Cumberland County Commission Meeting
The March 2023 meeting of the Cumberland County Commission was held tonight with all Commissioners in attendance except Commissioners Baldwin, Wilson, and Mall.

Resolutions
The following resolutions were considered by the Cumberland County Commission.  The sponsor of the resolution is in parenthesis.

RESOLUTION 03-2023-1 – TO ACCEPT OFFERS(S) TO PURCHASE DELINQUENT TAX PROPERTY OWNED BY CUMBERLAND COUNTY (HOLBROOK). The following delinquent tax properties were approved 15-0 for purchase and will now go back on the tax rolls.

RESOLUTION 03-2023-2 – TO CREATE A CODES DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL BUILDING CODE INSPECTIONS IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY (WILSON).  The City of Crossville has conducted building code inspections for Cumberland County since they were first implemented many years ago.  The city has been a great partner and a huge help during this time.  This resolution created a Codes Department responsible for residential and commercial building code inspections in Cumberland County.  If agreeable with the City of Crossville, the transition will take place on January 1, 2024.  The resolution was approved 14-1 with Commissioner Maxwell voting against.

RESOLUTION 03-2023-3 – APPROVING THE USE OF NEW COUNTY SEAL DESIGN AND A COUNTY FLAG UTILIZING THE NEW SEAL (HOLBROOK).  The county seal was created at a time when electronic files were not the norm.  Over time, we have lost the original intent of the seal.  The county has also never had an official flag.  This resolution approved an updated version of the county seal and a new county flag, both designed by Bill Quillen.  The resolution to approve was passed unanimously.

The following routine budget amendments were approved for various county departments by the Commission:

• RESOLUTION 03-2023-4 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, COUNTY CLERK (COOPER)
• RESOLUTION 03-2023-5 – GENERAL FUND, OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH & WELFARE – ANIMAL SHELTER (STONE)
• RESOLUTION 03-2023-6 – HIGHWAY FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT (SEIBER)
• RESOLUTION 03-2023-7 – CENTRAL CAFETERIA FUND, LINE ITEM BUDGET AMENDMENT (STONE)
• RESOLUTION 03-2023-8 – CENTRAL CAFETERIA FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT (PATTERSON)
• RESOLUTION 03-2023-9 – STATE SPARC GRANT POST, BUDGET AMENDMENT (YORK)
• RESOLUTION 03-2023-10 – CENTRAL CAFETERIA FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT (MAXWELL)

RESOLUTION 03-2023-11 – APPROVING THE TERMINATION OF CERTAIN INTEREST RATE SWAP AGREEMENTS OF THE PUBLIC BUILDING AUTHORITY OF SEVIER COUNTY, TENNESSEE RELATING TO CERTAIN OF ITS BONDS, THE PROCEEDS OF WHICH WERE LOANED TO THE COUNTY (STONE).  Many years ago, the county entered into synthetically fixed rate bonds, also know as interest rate swap agreements.  These agreements are derivative based and are no longer allowed by the State of Tennessee (unless some nearly impossible hoops are jumped through).  If you have followed my newsletters throughout the years, you know that I have wanted out of these agreements since I first found out about them back in 2011 as a Commissioner and Chairman of the Debt Service Committee.  For the first time since then, it is financially advantageous for the county to get out of the agreements because interest rates have increased, and to a lesser extent because of fees that could be associated with changing from the use of London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) in the swap agreements (LIBOR has been discontinued).  The net present value of the funds required to terminate the agreement make the transaction at worst neutral and more likely advantageous for the county.  It results in what is likely a net savings for the county, and also gives us more flexibility to refinance in the future if rates are favorable.  The resolution was approved 15-0.

RESOLUTION 03-2023-12 – DEBT SERVICE FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT (STONE).  This is the resolution that allocated the funds, up to $1,650,000, to terminate the interest rate swap agreements.  This will result in a net savings to the county over the life of the bonds.  The resolution was approved unanimously.

RESOLUTION 03-2023-13 – A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CUMBERLAND COUNTY TO JOIN THE STATE OF TENNESSEE AND OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN AMENDING THE TENNESSEE STATE SUBDIVISION OPIOID ABATEMENT AGREEMENT AND APPROVING THE RELATED SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS (FOSTER).  This resolution, much like the first one passed back in December of 2001, allows the county to participate in a second round of class action settlements for opioid abatement.  It was approved 15-0.

Financial Update
Sales tax collections came in at $1,156,878 against a budgeted number of $1,099,224 for a positive variance of $57,654 for the month.  This is the first positive variance after having two negatives in a row.  Year-to-date, we are $220,318 above budget projections.

EMS collections for the month were $369,347 against a monthly budgeted amount of $366,667 for a positive monthly variance of 2,680.  Year-to-date collections are $2,788,460 which is $144,876 below budget.

Property tax collections are at 95.6% of budget compared to 94.9% last year. 

Hotel/Motel Tax collections are at $787,091 compared to $723,171 at the same point last year.  The annual budgeted amount is $1,163,326 which was the actual amount collected last year.  That means we are at 67.7% of budget this year compared to 89.4% last year (compared to a lower budgeted number).

Prisoner Boarding collections are at $206,886 against a reduced budget of $423,925 which is 48.8% of the annual budget.

Thank you for being part of the solution and thank you for the opportunity to serve as your County Mayor.  If you are interested in hearing my thoughts and views on news, events, and activities in Cumberland County, please subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Thank you.

Allen Foster
Cumberland County Mayor
http://allenfoster.com