CC Notes – November 18th 2013
All members of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners were present for the November monthly meeting. The next to the last meeting of 2013 was relatively quick with only a few resolutions on the agenda. Before business began, Makayla Kington was honored for capturing the state Class A/AA title in the discus with a throw of 112-2. I had the privilege of coaching Makayla in basketball briefly in elementary school, and I want to congratulate her and her family on this hard earned success. Frank P. Brown Elementary School was recently honored as the SCORE top middle school in the state of Tennessee. The award was given to the school for showing significantly improved academic achievement. Along with the honor, the school was awarded $10,000 and will use the money on interactive classroom technology.
Resolutions
Everett Bolin and Barry Fields were reappointed to the Solid Waste Regional Planning Board with terms expiring in November of 2019 in an 18-0 vote. Kenneth Carey Jr., Charles Seiber, Mike Harvel, Wayne Shadden, Charles Daugherty, Randall Kidwell, and Patrick Garrison were appointed to the Wildlife and Fisheries Committee in a 13-3-2 vote. Joe Koester, Jan McNeil, and Jeff Brown voted against the motion with Charles Seiber and Mike Harvel abstaining. In another unanimous vote, Frontier Communications was approved to provide free wireless internet access to the Courthouse.
A new 3’x5’sign for the Military Memorial Museum was approved 16-2. The sign will be placed at no cost to the county in the grass to the side of the building along Main Street. Harry Sabine and Carmin Lynch voted against the motion. Several routine budget amendments were unanimously approved for the BOE, Election Commission, Juvenile Services, and the Veterans Service Office.
In a 12-6 vote, approval was given to amend the lease with Downtown Crossville, Inc. The amendment raised the rent from $1 per month, to $75 per month, to match the rent charged to the organization by the City of Crossville. Voting against the motion was Brian Houston, Caroline Knight, Joe Koester, Jan McNeil, Terry Carter, and Jeff Brown. Unanimous approval was granted to transfer the operation of the Crossville-Cumberland County Visitors Center to the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber has the personnel and skill sets to effectively manage the facility, and to generate income for the operations.
Financial Report
Property tax collections for October are at 16.2% of the budget. Last year at this time we were at 13.9% of budget. The Hotel/Motel tax is 32.2% of budget with $237,453 collected to date. Last year at this time we were at 37.8% of budget, but the anticipated income was increased in this year’s budget. Ambulance collections are still down at 13.9% of the budget compared to 28.1% at this point last year. The EMS Director was directed by the Budget Committee to make sure the billing was caught up as soon as possible. Prisoner boarding is at 32.3% of budget with income of $337,662. Sales tax collections were $678,338 which is $3,803 below projections. For the current fiscal year, we are $30,960 below budgeted estimates, but preliminary November numbers are looking better for our county.
Thank you for allowing me to serve the 4th District and Cumberland County. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at any time. Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless!
Sincerely
Allen Foster
Board of Commissioners
4th District Representative
http://allenfoster.net
allenfoster.com 