 18 years old and
over, who are citizens of the
United States and of Tennessee,
and who meet certain residency
requirements are qualified to
hold office unless the person:
1. Has been convicted of
offering or giving a bribe, of
larceny, or, of any other
offense declared infamous by
law, unless the person has been
restored to citizenship as
prescribed by law;
2. Has not paid a judgment for
money received in an official
capacity, which is due to the
United States, Tennessee, or any
county;
3. Has defaulted to the treasury
at the time of election (in
which case the election is
void);
4. Is a soldier, seaman, marine,
or airman in the regular United
States Army, Navy or Air Force;
or
5. Is a member of Congress or
holds any office of profit or
trust under any foreign power,
other state of the Union, or the
United States.
T.C.A. § 8-18-101.
Additional statutory
qualifications are required for
certain county offices, such as
sheriff, and are discussed in
the individual county office
section. The offices and duties
noted in this chapter may vary
in counties with a metropolitan
government charter or a county
government charter.
Oath of Office and Bond:
Court clerks and their deputies
must take an oath of office
specific to the office of court
clerk as well as the
constitutional oath. T.C.A. §§
18-1-103,18-1-104. Examples of
the oaths required of court
clerks and their deputies is
found in the appendix. The oath
may be administered by the
county mayor, county clerk, or a
judge of any court of record.
T.C.A. § 8-18-109. Also, the
judge of the general sessions
court may administer oaths of
office to all elected and
appointed officials. Clerks of
court file their oaths and
certificate of election (if
popularly elected) with the
county clerk.
Every clerk must enter into a
bond of $25,000 in counties with
a population of less than15,000
and $50,000 in counties with a
population of 15,000 or more, or
the court may require a greater
bond. T.C.A. § 18-2-201. After
being acknowledged before,
approved and certified by the
court, the bond must be entered
upon the minutes of the court
within30 days and must then be
recorded in the office the
county register of deeds and
transmitted to the comptroller
of the treasury for safekeeping.
T.C.A. § 18-2-205. See also
T.C.A. § 18-19-103 (Recording of
bonds of county officers); T.C.A.
§ 18-19-115(Time of filing).
Commissioner and Receiver
Bond:
Courts may also require their
clerks to give bond in such sum
as the court may deem sufficient
to cover property or funds that
may at anytime come to the hands
of such clerks as special
commissioners or receivers.
T.C.A. §18-2-202.
Special Bonds:
The court may also require
special bonds to meet particular
exigencies, and in a suitable
penalty, whenever, in its
judgment, the interest of
suitors render it necessary.
T.C.A. § 18-2-204.
Compensation:
As discussed earlier in this
chapter, clerks of court must
receive an annual minimum salary
in the amount for a general
officer as formulated in T.C.A.
§ 8-24-102. The county
legislative body may increase
the salary of the general
officers above the minimum
amount, but may not increase the
salary of a court clerk without
also increasing the salary of
other general officers unless
the clerk of court serves more
than one court in the county. If
the clerk of court serves more
than one court in the county,
the county legislative body may
set additional compensation for
such clerk in the amount of 10
percent of the base salary of
the clerk of court. The amount
due the court clerk as
compensation does not vary with
the amount of fees or
commissions collected regardless
of whether the salary of the
court clerk is paid from the
clerk’s fee account or from the
general fund.
Deputies and Assistants:
The court clerk may receive
authority to employ deputies and
assistants through a letter of
agreement or court order as
explained earlier in this
chapter. If the court clerk
decides to petition for
additional deputies or
assistants or additional salary
amounts, the petition is filed
in the court that the clerk
serves, and the county mayor
defends the salary suit. T.C.A.
§ 8-20-101.
Duties:
Clerks serve an important role
in the operation of the
Tennessee court system, a role
that is outlined generally in
Title 18 of the Tennessee Code
Annotated. Some of the clerks'
duties include the following:
(1) attending each court session
with all the papers for the
cases on the docket; (2)
administering oaths to parties
and witnesses who testify; (3)
keeping minutes of the court in
a well-bound book or in an
electronic format so long as
certain rules relating to the
safekeeping of the records are
followed;(4) maintaining the
rule docket and an execution
docket in which all court
judgments or decrees are entered
in order of rendition and all
receipts and disbursements in a
case are entered; (5)
maintaining indexes for all
books and dockets that are kept
by the office; and (6) investing
funds pursuant to T.C.A. §
18-5-106. T.C.A. §§ 18-5-102,
18-1-105. The clerk must reside
in the county where the court is
held and maintain an office in
the county seat. T.C.A. §
18-1-102.
General sessions clerks have
duties similar to other court
clerks: (1) retaining,
preserving, and filing in order
all papers in civil cases; (2)
transmitting papers when an
appeal has been taken to circuit
court; and (3) keeping in a
well-bound book a docket of all
judgments and executions, or
storing such information in an
electronic format in accordance
with rules for the safekeeping
of these records. T.C.A. §
16-15-303.
Because court clerks deal with
voluminous paperwork, the
storage and retention of
documents are important aspects
of these offices, and it is
extremely important that there
cords of the clerk’s office be
well organized and accurate.
Clerks collect state and county
litigation taxes, criminal
injuries compensation tax in
courts with criminal
jurisdiction, county expense
fees, and depending upon the
particular court, funds for the
impaired driver’s trust fund,
Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation fees, misdemeanant
jail per diems, fines, sheriff’s
fees, clerk’s fees, witness fees
and other items of court costs.
Clerks prepare bills of costs in
cases, account for these monies
and make collection efforts when
these amounts are unpaid. Clerks
may elect to use certain “flat
fees” instead of itemizing the
fees according to the clerk’s
fee statute, T.C.A.§ 8-21-401.
Clerks maintain a cash journal
(general ledger) to account for
and summarize the cash
transactions of the office and
issue receipts for all
collections.
Clerks invest idle funds
according to T.C.A. § 18-5-106,
and often serve in a fiduciary
capacity to invest funds held
for third parties. Additionally,
clerks and masters conduct
delinquent tax sales, and clerks
more generally may conduct sales
of property ordered by the
court. Clerks, depending upon
the particular court, may
collect support, including
alimony and child support,
pursuant to court order and the
general law although the
responsibility for collecting
support in many cases has been
transferred to a central state
collecting agency.
It is the official duty of each
clerk of court to attend
meetings of the state court
clerks’ conference unless the
clerk is otherwise officially
engaged or is unable to attend
for good and sufficient reasons.
T.C.A. § 18-1-501 et seq.
Relationship to County
Legislative Body and Other
Officials:
The court clerk must interact
with the county mayor and/or a
finance/budget director as well
as the county legislative body
regarding the clerk’s budget and
budget amendments. The exact
procedures vary from county to
county depending upon whether
the county operates under a
charter or optional general law
regarding budgeting, or has a
private act dealing with this
subject. However, all court
clerks must submit budget
requests in a timely manner in
the first half of each calendar
year for inclusion in the
county’s annual budget. Most
counties have budget committees
that may recommend
appropriations for the clerk’s
budget that differ from those
submitted by the court clerk.
The county legislative body
determines the amount of the
clerk’s budget, subject to
certain restrictions, such as
following the requirements of
any court order regarding a
salary suit for deputies or
assistants. In many counties,
depending upon the applicable
law, the county mayor has the
authority to approve line item
amendments to the clerk’s budget
within major categories not
affecting personnel, whereas
major category amendments
require the approval of the
county legislative body. T.C.A.
§ 5-9-407.
Of course the clerks have a
close working relationship with
the judges or chancellors of the
courts they serve. A good
working relationship between
judge and clerk is vital to the
efficient operation of the
courts. Court clerks also
interact regularly with the
office of sheriff and collect
sheriff’s fees as part of the
bill of costs. Process directed
to the sheriff is returned by
the sheriff or deputy to the
court clerk. The sheriff
executes on property in proper
cases and returns funds to the
clerk to allocate according to
law. If a county has constables
who serve process, the court
clerk may also interact with
these officials in the
performance of their duties.
All clerks interact with the
trustee in the regular
remittance of fees and local
litigation taxes. Clerks and
masters interact with the
trustee and the delinquent tax
attorney regarding collections
of delinquent property taxes and
tax sales.
Vacancies:
Vacancies in offices of elected
clerks are filled by the county
legislative body as described in
Chapter 8. T.C.A. § 5-1-104. If
there is a vacancy in the office
of clerk and master, a new clerk
is appointed by the chancellor
for another six-year term,
beginning with the date of the
appointment. T.C.A. § 18-5-501.
In case of death of any clerk,
the deputy holds office until
the vacancy is filled. T.C.A. §
18-1-401.
