If anybody
thought there was a bottom to General Sessions Court Clerk, Lisa Niles,
greed and obsession to punish the tax payers, they would be wrong.
Last week Niles attorney filed a Motion To Amend. What that means in layman terms is, she wants more money.
Going on two years ago now, Ms. Niles filed a lawsuit against the Loudon County tax payers demanding more employees for her departments and big raises for her current 19 employees. Back in January, the judge ruled that in his opinion Ms. Niles could have 4 new employees but gave her no raises for current employees. So now she's taking the tax payers back to court asking again for the raises. This time she wants an additional $57,000.00 in raises.
Let's do the math. The judge gave her 4 new employees in the first trial at a total cost of $108,560.00. If all four of the new employees took county health insurance, that would add an additional $60,000.00. Total cost to the tax payers in the first trial, $168,560.00. If the judge were to give her, her new demands, that would run the total up to $225,560.00 in new costs to the tax payers, and that's reoccurring ever year. That number doesn't even include the legal fees she has cost the county.
A quarter of a million dollars plus legal fees.
The next trial is set for April 29th, 10:00 am at the Loudon County Court House.
I have no idea what the judge will do. It's just hard to imagine he would even want to take it on himself to set salaries for county employees. But who knows?
Here's the real sweet spot. Currently, we are working on the county's 2016-2017 budget hopefully to be passed by the end of June. If Ms. Niles doesn't like what the commission gives her in the next budget, guess what, she can sue the tax payers again. Does anyone think she wouldn't do it?
It would appear the only way to stop Ms. Niles reckless disregard for the citizens she supposedly serves will be to get her out of office in the next election in 2018, if she doesn't bankrupt the county by then.