Pillar 3 of 5
Door Stays Open
"If you call the mayor's office, somebody is going to call you back. Your call gets returned. Your records request gets logged. 'Your Neighbor. Your Mayor.' has to mean something the day after the election."
11 actions · Constituent access, public records, services directory, board appointment transparency
First-mover territory for rural Tennessee
Knox County has a constituent services office. Coffee County would be the first rural Tennessee county with a published response-time commitment.
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs stood up a constituent services office when he took office in 2018 — a dedicated, staffed line for resident questions and complaints. For a county the size of Knox, that's table stakes. For a rural county the size of Coffee, it's a genuine differentiator.
No rural Tennessee county currently has a published service-level agreement — a written commitment to residents that their call will be returned within a defined window. Coffee County can be first. "Within 3 business days" for the first 90 days, upgrading to 48-hour response once the intake log is operational. That's not a slogan. That's a contract with your neighbors.
Source: Knox County constituent services office (Jacobs administration, 2018). Authority: TCA 5-6-106; TCA 5-6-116. Coffee County first-rural-TN status per comparative county research, March 2026.
11 Actions — Reachable, Responsive, Accountable
A09 — Day 1
My email and my office hours go on Day 1 — the door is open
Day 1: the mayor's email address is published and the office hours are posted — structured drop-in hours (Monday and Wednesday mornings, no appointment required) so constituents know when they can walk in without it consuming every hour of the day. The current mayor's email exists but is not surfaced publicly. That changes Day 1.
Authority: TCA 5-6-106.
Day 1 Executive
A10 — Week 1
Publish a plain-English "Who Handles What" guide — so you know who to call
Coffee County's jurisdictional picture is genuinely complicated. TDOT handles state routes. The elected Highway Superintendent handles county roads. City street systems are separate. Codes varies by whether you're inside or outside a city. A one-page guide and a web page that tells a resident who to call — and what number — eliminates the misdirected calls that waste everyone's time and make county government feel inaccessible. It also demonstrates that the mayor actually understands the system she's running.
Authority: TCA 5-6-106.
Week 1
A11 — Day 1 / Week 1
One log, every department — when a resident calls, we know what was asked and what got done
A constituent intake log — simple enough to start as a shared spreadsheet, scalable to a light CRM — so that every call to any mayor-supervised department is recorded: who called, what they needed, what was done about it, and when. The 3-business-day response commitment (A08) is unenforceable without a log. The quarterly "You Asked, We Answered" report (A45) is impossible without a log. This is the infrastructure for every responsiveness promise.
Authority: TCA 5-6-106; TCA 5-6-108.
Day 1 Executive
A12 — Week 1 / Month 1
Publish a public records log — every request, every response time
Tennessee's Public Records Act has required a written records access policy since July 1, 2018. My office's log goes public: every records request to the mayor's office, every response time, visible to anyone who wants to look. I'll invite all Coffee County constitutional officers to join on a voluntary opt-in basis — it's their call, but the door is open. Compliance protects the office from records disputes; voluntary invitation to other officers signals collaborative transparency.
Authority: TCA 10-7-503 (mandatory written policy since 2018); TCA 5-6-106. Constitutional officers run their own processes; this invitation does not bind them.
Week 1
A33 — Quarter 1
Commission a full county building conditions assessment
Coffee County has at least two confirmed mold-affected county buildings: the Manchester Public Library (closed since March 6, 2026 — more than 50 days) and the Justice Center. A workers' compensation claim has been filed. Two confirmed mold closures within 12 months is not a maintenance problem — it is a liability problem. I will propose a commission appropriation for a professional building conditions assessment covering all county-owned facilities.
Authority: TCA 5-6-108; TCA 5-6-101.
Mayor Proposes, Commission Votes
A34 — Quarter 1
The Veterans Services parking lot has to be fixed — and it's on my first capital list
The Veterans Service Office at 130 Shelton Road serves Coffee County veterans from an unpaved parking lot. Veterans — many of whom have mobility challenges — cannot reliably access services they earned. This is a Title II ADA concern. A small lot is not a large capital project. It will be on my first capital priority presentation to the commission.
Authority: TCA 5-6-108; ADA Title II.
Mayor Proposes, Commission Votes
A35 — Month 1
Publish a one-page guide to every service Coffee County families can use
I'm going to publish a one-page guide to every service Coffee County families can use — from the Veterans Service Officer and senior nutrition programs to the local civic foundations, the Imagination Library, the resale-shop ministries, and the civic organizations doing the quiet work in every corner of this county. This is not just county-operated services. It includes the Sportsman and Businessman Association, the Dusty Elam Foundation, the Attic Outlet, and the many other groups Cheryl has worked with, supported, and heard from across the county over forty-two years here. One directory. One web page. Updated and maintained.
Authority: TCA 58-3-103 (Veterans Service Officers); TCA Title 71 (senior services); TCA 5-6-108. State partially reimburses VSO salary under TCA 58-3-103.
Month 1
A40 — Month 1
Bring the Imagination Library funding stakeholders together — books in every Coffee County child's hands
The Imagination Library serves approximately 3,000 Coffee County children per month with a book a month, from birth to age five. I will convene the funding stakeholders — commissioners, elected officials, civic fundraising leaders — and amplify the work they are already doing. No new county money commitment before a full budget review; the first step is making sure the right people are coordinating and the program continues uninterrupted.
Authority: TCA 5-6-106. Program cost: approximately $89,610/year.
Mayor Convenes
A41 — Month 1 ongoing
Ask residents what they need on social media — and coordinate with department heads to act on what they hear
On aging facilities, quality-of-life infrastructure, and services gaps, I'll ask you what you need on county social media — and bring those answers into the regular department-head meetings I'll be running. This is two-track input: public solicitation of resident concerns, and structured internal follow-through at the department level. The library closure is one example among many; the response has to be systematic, not reactive to the loudest problem of the week.
Authority: TCA 5-6-106 (convening); TCA 5-6-108.
Mayor Convenes
A44 — Month 1
A public dashboard for permit status and codes complaints — no more "where is my permit?" calls
At 367 building permits in 2024 — a record — Coffee County residents and contractors are waiting too long for status updates with no visibility into the queue. I will assess what our current county technology can do, and either upgrade through a grant or use a workable interim. The commitment: residents get visibility into what's pending, one way or another.
Authority: TCA 5-6-106(c).
Month 1
A45 — Quarter 1
A quarterly "You Asked, We Answered" report — what the public asked, what we did about it
At the end of the first 90 days: a one-page public report drawn from the constituent intake log (A11). What did residents ask for? What did we resolve? What is still pending and why? This closes the loop on every responsiveness commitment and gives Coffee County residents a tangible measure of whether their mayor is actually doing what she said she would. The first report will be thin by necessity — but it will be honest.
Authority: TCA 5-6-108.
Quarter 1
Vote May 5, 2026 — Early Voting Ends April 30
"Your Neighbor. Your Mayor. That has to mean something the day after the election — not just on election day."