Removal by Judge:
Clerks of court may be removed
from office for misconduct by
summary proceedings by the judge
of the court they serve, under
the provisions of T.C.A. §
18-1-301 et seq.
[See the section covering
general information on
COUNTY CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES]
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
 |
The Information below is
from the County Technical
Assistance Service (CTAS)
publication
Tennessee County Government
Handbook. A full
copy of the publication may
be downloaded
in Adobe Acrobat by clicking
here:
Tennessee County
Government Handbook
[3.01MB] |
County
Court Clerk
County
Clerk
The county clerk, formerly the
county court clerk, was a
statutory official for many
decades prior to becoming a
constitutional office in the
1978 amendments to the Tennessee
Constitution. The county clerk
is elected to a four-year term
in the August general election
in the same even-numbered year
that the governor is elected.
T.C.A. §18-6-101.
Qualifications:
The office of county clerk does
not carry any qualifications
beyond the general
qualifications noted earlier in
this chapter for county
officers.
(General qualifications are
listed in the next paragraph)
General qualifications of
officeholders:
are
located in the Tennessee Code
Annotated, which provides that
all persons 18 years old and
over, who are citizens of the
United States and of Tennessee,
and who meet certain residency
requirements are qualified to
hold office unless the person:
1. Has been convicted of
offering or giving a bribe, of
larceny, or, of any other
offense declared infamous by
law, unless the person has been
restored to citizenship as
prescribed by law;
2. Has not paid a judgment for
money received in an official
capacity, which is due to the
United States, Tennessee, or any
county;
3. Has defaulted to the treasury
at the time of election (in
which case the election is
void);
4. Is a soldier, seaman, marine,
or airman in the regular United
States Army, Navy or Air Force;
or
5. Is a member of Congress or
holds any office of profit or
trust under any foreign power,
other state of the Union, or the
United States.
T.C.A. § 8-18-101.
Additional statutory
qualifications are required for
certain county offices, such as
sheriff, and are discussed in
the individual county office
section. The offices and duties
noted in this chapter may vary
in counties with a metropolitan
government charter or a county
government charter.
Oath of Office and Bond:
Before entering into office, the
county clerk must take and
subscribe to the constitutional
oath and the oath of office
known as the fidelity oath. An
example of this oath for the
county clerk is included in the
appendix to this handbook. The
deputy’s oath of office is the
same as that of the county
clerk; it must be certified,
filed, and endorsed in the same
manner. T.C.A. § 8-18-112. Also,
prior to entering into the
duties of the office, the county
clerk must post either a $50,000
official bond in counties with a
population of 15,000 or more, or
a $25,000 bond in counties with
a population of less than
15,000. T.C.A. § 18-2-201.
Compensation:
As discussed earlier in this
chapter, county clerks must
receive an annual minimum salary
in the amount for a general
officer as formulated in T.C.A.
§ 8-24-102. The county
legislative body may increase
the salary of general officers
above the minimum amount, but
may not increase the salary of
the county clerk without also
increasing the salary of other
general officers. The amount due
the county clerk as compensation
does not vary with the amount of
fees collected regardless of
whether the salary of the county
clerk is paid from the clerk’s
fee account or from the general
fund.
Deputies and Assistants:
The county clerk may receive
authority to employ deputies and
assistants through a letter of
agreement or court order as
explained earlier in this
chapter. If the county clerk
decides to petition for
additional deputies or
assistants or additional salary
amounts, the petition is filed
in the chancery court and the
county mayor defends the salary
suit. T.C.A. § 8-20-101.
Duties:
The general duties of the county
clerk are set out in T.C.A. §
18-6-101 et seq. Other
duties are found in various
other sections of the Tennessee
Code. The county clerk performs
a wide variety of functions,
which generally include: (1)
keeping the official records of
the county legislative body; (2)
collecting certain local and
state taxes (such as local wheel
taxes, local hotel/motel taxes,
beer taxes, business taxes, and
vehicle registration fees); (3)
issuing motor vehicle titles and
registrations; (4) issuing
marriage licenses; (5) issuing
business licenses; (6)
processing applications for beer
permits; (7) processing
applications for notaries
public; (8) issuing pawnbroker
licenses; and (9) issuing
hunting and fishing licenses.
The county clerk receives fees
for the services rendered by the
office. Fees for the various
duties performed by the county
clerk are found in T.C.A. §§
8-21-701 and 8-21-401, as well
as in statutes relating to the
particular subject matter, such
as Title 55 for motor vehicle
titling and registration. Fee
officers, including county
clerks, are required to collect
all fees to which they are
entitled. T.C.A. § 8-22-102.
In some counties, the county
clerk also serves as clerk of
court for such courts as
juvenile or probate. This is a
legacy of the time when the
former county court clerk was
clerk for the county judge or
chairman, who exercised judicial
powers in this area prior to the
creation of the office of county
executive in the 1978 amendments
to the Tennessee Constitution.
Under legislation passed in
2003, clerking duties for
probate and juvenile courts are
required to be transferred from
the county clerk to the clerk of
another court by July 1, 2006,
unless the county was exempted
in the legislation or unless
otherwise provided by law. T.C.A.
§§ 18-6-106, 37-1-210.
Whenever the county clerk is
disqualified because of interest
or relationship from performing
an official act required by law,
the county mayor or appropriate
judge must perform the act.
T.C.A. § 18-6-112.
The duties of the county clerk
are dealt with in greater detail
in Legal Issues for County
Clerks, a CTAS publication for
the County Officials Certificate
Training Program (COCTP). This
publication may be found on the
CTAS Web site at
www.ctas.utk.edu.
Relationship to County
Legislative Body and Other
Officials:
The county clerk has a close
relationship with the county
legislative body as the county
clerk serves as the clerk to
this body, performing duties
such as calling the roll,
recording votes, and taking
minutes. The county legislative
body as a whole, or a committee
selected by the county
legislative body, serves as the
county beer board, and the
county clerk often assists the
beer board in taking
applications for permits to sell
beer, recording the actions of
the beer board and issuing
permits. Similarly, the county
clerk handles applications for
notaries public and presents the
applications to the county
legislative body for approval.
And of course, the county
clerk’s budget is approved by
the county legislative body.
Further, the county legislative
body determines whether or not
the county clerk’s office
operates under the “fee” system,
whereby the county clerk pays
the salaries of the clerk and
deputies and office expenses out
of the fee account, or whether
all fees are paid over to the
general fund monthly, with all
salaries and expenses being
budgeted. T.C.A. § 8-22-104.
The county clerk interacts with
the county mayor and/or a
finance/budget director as well
as the county legislative body
regarding the county clerk’s
budget and budget amendments.
The exact procedures vary from
county to county depending upon
whether the county operates
under a charter or optional
general law regarding budgeting,
or has a private act dealing
with this subject. However, all
county clerks must submit budget
requests in a timely manner in
the first half of each calendar
year for inclusion in the
county’s annual budget. Most
counties have budget committees
that may recommend
appropriations for the clerk’s
budget that differ from those
submitted by the clerk. The
county legislative body
determines the amount of the
clerk’s budget, subject to
certain restrictions, such as
following the requirements of
any court order regarding a
salary suit for deputies or
assistants. In many counties,
depending upon the applicable
law, the county mayor has the
authority to approve line item
amendments to the clerk’s budget
within major categories
unrelated to personnel costs,
whereas major category
amendments require approval of
the county legislative body.
T.C.A. § 5-9-407.
The county clerk also interacts
with the county mayor in either
entering into letters of
agreement regarding the number
and salaries of deputies and
assistants or litigating with
the county mayor as a defendant
in a salary suit.
The county clerk deals with the
trustee regarding the remittance
of fees (monthly or quarterly)
to the general fund and the
remittance of taxes collected by
the county clerk, usually
monthly.
The county clerk, as an ex
officio member of the county
public records commission,
interacts with other records
commission members, such as the
register, and with the Tennessee
State Library and Archives.
The county clerk interacts
regularly with the motor vehicle
division of the state Department
of Safety in taking applications
for motor vehicle titles and
registering motor vehicles. In
issuing marriage licenses, the
county clerk interacts with the
office of vital records of the
state Department of Health. In
counties where the county clerk
issues hunting and fishing
licenses, the county clerk works
with the Tennessee Wildlife
Resources Agency.
In those counties where the
county clerk serves as a clerk
of court for such courts as
probate or juvenile, the clerk
works closely with the judges of
those particular courts.
