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VOL. 5, NO. 11
MARCH 14, 2011
INSIDE www.ShopperNewsNow.com
FEATURED COLUMNIST BETTY BEAN
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Did Haslam shirk his duty? See GOVERNMENT, page A-4
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The new FBI office in the Dowell Springs Business Park off Middlebrook Pike has three times the space of its former headquarters in the Duncan Building downtown. Photos by Wendy Smith
New digs ample space for FBI
Dr. Jim Tumblin on Ross Smith, annexation and the ‘funeral’ of 1962
By Wendy Smith
See page A-7
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Meet, greet and eat! The Shopper-News hosts its first ‘Gathering at Franklin Square’ See page C-3
ONLINE PHOTO GALLERY WEST HIGH FASHION SHOW ‘POSE FOR A CHANGE’
If you catch a glimpse of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s palatial new headquarters high atop the hill in the Dowell Springs Business Park, you might be inclined to see if they’re hiring. They are. Special Agent in Charge Rick Lambert says anyone can fill out the online application. There are a few requirements. Qualified special agent applicants are U.S. citizens, between the ages of 23 and 36, with a bachelor’s degree and three years of responsible work experience. You’ll have to pass written and physical exams, and a security clearance is compulsory. Then you’ll have to sign a “mobility agreement” that says you’re willing to work anywhere in the world. So much for the job in the cushy West Knox digs. Lambert spoke to the Rotary
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Knox County Trustee John Duncan III recently announced that his office has collected $228 million in property taxes through the February payment deadline, setting a record for the office. Chad Tindell, hired by Duncan to be the office’s full-time delinquent tax attorney, has played a significant role in that accomplishment. “When you take a job, you need to make a difference,” said Tindell, who was in private practice for 20 years before joining Duncan’s staff. For veteran observers of the trustee’s office, that difference is something more than just the savings in tax dollars and more efficient processes Tindell’s hiring brings to the table. For years the office contracted with a private attorney, Albert Harb, whose firm earned millions from a 10 percent delinquent tax add-on fee. In November 2007, when the Shopper-News took a critical look
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at the operations of the trustee’s office under thenacting Trustee Mike Lowe, former Knox County Law Director John Owings estimated that an Tindell in-house attorney and a paralegal could handle delinquent tax collections for about $150,000 annually. Tindell’s salary of $106,905 combined with that of tax assistant Linda McGinnis actually falls below Owings’ estimate. “Albert did a good job,” Tindell says. “Any lawyer in the county would have taken it. But it makes tremendous sense to have a fulltime attorney in a major metropolitan office. “When you’re full time in the office, you get an overview.” That overview is resulting in better ways to do business. Tin-
dell notes, for example, that about 13,000 taxpayers must be notified when the delinquent tax suits are filed. Under the previous system, 15 to 20 employees would be involved in preparing and printing out labels, a process that took several weeks. The office now contracts with a printing company that accomplishes the job in two days, saving $45,000 in labor and an additional $2,000 in postage. Tindell participates in weekly meetings with the trustee and other senior staff members. He says morale has “soared” under Duncan: “People in the office are happy to come to work.” And Tindell points out another change for the better under Duncan: “No one in the office now has a (legal) problem,” a reference to alleged embezzlement by one of former Trustee Fred Sisk’s employees. Tindell says he has “reached
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out” to other municipal tax attorneys around the state with a goal of forming a statewide association. About 45 attorneys gathered in Nashville for a discussion a few weeks ago. Tindell has drafted bylaws and expects the fi rst formal meeting to take place this summer. “We can learn from other counties and share information,” Tindell said, which will help in crafting best practices here as well as in trustee offices around the state. Tindell’s duties aren’t restricted to filing suits for delinquent taxes. He’s active in reviewing blighted properties, has assisted in setting up payment plans for delinquent taxpayers and routinely interacts with his professional counterparts in Knoxville city government. While acknowledging that “working for the government is different,” his work philosophy is simple: “Always find ways to make things better.”
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rorist attacks, which come from both inside and outside of the country. Protecting the country from spies, technology crimes and corruption is also high priority. Upgrading technology is a little further down the list, but it’s an area that needs attention, says Lambert. “We’re not where we need to be.” He encouraged the audience to contact the office if they want to report a crime but are unsure if it falls under the FBI’s jurisdiction. It’s often a tough call, he says. Bank robbery, for example, is both a state and federal crime, and requires the FBI to team with local law enforcement. The agency’s most significant asset isn’t technology, training or weapons, but ordinary citizens who report crimes, he says. “Without you, no bad people would ever be brought to justice.”
Tindell’s role part of new look in trustee’s office
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12,000 special agents in 56 field offices in the U.S. and more than 60 international offices, or legal attachés. The Knoxville field office, which has a 41-county territory, is one of two in the state. The other is in Memphis. The local office moved out of their previous headquarters in the John J. Duncan Federal Building in December. The new space is three times the size, with more than 99,000 square feet, which allows for consolidation. The Joint Terrorism Task Force was previously located in West Knoxville, but is now housed at the Dowell Springs building. It’s better to walk across the hall rather than drive across town for Rick Lambert, Special Agent in a meeting, says Lambert. An on-site automotive facility Charge at the FBI’s Knoxville field office, speaks to the Rotary Club of helps cut costs, and a gym is a welcome addition for the office’s West Knoxville. 150 employees, including apClub of West Knoxville last week. proximately 70 special agents. The FBI’s first order of busiThe FBI employs more than 30,000, and there are more than ness is protecting against ter-
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