ROGERSVILLE — The Hawkins County Budget Committee voted Friday to send the draft of the budget with a 3.5 cent property tax increase to the full commission for vote.
When the meeting started, the deficit in the general fund was at $3,233,815.
“Typically, we try to keep that at $2.5 million or less,†District 4 Commissioner Josh Gilliam said.
He stood in as committee chairman, as District 5 Commissioner Jason Roach was not present.
Throughout the meeting, Gilliam continually reminded the committee that to decrease the deficit they had to either raise taxes, cut spending or take from savings, or even combine the three.
Why 3.5 cents?
It has taken the committee multiple meetings and hearings to get to this number, and it was not without contention.
District 7 Commissioner Robbie Palmer put a motion on the floor to reduce the Cost Of Living Adjustment or COLA, which is a raise for county employees, from 3% to 2%. No one seconded the motion and it failed.
He later made a motion to cut contributions by 20%. This includes organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Of One Accord Ministry, YMCA and Hawkins County Humane Society. The motion did not receive a second and it also failed.
“I feel like our option is to raise revenue at this point,†District 2 Commissioner Tom Kern said.
He made a motion to raise the property tax by 4 cents.
“I feel like that is very justifiable, because I think it’s something we’ve talked about and I think that our taxpayers understand that,†Kern said. “And I feel like our people have cut everything they can cut.â€
The motion to raise property tax by 4 cents did not receive a second and failed.
District 3 Commissioner Danny Alvis made a motion to send the budget in as-is and balance it with fund balance; the motion did not receive a second and failed.
“How serious are we really going to be about making cuts? Or do we just want to look good?†Palmer said.
“I’m here to try to help this county,†Kern said.
The biggest expenses, District 1 Commissioner John Gibson pointed out, were labor costs, which cannot easily be changed in this economy. The sheriff’s office’s request for body cameras was also a major expense.
“At the end of the day its labor that’s blowing our budget up,†Gibson said.
Gibson made a motion to reduce the COLA to 2.5% and raise property tax 3.5 cents. Kern seconded the motion and it passed with Palmer the only one voting “no.â€
This brings the projected deficit to about $2.74 million, which is within range of their goal.
More on the meeting: Highway Department
“We have to do something for our roads,†District 6 Commissioner Larry Clonce told the committee. He said although the county is growing with small business and industry in Phipps Bend, the roads are in “terrible shape.â€
Clonce is not part of the budget committee, but sat in during the hearing.
Roads Superintendent Danny Jones said he reduced everything in his budget request that is not on a fixed, yearly basis by 10%.
“I’m not here to ask to raise taxes,†Jones said. “I’ve been here, been asked to cut and cut and cut. So I got out my little crystal ball and I looked at everything that I could cut and still keep operating. Now I’m asking the commission to get out your crystal ball and look to find it, ‘cause it’s there.â€
The committee decided to move 4 cents from the education debt service fund to the highway operating fund.
District 6 Commissioner Nancy Barker and Kern voted no, but with four yes votes the motion passed.
Eric Buchanan, director of accounts and budgets, confirmed that while in the fund, the money could only be used toward education debt payments and $10 million is not being used currently, which is why the committee voted to move some.
However, Barker said they should leave the money there for the schools to use if needed.
Gibson reminded the committee that moving the funds only brought the highway department back to last year’s operational standard, and people should not expect an increase in services, just a continuation of the same.
Parks department
District 2 Commissioner Jeff Barrett spoke on behalf of the parks department, saying they needed a new truck. He attended the meeting, but is not on the budget committee.
Previously, the budget committee decided against buying the new truck and instead hiring a service to mow some of the properties that a truck would have been needed for.
Palmer said they could apply for the truck out of the general capital projects fund. Since they decided to do so, the committee voted to take out the $7,000 that was set aside for a lawn service.
Veterans Office
Alvis made a motion to give Col. Mike Manning a raise. Manning is the Veterans Service Officer and has served in the United Marine Corps for 30 years and in the Navy Reserves for six years.
“I’m humbled,†Manning said. “I didn’t ask for this.â€
The committee approved a motion to move Manning to a grade 10 step 7 pay scale, which would be a salary of $57,900. His current salary is about $43,000.
Later, Alvis told the Times News that veterans in other counties tell him they come to Hawkins County because of the level of service and expertise Manning provides.