Vacancies:
Vacancies in the county clerk's
office are filled by the county
legislative body in the manner
discussed in the Chapter 9 of
this handbook. T.C.A. §§
5-1-104, 18-6-101. If the office
becomes vacant due to death,
resignation, or removal, the
county clerk's duties are
temporarily discharged by the
chief deputy, or by the deputy
designated as the temporary
successor by the county clerk in
writing, until a successor
county clerk is elected or
appointed and qualified
according to law. T.C.A. §
18-6-115.
[See the section covering
general information on
COUNTY CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES]
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
 |
The Information below is
from the County Technical
Assistance Service (CTAS)
publication
Tennessee County Government
Handbook. A full
copy of the publication may
be downloaded
in Adobe Acrobat by clicking
here:
Tennessee County
Government Handbook
[3.01MB]
For the office of County
Mayor see the
County Commission page
for the full text of chapter
2 entitled
COUNTY LEGISLATIVE BODY AND
COUNTY MAYOR |
COUNTY MAYOR
County Mayor Qualifications and
Title:
The office
of county executive was created
by the 1978amendment to Article
7, Section 1, of the Tennessee
Constitution, when county
executive was added to the list
of county officials named in the
Tennessee Constitution. The list
also includes the sheriff,
trustee, register, county clerk,
assessor of property and members
of the county legislative body.
In the implementing legislation,
1978 Public Chapter 934, the
General Assembly chose to
designate members of the county
legislative body as county
commissioners, but left the
county executive with the title
given in the constitution with
the option of establishing a
different title by private act.
In2003 Public Chapter 90, this
law was changed to provide that
the chief executive officer of
each county, excepting counties
with a consolidated
(metropolitan) form of
government, would hereafter be
entitled “county mayor.” This
law was amended in 2004by Public
Chapter 568 to provide that the
title may be changed to “county
executive” by private act for
the particular county. T.C.A. §
5-6-101. The chief executive
officers of metropolitan
governments continue to use the
title provided for them by their
metropolitan government charter.
The county
mayor is elected by the people
of the county for a term of four
years in all counties except
those that provide otherwise in
a consolidated government
charter. T.C.A. § 5-6-102. In
order to run for the office a
person must be a qualified voter
of the county, at least 25 years
old, and a resident of the
county for at least one full
year prior to filing a
nominating petition for the
office. T.C.A. § 5-6-104. After
election, the county mayor must
take an oath of office and
execute a bond in the amount of
$25,000 (in counties with a
population of less than 15,000)
or $50,000 (in counties with a
population of 15,000 or more),
although the legislative body
may require a greater amount.
T.C.A. § 5-6-109. A sample oath
of office is found in the
appendix to this handbook.
Compensation:
The
position is full time, except in
counties where the voters have
determined by referendum that
the workload does not
necessitate a full-time mayor.
If the county mayor’s office is
determined by referendum not to
be a full-time position, this
must be done prior to the
election of the county mayor or
the county mayor will been
titled to the minimum salary.
T.C.A. §§ 5-6-105, 8-24-102(g).
A minimum salary, determined by
population class, is set by the
General Assembly (T.C.A. §
8-24-102),although the
legislative body may increase
that amount. T.C.A. § 8-24-114.
However, the compensation for
the full-time county mayor must
be at least 5 percent greater
than the maximum salary payable
to any other constitutional
officer. T.C.A. § 8-24-102(g).
As the sheriff is the next most
highly compensated
constitutional officer, the
full-time county mayor's
compensation must be at least 5
percent greater than the
sheriff’s salary.
Relationship to County
Legislative Body:
The county
mayor serves as a nonvoting,
exofficio member of the
legislative body. The county
mayor or the county mayor's
representative also serves as a
nonvoting, ex officio member of
each committee of the
legislative body, except as
provided by law or by the
legislative body. T.C.A. §
5-6-106.
The county
mayor may be elected chairperson
of the legislative body. A
county mayor who serves as chair
of the legislative body may cast
a vote in the event of a tie.
T.C.A. §5-5-109. However, if the
county mayor becomes chair, the
mayor's veto power is forfeited.
T.C.A. § 5-5-103. If not chair
of the county legislative body,
the county mayor has veto power
over legislative resolutions
(not administrative or appellate
resolutions) adopted by the
legislative body. When a
resolution is adopted by the
legislative body, it should be
submitted to the county mayor.
Each resolution must be signed,
vetoed, or allowed to become
effective without the county
mayor's signature. If a
resolution is signed by the
county mayor, it becomes
effective immediately or at a
later date specified in the
resolution. If the county mayor
vetoes the resolution, he or she
must return the resolution to
the legislative body for action
on the veto, and the resolution
becomes effective only upon
subsequent passage by a majority
of all legislative body members.
Such passage must take place
within 20 days of receiving the
county mayor's veto or at the
legislative body's next regular
meeting, whichever is later. If
the county mayor does not sign
or veto a resolution or report
the mayor's action to the
legislative body within 10 days
after the resolution is
submitted to him or her, the
resolution becomes effective
without the mayor's signature
after 10 days or at a later date
if the resolution so provides.
T.C.A. § 5-6-107. The county
mayor who does not chair the
county legislative body may veto
the entire county budget but may
not veto portions of it. T.C.A.
§ 5-6-107.
Fiscal Duties:
The county
mayor is the chief financial
officer of the county and except
in counties that have adopted
the 1981 Financial Management
System or that have a county
charter that provides otherwise,
the county mayor signs or
co-signs county warrants, at
least for general fund
expenditures. The county mayor
may examine the accounts of the
county officers to verify each
item of expenditure or revenue.
T.C.A. §§5-6-110, 5-6-112. The
county mayor audits all claims
for money against the county.
In counties not providing
otherwise, the county mayor
serves as the chief accounting
officer for the county and
maintains the general fund
accounts. T.C.A. §
5-6-108.Although the exact role
varies depending upon the
particular county’s adoption of
optional general laws, county
charters or private acts, the
county mayor generally has a
strong role in the budgetary
process and often presents the
consolidated budget for each
fiscal year to the county budget
committee or county legislative
body. A more detailed
description of these fiscal
duties is provided in Chapter 12
of this handbook.
Other Duties:
The county
mayor or a designated
representative of the county
mayor serves as a nonvoting, ex
officio member of each committee
of the county legislative body
and of each board, commission,
or authority of the county
government. T.C.A. §5-6-106.
Except as provided by general
law or private act, the county
mayor appoints members of county
boards, commissions, and
department heads, subject to
confirmation by the county
legislative body. T.C.A. §
5-6-106. In actual practice,
this exception to the county
mayor’s appointment power is a
large one since general laws or
private acts provide for the
selection of most department
heads and membership of most
boards.
The county
mayor has the care and custody
of all county property, unless
it is placed with another
officer. T.C.A. § 5-6-108.
However, the custody and
security for the courthouse is
placed with the sheriff if the
county legislative body does not
provide otherwise. T.C.A. §
7-108. The county mayor is under
a duty to obtain a flag of the
state of Tennessee from the
adjutant general’s office and to
fly it upon proper occasions.
T.C.A. § 5-7-109. If there is no
county attorney, the mayor may
employ or retain counsel. T.C.A.
§ 5-6-112. The mayor may employ
clerical assistants needed in
the performance of his or her
duties and set their
compensation within the amount
appropriated for that purpose by
the county legislative body.
T.C.A. § 5-6-116.
The county
mayor may enter into letters of
agreement with county “fee”
officials regarding the number
and salary of deputies and
assistants if within the budget
adopted by the county
legislative body or if the fee
official is paying the salaries
of deputies and assistants from
the office fee accounts. If no
agreement is reached, the county
mayor is a defendant in salary
suits that may be brought by
these officials. T.C.A. §
8-20-101 et seq.
The county
mayor has an important role in
creating, modifying and merging
utility districts as well as the
service provided (water, sewer,
gas) under the Utility District
Law of 1937, as amended. T.C.A.
§ 7-82-101, et seq. The county
mayor is authorized to hold
hearings on such issues after
receiving a petition from at
least 25 property owners and the
advice of the state’s utility
management review board. The
county mayor is authorized to
issue orders concerning these
utility districts if in
accordance with the rather
complicated set of statutes
governing utility districts. T.C.A. § 7-82-202.
The county
mayor appoints members of the
emergency communications
district’s board of directors
subject to confirmation by the
county legislative body. If the
county legislative body does not
act to confirm or reject the
appointment within 90 days or
the conclusion of its next
regularly scheduled meeting
after the appointment is made,
whichever is later, the
appointments take effect without
confirmation. T.C.A. §
7-86-105.
