CC Notes – December 16th 2013
The final monthly Cumberland County Board of Commissioners meeting of 2013 was held on December 16th with all members present except for Caroline Knight and John Kinnunen. We began the evening with unfinished business concerning adding Towne Centre Drive in Fairfield Glade to the official county road list. This issue was brought up at an earlier meeting but tabled until more detailed information concerning the road was obtained. The motion to add this road to the road list was unanimously approved as information concerning the dimensions of the road was provided.
Resolutions
A resolution was passed in a 15 – 1 vote to request sponsorship of legislation that would amend state law, TCA, to enable county governments to levy and collect a Bail Bond Tax. Commissioner Harry Sabine voting against the resolution. A copy of the resolution will now be sent to our State Representatives and Senators for further action. Several other budget related resolutions were approved unanimously including one to accept a private donation of $100 for the Sheriff’s canine program and $400 for the Art Circle Public Library. A budget amendment was also approved to accept a grant and donation to the library totaling $4,647 for computer technology. Revenue designated for the use of improving and maintaining computer technology in the Circuit Court and General Session Court in the amount of $6,000 was approved to fund technology service and maintenance needs. In other business, the City of Crossville received a grant in the amount of $7,500 from the State of Tennessee Three Star Program. The State requires these funds to be processed through the County, so an amendment was approved to do so. The final resolution of the evening was in the amount of $358,800 for a Community Development Block Grant to benefit the South Cumberland Water Utility District. These funds will be used by the utility district for the extension of water lines.
Financial Report
Property tax collections for November came in at 24.8 percent of budget and is trending slightly ahead of last year at this time. The Hotel/Motel tax collections of $302,820 year to date, trails collections when compared to last year but is still on pace to meet budgeted amounts. Ambulance collections through November are at 22 percent of budget, but billing that was behind has been caught up through the first of December, and the new billing system is now in place. For reference, this figure should be at 41 percent of budget at this time. The Budget Committee and Emergency Services Committee are monitoring these figures closely. Sales tax collections for the Board of Education exceeded the monthly budgeted amount by $18,053 and helped close the budgeted deficit. Last month that deficit was over $30,000 but it has now dropped to $12,907 on the year. This is a number that is monitored closely as any deficit to this income must be made up by collections in the property tax or taken from the general fund.
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. Merry Christmas and God Bless from my family to yours!
Sincerely
Allen Foster
Board of Commissioners
4th District Representative
http://allenfoster.net
allenfoster.com 