All Commissioners were in attendance for the regularly scheduled monthly business meeting of the County Commission on September 19th except Nancy Hyder and Woody Geisler. Commissioner Hyder is rehabbing from back surgery. This was also the first meeting for the newly elected members, Sue York and John Patterson. The meeting began with the election of leaders for the next two years. The first was the election of Chairman. Mayor Carey was reelected to the position in a unanimous vote. Next, Wendell Wilson was unanimously elected Chairman Pro-Tem. Standing and Statutory Committees were then elected. I will be serving on the School and County Education, Environmental, Budget, and Debt Committees. A complete list of all committee appointments will be available on my website at www.allenfoster.net soon.
Next, Nancy Hyder was elected Parliamentarian of the Commission in a unanimous vote. As the Director of Schools must be bonded, the Commission approved Janet Graham’s bond as required by law.
Resolutions
A resolution to reappoint Randal R. Boston as Cumberland County Attorney for a two year term was passed. Tim Claflin, Jill Ritzman, Josh Stone, Jill Davis, and Valerie Cox were approved to serve on the Ethics Committee for one year. Dr. Danny Hall, Dr. Larry Reed, Dr. Randall Crowder, Vicki Upchurch, Becki Hillis, Marsha Polson, and Kenneth Carey were appointed to the Cumberland County Board of Health, with Dr. Fred Vossel and Mindy Doyle to serve as ex officio members. Terry Carter and Larry Allen were reappointed as members of the Railroad Authority. Dr. Mark Fox was reappointed to the Cumberland County E-911 Emergency Communications District Board of Directors. Randal Boston and Larry Allen were appointed to the Regional Planning Commission. Tom Isham, David Hassler, Jack Davis, and Terry Carter were appointed to the Financial Management Committee. Amber Marshall and Valerie Cox were appointed to the Crossville-Cumberland County Conventions and Visitors Bureau.
The next resolution involved transferring department oversight of Judicial Commissioners. A committee consisting of the Sheriff, Circuit Court Clerk, County Mayor, General Sessions Judge, and District Attorney General will recommend Judicial Commissioners to serve terms lasting no longer than one year. The supervisor of the Judicial Commissioners will report to this committee and all employees will fall under the county personnel policy instead of the Circuit Court policy. The resolution passed unanimously.
An interlocal communications agreement was approved with the City of Crossville. The City wants to use the county’s new digital communications radio system for their emergency services departments. The County is granting the City access to use the system, with the City paying all expenses required to connect. The City will also pay half of the costs to maintain and operate the system.
A budget amendment was approved for $7,009 to allow the Maintenance Department to hire part-time personnel to help in cleaning duties. This is for 20 hours per week. Flow through money from the Sheriff Department’s contract for Interstate 40 litter pickup was also approved in the amount of $33,226. A resolution to move the Community Service Officer position from County Judge Larry Warner’s office to the Sanitation Fund was granted. I voted against this when it was reviewed by the Budget Committee. The individual is already working in the Sanitation Department overseeing community service workers, so this was basically cleanup. The resolution was clarified to ensure no funds were transferred to the Sanitation Fund and the department budget will absorb the cost. This changed my mind on the resolution resulting in unanimous approval. There was also an oversight of $195,462 corrected in the County Building salary lines. The money was approved for salary, but not included in the budget. No positions were added.
The Solid Waste/Recycling Department was authorized to apply for and accept a grant from TDEC for a waste oil transport trailer. This is a 100 percent grant and requires no additional local matching funds. If the grant is awarded, the equipment will have to be purchased by the county before the county is reimbursed.
Financial Report
Sales tax collections were at $749,553 for the month against a budget of $753,000. The Hotel/Motel tax collections are at $104,000 for the year with a total budgeted amount of $810,000 annually. EMS collections are down $24,000 for the year with $584,336 collected in the first two months. The annual budgeted amount is $3,650,000. More numbers will be available by next month’s regular meeting.
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.
Sincerely
Allen Foster
Board of Commissioners
4th District Representative
http://allenfoster.net
allenfoster.com 