[Kim Frazier]

Commissioners,

Thank you for considering the proposed amendments to Chapter 42 Law Enforcement, Article II Sheriff, Division 2, Section 42-53 Merit System Board of Directors, SECTION 3 – MERIT SYSTEM BOARD STRUCTURE AND REQUIREMENTS, 3.1 Structure and Qualifications, b. 6.

As stated in November 2025 and again in May 2026, I offer these suggested amendments to minimize barriers and encourage opportunities for qualified Knox County citizens to serve on County boards and committees. I appreciate the discussion and suggestions provided by many of you at the November 2025 meeting and have tried to capture those in the updated suggested amendments. I think that we can all agree that any time we can support citizen engagement in county work, we should. I feel that my proposed amendments are reasonable considerations that maintain the spirit of the original ordinance while providing opportunity for experienced citizens to serve. The amendments address two barriers: reducing the time eligibility to serve post-employment with Knox County Sheriff’s Office and removing the ineligibility barrier if a citizen has ties to the Knoxville City Police Department. Please provide your comments, suggestions, recommendations, etc. I welcome any and all comments. The capabilities of the forum are limiting, so I have provided text descriptions.

Current language:
Qualifications. All members of the Merit System Board must be over 21 years of age; of good moral character; a citizen of the United States and the state; and must reside in the county. No person shall be eligible to serve as a member of the board if he has previously been employed by the county Sheriff’s office within the ten calendar years preceding his/her appointment, or if any member of such person’s family is or becomes employed by the county Sheriff’s office or the Knoxville Police Department at any time during such person’s term of service as a member of the board. For purposes of this section, “family” shall include spouse, parent, grandparent, siblings, in-laws, or children.

Suggested Revised language from November 2025:
Qualifications. All members of the Merit System Board must be over 21 years of age; of good moral character; a citizen of the United States and the state; and must reside in the county. No person shall be eligible to serve as a member of the board if he has previously been employed by the county Sheriff’s office within the five (5) calendar years preceding his/her appointment, or if any member of such person’s family is or becomes employed by the county Sheriff’s office or the Knoxville Police Department at any time during such person’s term of service as a member of the board. For purposes of this section, “family” shall include spouse, parent, grandparent, siblings, in-laws, or children.

Notes from November 2025: Amend ten (10) to five (5) calendar years. Strike / omit “or the Knoxville Police Department”. Several commissioners suggested additional language that included reference to the current administration. Discussion including amending ten (10) calendar years to five (5) calendar years and not previously employed by current Sheriff. Increasing the eligibility period to eight (8) years was also mentioned.

Additional Suggested Revised language for Commission’s consideration in June 2026:
Qualifications. All members of the Merit System Board must be over 21 years of age; of good moral character; a citizen of the United States and the state; and must reside in the county. No person shall be eligible to serve as a member of the board if he has previously been employed by the county Sheriff’s office within the greater of five (5) calendar years preceding his/her appointment, or has previously been employed under the current Sheriff’s administration, or if any member of such person’s family is or becomes employed by the county Sheriff’s office or the Knoxville Police Department at any time during such person’s term of service as a member of the board. For purposes of this section, “family” shall include spouse, parent, grandparent, siblings, in-laws, or children.

Notes: expanding language to included “greater of five (5)”; added “or has previously been employed under the current Sheriff’s administration”; and struck / omitted “or the Knoxville Police Department”.

[Author]

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