The county
mayor performs other duties and
shares administrative tasks with
the other constitutional and
statutory county officials. The
powers and duties of each county
official are specifically
established through statute and
covered in more detail in
Chapter3 and other chapters of
this publication. The county
mayor has other duties and
interacts with other county
officials in almost every area
of local administration. The
mayor's role in tax collection,
county penal administration,
investment of county funds,
county health, and care for the
poor, among other topics, will
be discussed in other chapters
of this handbook.
The county
mayor is a member of the board
of directors of the development
district and human resources
agency of which his or her
county is a part. T.C.A. §§
13-14-104, 13-26-103. In this
and other ways, the county mayor
is often viewed as a
“representative” of the county
or as the county’s leader in
dealings with other governmental
entities.
Vacancies and Incapacities:
Vacancies
in the office of county mayor
are filled by the legislative
body, and the appointee serves
until a successor is elected at
the next general election.
T.C.A. § 5-1-104. Furthermore, a
vacancy in the office of county
mayor is filled temporarily by
the chairperson of the county
legislative body (or the
chairperson pro tempore in
circumstances where the county
mayor had been the chairperson)
as interim county mayor during
the time between the beginning
of the vacancy and the
appointment of a successor.
T.C.A. § 5-5-103(i). If a county
mayor is incapacitated or absent
from the job for more than 21
days, the legislative body must
appoint the chairperson of the
legislative body to serve as
acting county mayor until the
disability or absence is
removed. T.C.A. § 5-5-103(g).
For the office of County
Mayor see the
County Commission page
for the full text of chapter
2 entitled
COUNTY LEGISLATIVE BODY AND
COUNTY MAYOR.
[See the section covering
general information on
COUNTY CONSTITUTIONAL
OFFICES]
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The Information below is
from the County Technical
Assistance Service (CTAS)
publication
Tennessee County Government
Handbook. A full
copy of the publication may
be downloaded
in Adobe Acrobat by clicking
here:
Tennessee County
Government Handbook
[3.01MB] |
Register of Deeds
Register
of Deeds
The register has been a
constitutional office in
Tennessee since the beginning of
the state, being an appointive
office by the county court in
the 1796 Constitution, but
becoming a popularly elective
office in the 1835 Constitution
and remaining so under the 1870
Constitution and its 1978
amendment. The register is
elected to a four-year term of
office in the August general
election in same year that the
governor is elected.
Qualifications:
The office of register does not
carry any qualifications beyond
the general qualifications noted
earlier in this chapter for
county officers.
(General qualifications are
listed in the next paragraph)
General qualifications of
officeholders:
are
located in the Tennessee Code
Annotated, which provides that
all persons 18 years old and
over, who are citizens of the
United States and of Tennessee,
and who meet certain residency
requirements are qualified to
hold office unless the person:
1. Has been convicted of
offering or giving a bribe, of
larceny, or, of any other
offense declared infamous by
law, unless the person has been
restored to citizenship as
prescribed by law;
2. Has not paid a judgment for
money received in an official
capacity, which is due to the
United States, Tennessee, or any
county;
3. Has defaulted to the treasury
at the time of election (in
which case the election is
void);
4. Is a soldier, seaman, marine,
or airman in the regular United
States Army, Navy or Air Force;
or
5. Is a member of Congress or
holds any office of profit or
trust under any foreign power,
other state of the Union, or the
United States.
T.C.A. § 8-18-101.
Additional statutory
qualifications are required for
certain county offices, such as
sheriff, and are discussed in
the individual county office
section. The offices and duties
noted in this chapter may vary
in counties with a metropolitan
government charter or a county
government charter.
Oath of Office and Bond:
Before entering into office, the
register must take and subscribe
to the constitutional oath and
the oath of office known as the
fidelity oath as well as give
bond as required. An example of
this oath for the register is
included in the appendix to this
handbook. The deputy’s oath of
office is the same as that of
the register; it must be
certified, filed, and endorsed
in the same manner. T.C.A. §
8-18-112. The register enters
into a four-year term of office
only after taking the prescribed
oath and posting the required
bond in the amount of $15,000
(in counties of less
than15,000), $25,000 (in
counties with 15,000 or more),
or in a greater amount required
by the county legislative body.
T.C.A. §§ 8-13-101, 8-13-102.
Compensation:
As discussed earlier in this
chapter, the register must
receive an annual minimum salary
in the amount for a general
officer as formulated in T.C.A.
§ 8-24-102.The county
legislative body may increase
the salary of the general
officers above the minimum
amount, but may not increase the
salary of the register without
also increasing the salary of
other general officers. The
amount due the register as
compensation does not vary with
the amount of fees collected
regardless of whether the salary
of the register is paid from the
register’s fee account or from
the general fund.
Deputies and Assistants:
The register may receive
authority to employ deputies and
assistants through a letter of
agreement or court order as
explained earlier in this
chapter. If the register decides
to petition for additional
deputies or assistants or
additional salary amounts, the
petition is filed in the
chancery court and the county
mayor defends the salary suit.
T.C.A. § 8-20-101.
Duties:
The primary function of the
register is to make and preserve
a record of instruments required
or allowed by law to be filed or
recorded, including but not
limited to deeds, powers of
attorney, deeds of trust,
mortgages, liens, contracts,
plats, leases, judgments, wills,
court orders, military
discharges, records under the
Uniform Commercial Code
(primarily fixture filings), and
other types of documents. T.C.A.
§66-24-101. The records provide
public notice of property
ownership, liens, contracts, and
other transactions that affect
the public interest. The
register's office is in the
county seat, and the records and
papers must remain in the office
at all times. T.C.A. §§8-13-106,
8-13-107.
The register has specific
directions on how to index,
record, and maintain the
records. T.C.A. § 8-13-108. The
register must perform the
following functions: (1) require
specific information on
instruments registered in the
office; (2) perform assigned
tasks in a diligent manner,
since the notice of a recorded
instrument may affect who holds
legal title to property and who
has priority in liens against
property; (3) carefully place
the time of receipt of
instruments into the notebook,
record the instruments in the
correct book, and index the
instrument properly; (4) keep
accurate records of the fees,
commissions, and taxes collected
as well as of office expenses;
(5) make reports on the fees,
commissions, and expenses to the
county; and (6) make reports on
the taxes collected to the
revenue department. T.C.A. §§
8-13-108, 67-4-409. The
register's fees vary according
to the type and length of the
document and whether more than
one instrument is included in a
single document. T.C.A. §
8-21-1001. Fee officials,
including registers, must
collect all fees to which they
are entitled. T.C.A. § 8-22-102.
The register is responsible for
collecting “transfer” and
“mortgage” taxes. T.C.A. §
67-4-409. With some statutory
exceptions, the register must
collect a tax on the transfer of
all interests in real estate and
the “mortgage” tax on recording
instruments that evidence an
indebtedness. T.C.A. § 67-4-409.
Fees for the various duties
performed by the register are
found primarily in T.C.A.§
8-21-1001, although other fees
are found within the statutes
relating to the subject matter
as, for example, U.C.C.
instruments in Tennessee Code
Annotated, Title 47,Chapter 9.
The duties of the register are
dealt with in greater detail in
Legal Issues for Registers of
Deeds, a CTAS publication for
the County Officials Certificate
Training Program (COCTP). This
publication may be found on the
CTAS Web site at
www.ctas.utk.edu.
Relationship to County
Legislative Body and Other
Officials:
The register must interact with
the county mayor and/or a
finance/budget director as well
as the county legislative body
regarding the register’s budget
and budget amendments. The exact
procedures vary from county to
county depending upon whether
the county operates under a
charter or optional general law
regarding budgeting, or has a
private act dealing with this
subject. However, all registers
must submit budget requests in a
timely manner in the first half
of each calendar year for
inclusion in the county’s annual
budget. Most counties have
budget committees that may
recommend appropriations for the
register’s budget that differ
from those submitted by the
register. The county legislative
body determines the amount of
the register’s budget, subject
to certain restrictions, such as
following the requirements of
any court order regarding a
salary suit for deputies or
assistants. In many counties,
depending upon the applicable
law, the county mayor has the
authority to approve line item
amendments to the register’s
budget within major categories
unrelated to personnel costs,
whereas major category
amendments require the approval
of the county legislative body.
T.C.A. § 5-9-407.
The register interacts with the
assessor to assist in providing
information regarding the value
of property. The register also
records the official bonds of
all county officials.
The register deals with the
trustee regarding the remittance
of fees (monthly or quarterly)
to the general fund.
The register, as an ex officio
member of the county public
records commission, interacts
with other records commission
members, such as the county
clerk, and with the Tennessee
State Library and Archives.
