MAKE ALL COMMISSION SEATS ELECTED BY ALL VOTERS     MAKE LAW DIRECTOR AN APPOINTED, NOT ELECTED, OFFICE      ESTABLISH ROLE OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE ATTORNEY      REPEAL UNIFORM OFFICER'S PENSION PLAN      POSITIVELY ELIMINATE NEPOTISM      EXTEND TERM-LIMITATION EFFECT TO ALL OFFICES      ESTABLISH CITIZENS'  BILL OF RIGHTS      ESTABLISH SYSTEM FOR INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS TO SUE OFFICIALS      MAKE CLERK, REGISTER OF DEEDS,  PROPERTY ASSESSOR APPOINTIVE     BAN COMMISSIONERS FROM OTHER SIMULTANEOUS COUNTY EMPLOYMENT     REGULARLY PUBLISH PLANS,  REPORTS, BUDGETS, FOR EASY CITIZEN ACCESS       IT'S SIMPLE AS 1-2-3!!!   1.  THE PRESENT CHARTER IS A MESS. 2.  THE CHARTER CAN BE CORRECTED. 3.   HERE'S WHAT WE NEED TO DO. An experienced and respected local lawyer advises that reasonable changes could be inserted into our system. Knox County Charter §8.05 provides that a petition to amend the charter signed by 15% of the voters in the last Knox County gubernatorial  election can be facilitated.  Desired changes can  be placed on the ballot as amendments to the charter. It is critical that the petition be properly drafted and that the signatures be verified and properly affixed. (Note particularly that changes can be initiated by petitions with signatures of a specified percentage of recent voters. )   Make the County Commissioners subject to appro all voters, not just those from their district; Provide for the Law Director to be appointed by the Mayor; Make provisions for an elected Public’s Advocate Attorney , to assure ready addressing by Commission; Repeal the abortive July 1, 2007 Uniform Officers Pension Plan (!!), on the basis of illegality due to lack of advance funding provision; Disallow  hiring and use of relatives; Prohibit any elected officer, after being term-limited, from seeking or being appointed to any other Knox County elected office for two terms; Abolish election of the Clerk, Register of Deeds, Trustee and Property Assessor ; Prohibit County Commissioners from being employed by Knox County, including schools; Permit any citizen to sue to enforce or contest, on proper advance prior notice, any factor of county government;Assure that accountability, removal of political machines, representation of the people, and the citizens' ability to sue are critical to correcting the flaws in Knox County government. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN UPGRADING/REVISING THE CHARTER? PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THESE SUGGESTIONS. BETTER YET, ADD YOUR OWN SUGGESTIONS. EMAIL THEM TO US ASAP! (SILENTMAJORITY@FRONTIERNET.NET) You can read the infamous Charter by going to the next page on this site labeled "CRITICAL DOWNLOADS"   (click HERE  ,. or  look to the menu on the left, or at the bottom, of each page. Allow yourself plenty of time and plenty of tience. It is poorly organized, overly wordy, and ambiguous. It generates more questions than it answers. Warning: You can't easily print or save. The code provider charges a fee for that. Also, refer to the code only after you have finished exploring this site, and have input your input above, because the site may shut down simultaneously when you close the code page. (If you shut down unintentionally, you must start all over. I'm working on it.)