Officials from Northeast Tennessee cities will meet with state legislators to convey which General A

BRISTOL, Tenn. – City officials from Bristol, Kingsport and Johnson City will host members of the Tennessee Legislature on Friday to make clear which legislative policies the local governments support and oppose.

The meeting is from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday in the Bruton Smith Building at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The Joint Legislative Policy of the Tri-Cities for Tennessee General Assembly’s 2008 session was prepared by staff from each city.

A joint resolution comprised of eight categories of legislative objectives includes the opposition of collective bargaining agreements with unions representing public safety officers and mandatory consolidation of 911 boards.

The resolution also supports legislation for the creation of an airport authority for operation of Tri-Cities Regional Airport and the establishment of a direct rail connection from Bristol to Memphis

Jeff Broughton, Bristol Tennessee city manager, said all state legislators who represent Northeast Tennessee have been invited to the session.

State Rep. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, said the fact that the three cities form their support or opposition jointly helps him focus on the most immediate needs.

"I think the key thing here is that the cities come together," Lundberg said. "It’s very important to me to hear from the cities – not only to hear how they feel but why they feel that way. We maintain pretty constant communication, and I probably talk to each city manager once every few weeks."

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, was not available for comment Friday, but his office confirmed he would be among the legislators in attendance.

Officials from each city and their senior staff will be on hand, and a presentation will be given by each mayor. And they will be watching to see what happens when the 105th General Assembly convenes in Nashville at noon on Jan. 8.

City officials stay in touch with state lawmakers throughout the legislative session, closely following the movement of bills that could positively or negatively impact the Tri-Cities, Broughton said.

"The document [policy objectives] has been streamlined to now only include relevant action items rather than unnecessarily broad statements without any substance," he added.

City managers of Johnson City and Kingsport, Pete Peterson and John Campbell, respectively, were not available for comment Friday.

Tim Whaley, community and government relations officer for the city of Kingsport, said the fact that the three cities are able to come together on the importance of the same policies shows a "coherence" of regional leaders on the issues.

"We really believe that by speaking together as one voice on the issues it will shine a brighter light on those policies that affect us the most," Whaley said. "We also communicate with lawmakers individually. Some of these policy statements are pretty general, but I think legislators are in step with most of them."

Meanwhile, a similar meeting between local government leaders in Southwest Virginia and the area’s state representatives is expected. A date had not been scheduled as of Friday.

Bristol Virginia Mayor Jim Rector said he is reviewing bills that may affect the city’s budget, and city officials will be contacting legislators.

"We will contact our senators and delegates and express our concerns," he said. "Some members of the council will be in Richmond to visit area lawmakers to discuss our concerns and support bills that we feel will assist the citizens of the city."

State Delegate Terry Kilgore, R-1st District, said he has not heard from city leaders but expects a meeting to be arranged soon.

"Most of our decisions this year are going to be budget driven," Kilgore said. "From what I’ve heard from local governments, they don’t want spending cuts to education or local programs and services.

"Meanwhile, they want us to keep a watch to make sure there’s no unnecessary spending that negatively affects them."

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