The register interacts regularly
with the Tennessee Department of
Revenue since the register
collects the state transfer and
“mortgage” taxes, reports and
remits this revenue to the
department monthly by the 15th
day following the month of
collection – after deducting a
commission of 5 percent, 52
percent of which goes to fund
the county officials’
retirement, and the balance is
retained as fees of the office.
T.C.A. § 67-4-409.
Vacancies:
Vacancies in the register's
office are filled by the county
legislative body in the manner
discussed in the following
chapter. T.C.A. § 5-1-104. If
the office becomes vacant due to
death, resignation, or removal,
the register's duties may be
temporarily discharged by the
deputy designated by the
register in writing as the
temporary successor, until the
vacancy is filled by the
legislative body. T.C.A. §
18-6-115.
[See the section covering
general information on
COUNTY CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES]
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The Information below is
from the County Technical
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Handbook. A full
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in Adobe Acrobat by clicking
here:
Tennessee County
Government Handbook
[3.01MB] |
Road Supervisor
See the County
Highways Page
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The Information below is
from the County Technical
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publication
Tennessee County Government
Handbook. A full
copy of the publication may
be downloaded
in Adobe Acrobat by clicking
here:
Tennessee County
Government Handbook
[3.01MB] |
Sheriff
Sheriff
The office of sheriff is ancient
in origin; its beginning can be
traced back centuries to
medieval England. The office of
sheriff has been provided for in
each of Tennessee’s three
constitutions (1796, 1835 and
1870) and was retained in the
latest amendment in1978. The
sheriff is elected to a
four-year term in the August
general election in the same
year in which the governor is
elected. T.C.A. § 2-3-202.
Qualifications:
The sheriff, in all counties
except those with a metropolitan
form of government in which law
enforcement powers have been
assigned to some other official,
must have the following specific
qualifications in addition to
the general qualifications noted
earlier in this chapter:
1. Must be a United States
citizen;
2. Must be 25 years of age prior
to the qualifying date;
3. Must be a qualified voter of
the county;
4. Must have obtained a high
school diploma or its equivalent
as recognized by the Tennessee
State Board of Education;
5. Must not have been convicted,
pled guilty or pled nolo
contendere to any felony charge
or any violation of any federal
or state laws or city ordinances
relating to force, violence,
theft, dishonesty, gambling,
liquor or controlled substances,
so long as the violation
involves an offense that
consists of moral turpitude, or
a misdemeanor crime of domestic
violence;
6. Must be fingerprinted under
the direction of the Tennessee
Bureau of Investigation (TBI)
and have the TBI make a search
of local, state and federal
fingerprint files for any
criminal record;
7.Must not have been released
from the armed forces of the
United States with a
dishonorable or bad conduct
discharge, or as a consequence
of conviction at court martial
for either state or federal
offenses;
8. Must have been certified by a
qualified professional in the
psychiatric or psychological
fields to be free of all
apparent mental disorders as
described in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, Third Edition, of the
American Psychiatric Association
or its successor;
9. Must possess a current and
valid peace officer
certification as issued by the
Tennessee Peace Officer
Standards and Training (POST)
Commission within 12 months of
qualification for the election
of the sheriff. However, this
qualification is waived for
first-time elected sheriffs who
must enroll in a recruit
training program within six
months after taking office and
be POST certified in order to
qualify for re-election;
10. Must not be a member of the
General Assembly, nor shall any
practicing attorney be obligated
to act as sheriff.
T.C.A. §§ 8-8-101, 8-8-102
Oath of
Office and Bond:
In addition to filing the
required bond and the usual oath
of office, a sheriff must “take
an oath that [he or she] has not
promised or given, nor will
give, any fee, gift, gratuity,
or reward for the office or for
aid in procuring such office,
that [he or she] will not take
any fee, gift, or bribe, or
gratuity for returning any
person as a juror or for making
any false return of any process,
and that [he or she] will
faithfully execute the office of
sheriff to the best of [his or
her] knowledge and ability
agreeably to law.” T.C.A. §
8-8-104. Sheriff's deputies must
take the same oaths as the
sheriff, which are certified,
filed, and endorsed in the same
manner as the sheriff’s. T.C.A.
§8-18-112. An example of the
full oath of office for a
sheriff and regular deputies is
provided in the appendix to this
handbook.
Before entering into the duties
of the office, the sheriff must
enter into an official bond
prepared as noted earlier in
this chapter for county
officials. The bond amount
is$25,000 or such greater sum as
the county legislative body
determines is appropriate. The
sheriff’s bond is payable to the
state and conditioned on the
sheriff to well and truly
execute and make due return of
all process directed to the
sheriff, and to pay all fees and
sums of money received by the
sheriff or levied by virtue of
any process into the proper
office or to the person
entitled, and faithfully to
execute the office of sheriff
and perform its duties and
functions during the person’s
continuance in office. This bond
must be acknowledged before the
county legislative body, in open
session, approved by it,
recorded upon the minutes, and
recorded in the office of the
register of deeds and
transmitted to the comptroller
of the treasury for safekeeping.
T.C.A. § 8-18-103. A surety bond
is designed to protect the state
and county from wrongdoing by
the sheriff, particularly as
regards the custody of money. If
the surety has to pay any funds
to the state or county under the
terms of the bond, the surety
may seek recovery of these funds
from the sheriff personally.
Compensation:
The sheriff receives a minimum
statutory compensation amount
according to county population
class as explained earlier.
T.C.A. § 8-24-102. The
compensation statute provides
for the sheriff to receive 10
percent more than the general
officers. The county legislative
body may increase the
compensation of the sheriff
above the minimum amount
required by the state law.
However, if the sheriff is not
certified by the POST commission
at the time of election, the
sheriff’s salary is reduced
during each year the sheriff is
not so certified, by 15 percent
the first year, 20percent the
second year, 25 percent the
third year, and 30 percent the
fourth year, subject to the
salary being raised to the
standard amount the next month
after being certified by the
POST Commission. T.C.A. §
8-8-102.
Deputies and Assistants:
As with many other county
officers, the sheriff may employ
deputies and other staff under a
letter of agreement or a court
order. If the sheriff chooses to
petition a court for additional
deputies or assistants or for
greater salaries than the budget
adopted by the county
legislative body would permit,
the sheriff files the petition
with the state trial court
exercising criminal jurisdiction
in the county, either criminal
court or circuit court. The
county mayor defends these
salary suits. T.C.A. § 8-20-101.
Although the sheriff and
deputies collect fees for
services performed, this office
is always on the “budget” system
rather than the “fee” system,
turning over fees and other
revenues monthly to the trustee
and receiving appropriations for
salaries and expenses. These
costs are paid out of the county
general fund rather than out of
fees to help insure the fair and
impartial administration of law
enforcement duties. T.C.A. §
8-24-103. The county legislative
body may not adopt a budget that
reduces the salaries and number
of employees of the sheriff's
department without the sheriff's
consent. T.C.A. § 8-20-120. If
the legislative body fails to
appropriate any salary
expenditure necessary to
discharge the sheriff's duties –
as determined by the courts
pursuant to T.C.A. § 8-20-101,
et seq. – the sheriff may
seek a writ of mandamus to
compel such appropriation. Jones
v. Mankin, 1989 Tenn. App. LEXIS
325 (Tenn. Ct. App. May 5,
1989). T.C.A. § 8-20-120. Any
deputy employed after July 1,
1981, and any special or
part-time deputy employed after
January 1, 1989, must meet
certain minimum standards
similar to those required for
sheriffs. T.C.A. § 38-8-106. In
order to deal with any
emergency, the sheriff may
deputize any citizen of the
county to assist in carrying out
the duties of the office. T.C.A.
§ 8-8-213.
In addition to regular deputies
and non deputized assistants who
are employees of the department
and receive a salary, the
sheriff’s department may
deputize special deputies for
particular purposes and may
exchange officers with other law
enforcement agencies pursuant to
agreements. T.C.A. §§ 8-8-212.
Special deputies who are not
employees of the sheriff’s
department must show financial
responsibility evidenced by a
corporate surety bond or
liability insurance policy of
the employer of at least
$50,000. The sheriff has
immunity from suit under state
law for acts of special deputies
employed by others when acting
within the scope of their
employment, but this immunity
does not extend to special
deputies who serve as volunteer
or reserve deputies while
performing official law
enforcement duties under the
supervision of the sheriff.
T.C.A. §§ 8-8-303.
Also, the sheriff may appoint a
citizen of this state who is of
legal age to serve civil process
when service has been attempted
by the sheriff’s department and
returned un-served. Such an
appointment of a civil process
server must be made in writing
and filed with the court. The
appointee receives the fees for
this service directly. T.C.A. §
8-8-220.
