TN: Conservator Jeanan Mills-Stuart and Judge Randy Kennedy

For Jeanan Mills Stuart, the public guardian for Davidson County, no job is too small.

At rates between $195 and $225 an hour, the costs for Stuart’s personal attention add up.

She billed five hours — $986 — to accompany one of her wards to a performance of Handel’s Messiah. She charged the same woman $1,282 to take her to Dillard’s, Walgreens and lunch, and for the same day, billed her $1,183 for a shopping trip to CoolSprings Galleria, according to a fee affidavit filed in court records.

At least twice, Stuart charged $400 to attend the funerals of her wards.

And in several cases, Stuart billed her wards for Christmas presents she bought for them — blankets, comforters and afghans embroidered with their initials.

Source:
Davidson County Public Guardian Charges Lawyer Fees Just to Run Errands

"The premium on my blanket surety bond is paid for by Davidson County. In exchange, I am the default person selected as guardian or conservator where there is no other party found by the Probate Court Judge to be appropriate or willing to take on the task. I am obligated to provide all the care needed by my wards regardless of the ability of the conservatorship estate to pay my fees, and I am on call 24 hours per day. As a matter of law, I cannot delegate certain of my duties to another person.”

Source:
Jeanan Mills-Stuart's Written Responses to The Tennessean's Questions

Davidson Probate Judge David Randy Kennedy says he is sorry if his oversight of the county public guardian has been lacking, and he has temporarily suspended sending her any more conservatorship cases.

“To the extent that my oversight of the Public Guardian is wanting, I am genuinely sorry,” Kennedy wrote in a three page letter  to members of Metro Council.

Kennedy, who had recommended Jeanan Mills Stuart for the guardianship post, said he has begun a “more thorough review” of all her cases “to determine whether or not there appears to be any inappropriate billing practices.”

“To the extent there has been any overpayment to her, it is my responsibility,” Kennedy wrote in the Friday letter. “In other words, the buck stops here.”

Source:
Nashville's Public Guardian Faces Review Over Fees

Davidson County Probate Judge Randy Kennedy did something almost unheard of in public service:  He apologized.

And he vowed to fix a mess he allowed to happen on his watch. He should be commended for candidly telling the Metro Council, before they had a chance to jump on him, “the buck stops here.”

Source:
Judge's Apology for Guardian Uproar Merits Praise
Read Judge Kennedy's Letter to Metro Council Members

Davidson County’s public guardian claims she gave a discount from her usual hourly rate when she accompanied a ward to a Christmas concert at the Schermerhorn in 2011.

Jeanan Mills Stuart made the claim in a letter sent recently to Metro Council in response to a Tennessean report last month on her billing practices.

Stuart also told council members that she was in the process of hiring a non-family member to perform errand-like tasks for the dozens of people whose lives she oversees.

“It has always been my practice to be cost effective for my wards,” Stuart wrote in the two-page letter, adding that she was well aware that the Tennessean article “attempted to make me look like a greedy person.”

Source:
Public Guardian Defends Fees

Note:  Jeanan Mills-Stuart was NASGA Member Ginger Franklin's court-appointed conservator. 

Read Ginger's Profile