County Mayor’s Notes – September 21st, 2020

Today’s COVID-19 update follows tonight’s County Commission meeting summary.

Tonight’s meeting of the full County Commission was held with 13 Commissioners in attendance.  Commissioners Chad Norris, David Gibson, Terry Lowe, Jerry Cooper, and Jim Blalock were unable to attend. 

The new commission committees were just approved on September 8^th.  Those committees are still organizing and setting up their first meetings, so the agenda for this full meeting was short.  Look for that to change as the new committees meet and organize over the next few weeks.

Resolutions
The following resolutions were on the agenda (resolution sponsor in parenthesis):

RESOLUTION 09-2020-1 – ACCEPT OFFER(S) TO PURCHASE DELINQUENT TAX PROPERTY OWNED BY CUMBERLAND COUNTY (HYDER).  The following delinquent tax properties were approved for purchase and will now go back on the tax rolls.  The commission approved the resolution unanimously.

Offerer(s)	Property	Price	Ad Fee
Russell and Mary Lampinen	90B G 028.00 | 102 Cambridge Ln, Fairfield	$288.40	$45
Jean G Barber	90A K 031.00 | 112 Lakeshire Dr, Fairfield	$414.40	$45

RESOLUTION 09-2020-2 – AMEND THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND CUMBERLAND COUNTY, TENNESSEE (FOSTER).  The prior contract for payment for mental health evaluation and treatment services for criminal defendants charged with misdemeanors had expired.  This contract set the same rate and terms as the previous year and was approved 13-0.

RESOLUTION 09-2020-3 – BUDGET AMENDMENT, GENERAL FUND, COUNTY COMMISSION CAPITAL EXPENDITURES.  The cost of the three new ambulances came in higher than the budgeted estimate.  The low bid for the ambulances, including radios and other equipment, came in $35,530 above budget.  The Commission voted unanimously to approve the resolution to fund the additional expense.

FINANCIAL REPORT
The financial report is limited this month as the fiscal year is still new.  EMS Collections year to date are $711,504 against a budget of $666,666 for two months.  That puts collections at $44,838 above projections.  The Local Option Sales Tax collections (BOE portion) were $1,973,244 against a budget of $1,736,442 for two months.  That puts collections at $236,802 above budget.

You may recall that the County Commission decided to have a third party conduct a revenue audit.  The increase in Sales Tax revenues may be due to that audit.  We will know more soon and adjustments may me made.

COVID-19 Update (difference from previous day)
School level COVID-19 data is now available online.  Click this link to see the information available for Cumberland County:

https://districtinformation.tnedu.gov/covid-information/search/-1/180

Additionally, Dr. Ina Maxwell, Cumberland County Director of Schools, released the following COVID-19 data on Friday, September 18, 2020:

• 6 positive active student cases
• 8 positive active staff cases
• 75 total students quarantined due to being determined to have had close contact with another individual who tested positive.
• 2 total staff members quarantined due to being determined to have had close contact with another individual who tested positive.

The following are the numbers from the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) for Cumberland County as of 2:00 PM today. The change from the prior day is in parenthesis.

The narrative is much the same as the last newsletter.  Our active cases are still improved, as is the short-term positivity rate.  We have 127 active cases.  Our high for active cases was 355 on August 30, 2020.

Not is not the time to let our guard down.  Please continue to follow the recommendations of Governor Lee and the CDC.

127 active cases (-2)
1,009 inactive/recovered (+3)
17 deaths officially reported (+0)
1,153 positive cases (+1)
53 hospitalizations (+1) *
21,019 negative tests (+60)
87.51% Inactive/Recovered
5.20% cumulative positivity rate (positive cases / positive cases + negative tests)
1.91% of residents have tested positive
0.21% of residents have active cases

These numbers are intended to be a brief summary of the information provided by the Tennessee Department of Health. More detailed information can be found at the online dashboard: https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html

* Hospitalization data reflect the cumulative (total) number of cases of Cumberland County residents that were ever hospitalized from COVID-19. It does not reflect the number of people currently hospitalized. This does not mean the patient was hospitalized in Cumberland County. It means that a Cumberland County resident was hospitalized at some point.

Health Department Testing and Face Coverings
Masks/face coverings can help to slow the spread by slowing or stopping the droplets that carry the virus.  Free cloth masks are available upon request at the Health Department for those that want one. Stop by Monday through Friday from 8:00 am until 4:30 pm to pick one up for each individual in your household.

The local Health Department (1503 South Main Street) is conducting drive through testing, free of charge, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM.   No doctor’s order is required, and no appointment is necessary. Anyone can be tested regardless of symptoms.

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.net