Duties:
The duties of the sheriff are
described primarily in general
law codified in the Tennessee
Code Annotated and fall
generally into three basic
areas: (1) conservator of the
peace/law enforcement, (2) civil
process, and (3) corrections. In
counties with a metropolitan
form of government, some of
these functions may be assigned
by the charter to other
officials. The sheriff’s duties
regarding law enforcement and
corrections are described in
Chapter 15 of this handbook,
which deals with public safety
and county correctional
facilities. The sheriff is
obligated to execute and return,
according to law, the process
and orders of the courts of
record, and of all officers of
competent authority, with due
diligence, when delivered to the
sheriff. The sheriff must attend
upon all of the courts held in
the county, cause the courtroom
to be kept in order and obey the
lawful orders and directions of
the court. The sheriff also may
be ordered to levy execution
upon a defendant’s property,
first upon goods or chattels, if
there are any, and land in order
to satisfy judgment, and upon a
surety’s property in the proper
case. Many of the sheriff’s
duties regarding service of
process and other matters are
detailed in T.C.A. §8-8-201. The
sheriff is charged with the
custody and security of the
courthouse unless the county
legislative body assigns this
duty to someone else. T.C.A. §
5-7-108.
Relationship to County
Legislative Body and Other
Officials:
The sheriff must interact with
the county mayor and/or a
finance/budget director as well
as the county legislative body
regarding the sheriff’s budget
and budget amendments. The exact
procedures vary from county to
county depending upon whether
the county operates under a
charter or optional general law
regarding budgeting or has a
private act dealing with this
subject. However, all sheriffs
must submit budget requests in a
timely manner in the first half
of each calendar year for
inclusion in the county’s annual
budget. Most counties have
budget committees that may
recommend appropriations for the
sheriff’s budget that differ
from the budget submitted by the
sheriff. The county legislative
body determines the amount of
the sheriff’s budget, subject to
certain restrictions, such as
not reducing the sheriff’s
budget for personnel without the
consent of the sheriff and
following the requirements of
any court order regarding a
salary suit for deputies or
assistants or any other lawsuit
that may have been filed to
require the county legislative
body to fund an adequate jail or
otherwise meet its statutory or
constitutional duties. In many
counties, depending upon the
applicable law, the county mayor
has the authority to approve
line item amendments to the
sheriff’s budget within major
categories unrelated to
personnel costs, whereas major
category amendments require the
approval of the county
legislative body. T.C.A. §
5-9-407.
Since the sheriff waits upon the
courts and serves process
directed to the sheriff, the
sheriff must interact with
judges and chancellors holding
court in the county as well as
with the clerks serving these
courts. Clerks of court
routinely add sheriff’s fees to
the bills of costs that are
prepared in each case and
collect these fees along with
the fees of the clerks of court
and other costs. Also, the
sheriff or deputy must go before
an official deemed a
“magistrate” by state law to
obtain arrest warrants, search
warrants, and orders to a jailer
to incarcerate a prisoner (mittimus).
The sheriff interacts with the
office of the district attorney
general in the vast majority of
counties wherein the sheriff has
law enforcement duties. It is
the district attorney’s office
that prosecutes criminal cases
in the courts with criminal
jurisdiction that are held in
the county. Therefore, a good
working relationship with the
district attorney’s office is
vital to successful law
enforcement in the county. The
district attorney’s office also
has investigators who can be
very valuable in helping the
sheriff carry out the sheriff’s
law enforcement duties.
Vacancies:
If the sheriff's office becomes
vacant due to death,
resignation, incapacity, or
other causes, the duties are
temporarily discharged by the
chief deputy, administrative
assistant, or other highest
ranking member of the sheriff's
office, until the sheriff is
able to reassume office or until
the legislative body appoints a
successor. T.C.A. §§ 8-8-106,
8-8-107. The county legislative
body fills vacancies in the
office of sheriff pending
election of a successor at a
general election for the balance
of the unexpired term or for a
new term depending upon the time
the vacancy occurs. Chapter 9 of
this handbook deals with
vacancies in county offices in
greater detail.
[See the section covering
general information on
COUNTY CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES]
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The Information below is
from the County Technical
Assistance Service (CTAS)
publication
Tennessee County Government
Handbook. A full
copy of the publication may
be downloaded
in Adobe Acrobat by clicking
here:
Tennessee County
Government Handbook
[3.01MB] |
Trustee
County
Trustee
The trustee has been a
constitutional office in
Tennessee since the beginning of
the state, being an appointive
office by the county court in
the 1796 Constitution but
becoming a popularly elective
office in the 1835 Constitution
and remaining so under the 1870
Constitution and its 1978
amendment. The trustee is
elected to a four-year term of
office in the August general
election in same year that the
governor is elected. T.C.A. §
8-11-101.
Qualifications:
The office of trustee does not
carry any qualifications beyond
the general qualifications noted
earlier in this chapter for
county officers.
(General qualifications are
listed in the next paragraph)
General qualifications of
officeholders:
are
located in the Tennessee Code
Annotated, which provides that
all persons 18 years old and
over, who are citizens of the
United States and of Tennessee,
and who meet certain residency
requirements are qualified to
hold office unless the person:
1. Has been convicted of
offering or giving a bribe, of
larceny, or, of any other
offense declared infamous by
law, unless the person has been
restored to citizenship as
prescribed by law;
2. Has not paid a judgment for
money received in an official
capacity, which is due to the
United States, Tennessee, or any
county;
3. Has defaulted to the treasury
at the time of election (in
which case the election is
void);
4. Is a soldier, seaman, marine,
or airman in the regular United
States Army, Navy or Air Force;
or
5. Is a member of Congress or
holds any office of profit or
trust under any foreign power,
other state of the Union, or the
United States.
T.C.A. § 8-18-101.
Additional statutory
qualifications are required for
certain county offices, such as
sheriff, and are discussed in
the individual county office
section. The offices and duties
noted in this chapter may vary
in counties with a metropolitan
government charter or a county
government charter.
Oath of
Office and Bond:
In
addition to the usual oath, the
trustee must take an additional
oath, which is set out in T.C.A.
§ 67-5-1901, stating:
I do solemnly swear that I will
faithfully collect and account
for all taxes for my county, or
cause the same to be done,
according to law, and that I
will use all lawful means in my
power to find out and assess
such property as may not have
been assessed for taxation in my
county, and return a list of the
same on settlement.
An example of all of the oaths
required of the trustee is found
in the appendix to this
handbook.
Trustee's deputies must take the
same oath of office as the
trustee, and the oath is
certified, filed, and endorsed
in the same manner. T.C.A. §
8-18-112.
The amount of the trustee’s bond
is determined by the amount of
revenues handled by the trustee
during the last fiscal year
audited by the state
comptroller, or from the last
approved audit prepared by a
public accountant. T.C.A. §
8-11-103. If the official bond
of the county trustee is
executed by a surety company
authorized to transact business
in the state of Tennessee, the
minimum amount of the bond is
based on revenues as follows:
1. Less than $50,000 – a base
bond of $5,000.
2. From $50,000 to $500,000 – an
amount equal to 10 percent of
the funds collected by the
office.
3. 5 percent of the excess of
$500,000 to $1 million shall be
added.
4. 3 percent of the excess of $1
million to $3 million shall be
added.
5. 2 percent of the excess of $3
million shall be added.
Amounts in items two through
five are cumulative. If the
official bond of a county
trustee is executed by personal
sureties, the minimum amount of
the bond shall be based on
revenues as follows:
1. Less than $50,000 – a base
bond of $5,000.
2. From $50,000 to $500,000 – an
amount equal to 20 percent of
the funds collected by the
office.
3. 10 percent of the excess of
$500,000 to $1million shall be
added.
4. 6 percent of the excess of $1
million to $3 million shall be
added.
5. 4 percent of the excess of $3
million shall be added.
Amounts indicated in items two
through five are cumulative. The
amounts stated above are only
minimums; the county legislative
body may require the trustee to
execute a bond in a greater
amount. T.C.A. §§ 8-11-103,
8-11-102.
Compensation:
As discussed earlier in this
chapter, the trustee must
receive an annual minimum salary
in the amount for a general
officer as formulated in T.C.A.
§ 8-24-102.The county
legislative body may increase
the salary of the general
officers above the minimum
amount, but may not increase the
salary of the trustee without
also increasing the salary of
other general officers. The
amount due the trustee as
compensation does not vary with
the amount of fees or
commissions collected regardless
of whether the salary of the
trustee is paid from the
trustee’s fee account or from
the general fund.
