Previous county lobbyist contracts

Amy Broyles

On Monday, Knox County Commissioner Amy Broyles asked the board to postpone a discussion to talk about hiring a lobbyist to keep it informed regarding what goes on in Nashville.

Previous blog post right smack here.

Anyhoo, she noted that the county in the past had a number of contracts with firms and wanted board members to look over them.

Well . . . here ya go:

The county in September 2008 signed an agreement with Pratt, Pratt and Rice. Yes – that Dean Rice, the emperor of the Death Star, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett’s chief of staff. Heh. (Burchett wasn’t elected until 2010 by the way.)

The contract, which you can find right smack here, paid out $1,665 per month ($19,980 a year).

In July 2009, the county entered into a one-year contract, which you can find right smack here, with Farris Mathews Bobango that paid $3,750 per month ($45,000 a year).

I’m not sure how much each company actually received, but Burchett took over in September 2010 and I’m pretty sure that was the end – if it didn’t happen earlier – to any county lobbyist.

In the meantime, Broyles actually wants a lobbyist for the board only, rather than one who represents the commission and the administration.