Deputies and Assistants:
The trustee may receive
authority to employ deputies and
assistants through a letter of
agreement or court order as
explained earlier in this
chapter. If the trustee decides
to petition for additional
deputies or assistants or
additional salary amounts, the
petition is filed in the
chancery court and the county
mayor defends the salary suit.
T.C.A. § 8-20-101.
Duties:
The trustee serves three primary
functions: (1) collecting all
county property taxes; (2)
keeping a fair regular account
of all money received; and (3)
investing temporarily idle
county funds. T.C.A. § 8-11-104.
In addition, the trustee
disburses sales tax revenues and
may collect municipal property
taxes and other state and local
taxes. The trustee generally
acts as treasurer for the
county, receiving and paying out
funds. The trustee must keep a
detailed account of these
transactions. The trustee
receives funds for the county
from various sources, including
the fees of the county “fee”
officials. The trustee has an
important role in the
disbursement of county funds
that varies in detail from
county to county depending upon
whether the warrant or the
optional check system is used in
the particular county. T.C.A. §
5-8-210. The trustee appoints
the delinquent tax attorney
subject to the approval of the
county mayor. T.C.A.§ 67-5-2404.
The duties of the trustee
regarding the collection of
property taxes are described in
the County Property Tax Manual,
a CTAS publication that may be
found on the CTAS Web site at
www.ctas.utk.edu. Also
at the CTAS Web site is Legal
Issues for County Trustees,
another publication that
describes the duties of the
trustee in greater detail.
Relationship to County
Legislative Body and Other
Officials:
The trustee must interact with
the county mayor and/or a
finance/budget director as well
as the county legislative body
regarding the trustee’s budget
and budget amendments. The exact
procedures vary from county to
county depending upon whether
the county operates under a
charter or optional general law
regarding budgeting, or has a
private act dealing with this
subject. However, all trustees
must submit budget requests in a
timely manner in the first half
of each calendar year for
inclusion into the county’s
annual budget. Most counties
have budget committees that may
recommend appropriations for the
trustee’s budget that differ
from those submitted by the
trustee. The county legislative
body determines the amount of
the trustee’s budget, subject to
certain restrictions, such as
following the requirements of
any court order regarding a
salary suit for deputies or
assistants. In many counties,
depending upon the applicable
law, the county mayor has the
authority to approve line item
amendments to the trustee’s
budget within major categories
not affecting personnel, whereas
major category amendments
require the approval of the
county legislative body. T.C.A.
§ 5-9-407.
The trustee also interacts with
the county mayor in the
selection each year of the
delinquent tax attorney. The
selection of the delinquent tax
attorney by the trustee is
subject to the approval of the
county mayor. T.C.A. §
67-5-2404. The trustee interacts
with the delinquent tax attorney
preparing the delinquent tax
lists and giving proper notice
during the collection process.
The trustee works with the clerk
and master as well as the
delinquent tax attorney
regarding funds collected in
delinquent tax suits.
The trustee interacts regularly
with all the “fee” officials as
each fee official either turns
over all fees collected monthly
or turns over “excess” fees
quarterly. When under the “fee”
system as opposed to the
“budget” system, the trustee
must keep an account of the
“excess” fees deposited and any
“advances” that may be made from
the general fund to the fee
official at the beginning of a
term. The trustee interacts with
other officials or department
heads of the county that receive
monies in the course of their
activities that must be
deposited in a county fund,
whereupon the trustee keeps an
accurate record of these
transactions.
Vacancies:
If there is a vacancy in the
office of trustee, the chief
deputy or another deputy
designated in writing by the
trustee temporarily carries out
the trustee’s duties until a
replacement is chosen by the
county legislative body. T.C.A.
§§ 8-11-111, 5-1-104.
[See the section covering
general information on
COUNTY CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES]
Top of Page
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 |
The Information below is
from the County Technical
Assistance Service (CTAS)
publication
Tennessee County Government
Handbook. A full
copy of the publication may
be downloaded
in Adobe Acrobat by clicking
here:
Tennessee County
Government Handbook
[3.01MB] |
CHAPTER
3
COUNTY CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES
In General The Tennessee
Constitution expressly provides
for certain county offices,
while others are created by the
state legislature. In addition
to the office of county
executive and the county
legislative body discussed in
the previous chapter, Article
VII, Section 1, of the Tennessee
Constitution provides that each
county have a sheriff, trustee,
register, county clerk, and
assessor of property elected by
the voters of the county for
terms off our years. The
Judicial Article of the
Tennessee Constitution, Article
VI, also provides in Section 13
that any inferior court clerk
shall be elected by the people
on a district or county basis to
a four-year term, and that the
chancellors shall appoint a
clerk and master for each
district or county for a term of
six years. Both the circuit
court clerk and the clerk and
master are currently elected or
appointed one per county, but
some counties have private acts
or charters that establish other
inferior court clerks such as
generals sessions court clerk
and juvenile court clerk. All of
these constitutional or
quasi-constitutional offices
except the assessor of property
collect fees and are commonly
referred to as “fee” offices.
The legislature determines the
qualifications and duties of
each office. TENN. CONST., art.
VII, § 1. The duties of these
officers in a county with a
consolidated city-county
government are specified in the
charter.
Qualifications:
General qualifications of
officeholders are located in the
Tennessee Code Annotated, which
provides that all persons 18
years old and over, who are
citizens of the United States
and of Tennessee, and who meet
certain residency requirements
are qualified to hold office
unless the person:
1. Has been convicted of
offering or giving a bribe, of
larceny, or, of any other
offense declared infamous by
law, unless the person has been
restored to citizenship as
prescribed by law;
2. Has not paid a judgment for
money received in an official
capacity, which is due to the
United States, Tennessee, or any
county;
3. Has defaulted to the treasury
at the time of election (in
which case the election is
void);
4. Is a soldier, seaman, marine,
or airman in the regular United
States Army, Navy or Air Force;
or
5. Is a member of Congress or
holds any office of profit or
trust under any foreign power,
other state of the Union, or the
United States.
T.C.A. § 8-18-101.
Additional statutory
qualifications are required for
certain county offices, such as
sheriff, and are discussed in
the individual county office
section. The offices and duties
noted in this chapter may vary
in counties with a metropolitan
government charter or a county
government charter.
Oaths:
Before taking office, the
Tennessee Constitution, Article
X, Section 1, provides that
every person chosen to any
office of trust must take an
oath to “support the
Constitution of this state and
of the United States, and an
oath of office.” Examples of
these oaths for each particular
office are provided in the
appendix to this handbook. Oaths
of office for county officials
may be administered by the
county mayor, the county clerk,
or a judge of any court of
record in the county. Also, the
judge of the general sessions
court may administer oaths of
office to all elected and
appointed officials. The oath of
office for any county official
required to file an oath may be
administered at anytime after
the certification of the
election returns in the case of
elected officials, or after
appointment in the case of
appointed officials. However,
even if the official files an
oath before the scheduled start
of a term of office, the
official may not take office
until the term officially
begins. T.C.A. § 8-18-109. The
oath must be written and
subscribed by the person taking
it. Accompanying the oath must
be a certificate executed by the
officer administering the oath
specifying the day and the year
it was taken. T.C.A. §8-18-107.
The oath and the certificate are
filed in the office of the
county clerk, who endorses on
them the day and year of filing,
and signs the endorsement. T.C.A.
§§8-18-109, 8-18-110.
Bonds:
An official bond is an
instrument that requires the
party or parties designated as
sureties to pay a specified sum
of money if the official who
executes the bond fails to
perform certain acts or performs
wrongful and injurious acts in
the office. In other words, an
official bond is a written
promise, made by a public
official (1) to perform all the
duties of the office, (2) to pay
over to authorized persons all
funds received in an official
capacity, (3) to keep all
records required by law, (4) to
turn over to his or her
successor all records, money,
and property, and (5) to refrain
from anything that is illegal,
improper, or harmful while
acting in an official capacity.
If the official fails to perform
the duties, violates the law, or
commits a harmful act, the
person who is injured may
collect damages from the
sureties on the official bond.
The sureties must be surety
companies doing business in
Tennessee unless the county
commission by two-thirds
majority vote authorizes two
individuals to act as good
sureties instead of a surety
company. T.C.A.§§ 8-19-111,
8-19-101, 8-19-301.
The following county
constitutional officials must
execute a surety bond: county
clerk, sheriff, register,
property assessor, and trustee.
Bond amounts for each official
are included in the following
material and are summarized in a
chart in the appendix to this
handbook.
The form of official bonds is
prescribed by the comptroller of
the treasury, with the approval
of the attorney general. T.C.A.
§ 8-19-101. Blank copies of
official bonds, ready for use,
are available from the
comptroller, Division of Local
Finance.
Official bonds of the sheriff,
county trustee, county clerk,
assessor of property and
register of deeds and any other
official vested by law the
authority to administer state
shared funds must be approved by
the county legislative body,
recorded in the office of the
register of deeds and
transmitted to the comptroller
of the treasury for safe
keeping. T.C.A. §§ 8-19-102,
8-19-103, 54-4-103. Official
bonds of clerks of court must be
approved and certified by the
court, entered into the minutes
of the court, recorded in the
office of register of deeds and
transmitted to the comptroller
of the treasury for safekeeping.
T.C.A. § 8-2-205. The official
bonds of other county officials,
constables, and county employees
required to have bonds shall be
approved by the county
legislative body, recorded in
the office of the register of
deeds and transmitted to the
office of the county clerk for
safekeeping. T.C.A. §§ 8-19-102,
8-19-103, 8-10-106.
The register of deeds of each
county must maintain a special
record book in which each
official bond is recorded unless
the register is authorized to
use a system of continuous
recordings of all instruments.
T.C.A. §§ 8-19-104, 8-13-108(d).
The register of deeds must
endorse on the bond the day and
year on which it was recorded
and sign the endorsement.
Similarly, the county clerk,
with respect to bonds filed for
safekeeping in the office of
county clerk, must endorse the
filing date and sign the
endorsement. Failure of the
register or county clerk to
endorse and sign the bond is a
misdemeanor. T.C.A. § 8-19-116.
Official bonds of officers,
which must be transmitted to the
comptroller of the treasury,
must be so transmitted for
filing within 40 days of
election or 20 days after the
term of office begins. T.C.A. §
8-19-115.
Any officer who is required by
law to give bond and who fails
to file it in the proper office
within the time prescribed
vacates the office. In such
cases, the officer in whose
office the bond is required to
be filed must certify this
failure to the appointing power.
T.C.A. §8-19-117. Upon the
filing of a complaint alleging
the failure of a county officer
or constable to enter into an
official bond as required by
law, the circuit court clerk or
the clerk and master having
jurisdiction issues a summons
that is served, together with a
copy of the complaint, upon the
county officer or constable in
accordance with the Tennessee
Rules of Civil Procedure. T.C.A.
§ 8-19-205. If the official
fails or refuses to execute the
required bond after receiving a
copy of the complaint and a
hearing, the court will enter a
judgment declaring the office
vacant, and the vacancy will be
filled according to law. T.C.A.
§ 8-19-206. In addition, any
officer required by law to give
bond who performs any official
act before the bond is approved
and filed as required is guilty
of a misdemeanor. T.C.A. §
8-19-119.
County officials must enter into
a new bond at the beginning of
each term. If the original of
any bond is lost or destroyed,
the record of the bond will be
considered the original and suit
may be instituted on the
recorded bond. T.C.A. §
8-19-105. The county pays the
premiums for official bonds and
registration fees of county
officials and employees. T.C.A.
§ 8-19-106. The constable pays
all of the costs of obtaining
and recording the official bond
for his or her office. T.C.A. §
8-10-106.
Compensation:
There are specific statutes
regarding compensation for each
office, which will be discussed
later in this chapter. In
general, though, statutes
prescribe salaries according to
county population classes for
many officials. The General
Assembly has reconfigured the
county classification scheme,
setting out 17 population
classes for the purpose of
determining the compensation of
county officers. T.C.A. §
8-24-102. This statute provides
base minimum salary schedules
for three categories of county
officers: (1) “general
officers,” which include
assessors of property, county
clerks, clerks of court,
trustees, and registers of
deeds; (2) sheriffs and chief
administrative officers of
highway departments; and (3)
county mayors. These specified
minimum salaries cannot be
raised or lowered except through
subsequent legislation, but
since they are minimum salaries,
the actual salary may be
increased by resolution of the
county legislative body, but the
class of general officers must
all receive the same amount of
any increase. The minimum
salaries are adjusted annually
on July 1 by a dollar amount
equal to the average annualized
increase in state employees’
compensation during the prior
fiscal year multiplied by the
compensation established for the
county officials of the county
with the median population of
all counties. However, the
adjustment cannot exceed 5
percent in any year. The average
annualized general increase in
state employees’ compensation
for purposes of calculating the
adjustment in salary for county
officials means the average
increase in base salary plus the
equivalent percentage increase
represented by appropriated
funds made available to address
classification compensation
issues, plus the equivalent
percentage increase represented
by recurring appropriation
amounts provided to improve the
level of retirement benefits,
longevity benefits, deferred
compensation benefits and other
similar benefits not including
health insurance benefits. These
adjustments are calculated and
certified by May 1 of each year
by the commissioner of finance
and administration. T.C.A. §
8-24-102.
Full-time county officials, not
including general sessions
judges, who complete the County
Officials Certificate Training
Program (COCTP) administered by
the University of Tennessee’s
County Technical Assistance
Service (CTAS) and become a
“Certified Public Administrator”
may receive an annual incentive
payment up to a maximum of$1,500
from state-appropriated funds.
To continue receiving these
payments, certified county
officials must take additional
training annually. If an
official receives incentive pay
from the state through other
professional development
programs, such amounts will be
offset so that no official
receives more than $1,500 of
incentive pay from the state per
year. These amounts are subject
to annual appropriations from
the General Assembly and have
not reached the maximum allowed
by law. County legislative
bodies may appropriate
additional amounts as incentive
payments to county officials and
employees who have become
Certified Public Administrators
in an amount not exceeding
$3,000 minus payments made by
the state. Educational incentive
pay received by an official does
not affect the calculation of
compensation for officials
provided in other statutes.
T.C.A. § 5-1-310.
Fee System or Salary System:
The sheriff, trustee, county
clerk, register of deeds and
court clerks receive fees from
the public for services they
perform; for this reason these
officials are sometimes referred
to as “fee officials.” There are
two methods of accounting for
the fees received by these
officers. The first and oldest
is the “fee system.” Under this
system each official remits to
the trustee quarterly all of the
fees and charges collected by
the official in excess of
expenses for the following
items: salaries of the
official's deputies and
assistants, necessary expenses
of the office, and the
official's salary as established
by statute. T.C.A. § 8-22-104.
The official is also authorized
to maintain a reserve in an
amount equal to three times the
salaries of the official,
deputies, and assistants. If the
fees are insufficient to pay the
regular expenses of the office,
including the statutory salary
of the official and the salaries
of deputies and assistants, the
deficit is to be paid out of
county general funds. T.C.A.
§8-24-107. Excess fees are
placed in the county general
fund as a source of county
revenue.
The county commission is
authorized to adopt an
alternative system for fee
officials, often called the
“budget” or “salary” system,
although the sheriff is always
under this alternative system.
T.C.A. § 8-24-103. This budget
system can be adopted for some
or all of the officials. T.C.A.
§ 8-22-104. Under this method,
the official pays over to the
trustee all of the fees,
commissions, and charges
collected by the office on a
monthly basis. The county
commission must, in return,
budget for expenses, authorizing
the trustee to pay the
official's salary, salaries of
deputies and assistants, and
authorized expenses of the
office. These salaries and other
proper costs of the office are
included in the budget and must
be paid even if the fees are
insufficient to cover them.
Deputies and Assistants:
Generally, county “fee
officials” (those county
officials who regularly collect
fees for their services) must
have authority other than the
county budget resolution before
they can hire employees. This
authority may come directly from
statute, by court order, or
through a contract called a
letter of agreement. T.C.A.
§8-20-101. If the county
official’s own salary and that
of deputies and assistants is
paid directly from the county
general fund and the county fee
official agrees with the amount
appropriated for deputies and
assistants as set forth in the
budget adopted by the county
legislative body, the official
enters into a letter of
agreement with the county mayor,
using a form prepared by the
state comptroller, that is then
filed with the court. T.C.A. §
8-20-101. If the county official
does not agree with the amount
appropriated, a salary suit may
be filed by petition of the
county official. The county
mayor is named as defendant and
the county mayor is required to
file an answer within five days
after service of the petition.
The petition must be filed by
the fee official within 30 days
after the final adoption of a
budget by the county legislative
body. Also, a new office holder
has 30 days from the day of
taking office to file a
petition. The court will then
hold a hearing and issue an
order determining the
appropriate number and
compensation of deputies and
assistants. T.C.A. § 8-20-102.
If the fee official is under the
fee system and pays the deputies
and assistants directly from the
official’s bank account, the
official can negotiate a letter
of agreement with the county for
the number and compensation of
deputies and assistants. If the
fee official cannot reach an
agreement with the county mayor,
the fee official must file suit
to obtain authority to hire
deputies and assistants.
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