Cumberland County Commission Meeting
The February 2022 meeting of the Cumberland County Commission was held tonight with all Commissioners in attendance except Colleen Mall. The following resolutions were considered, with the sponsor being in parenthesis.
RESOLUTION 02-2022-1 – AGREEMENT BETWEEN CUMBERLAND COUNTY AND THE LAKE TANSI VILLAGE PROPERTY OWNER ASSOCIATION, INC. CONCERNING DELINQUENT TAX LOTS (FOSTER) – In April of 2021, the county approved entering an agreement with Fairfield Glade concerning lots owned by the county in the Fairfield Glade area. This agreement allowed the county to continue to take delinquent tax properties without having to pay POA dues for any properties the county takes or had taken. This is a win for both parties as it keeps the process moving of having the properties placed back on the tax roll. Tonight, the County Commission agreed to enter a similar delinquent tax lot agreement with Lake Tansi in a unanimous vote.
RESOLUTION 02-2022-2 – AGREEMENT BETWEEN CUMBERLAND COUNTY AND THE LAKE PARK PROPERTY OWNER’S ASSOCIATION CONCERNING DELINQUENT TAX LOTS (FOSTER) – This agreement is much the same as the one from the resolution above and was approved 17-0. We hope to have at least one more of these agreements soon.
RESOLUTION 02-2022-3 – TO APPEAL TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO ESTABLISH A PRIVATE ACT CREATING THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU WATER AUTHORITY (JACK DAVIS/FOSTER) – Cumberland County needs a water source to provide for future growth. This private act was created by a lawyer at the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts (TAUD) that is an expert in this field. I was asked about this issue frequently during my first campaign for Mayor and it has continued throughout my term.
Things of this nature can sometimes be difficult as they are somewhat visionary in nature. It can require individuals to look past themselves and their own interests to plan for a future that can seem a bit distant. A future that is more about our kids and grandkids than about ourselves.
As a brief overview, this is a private act that would allow the water utilities to pool resources to ensure we have enough water in the future. It may differ from some other attempts in that it does not force any action by any water utility. This act would allow the utility districts to:
- Do nothing and keep everything the same as it is now, or
- Merge into one large water authority, or
- Anything in between. The districts could choose to participate in creating a new water source together or just continue as is.
The act also protects current employees, pay, and benefits. It should also help with securing TDEC money and assistance for a water source as we have been told time and again that a regional approach is necessary. This private act will lay any groundwork needed to make this happen.
The resolution was approved in a 17-0 vote.
RESOLUTION 02-2022-4 – TO 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 Property Price Advertising
Charles & Susan Littzi 103C E 118.00/ 29 Roundtree Court $759.60 $45
The following resolutions were approved for the various county budgets. The resolutions were approved unanimously.
- RESOLUTION 02-2022-5 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, COUNTY CLERK $946.00 (GIBSON)
- RESOLUTION 02-2022-6 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, COUNTY COMMISSION $28,625.00 (KYLE DAVIS)
The following resolutions were approved for the school system. The resolutions were approved 16-0-1 with Commissioner Cooper abstaining.
- RESOLUTION 02-2022 -7 – BOE, FEDERAL PROGRAMS FUND, ESSER 2.0 REVISION $2,000.00 (KYLE DAVIS)
- RESOLUTION 02-2022-8 – BOE, FEDERAL PROGRAMS FUND, ARP HOMELESS 2.0 REVISION $5,496.13 (KYLE DAVIS)
- RESOLUTION 02-2022-9 – BOE, SPECIAL EDUCATION FEDERAL BUDGET, FEDERAL IDEA PART B $35,000.00 (KYLE DAVIS)
- RESOLUTION 02-2022-10 – BOE, GENERAL PURPOSE SCHOOL FUND, SALARY STUDY $30,000.00 (KYLE DAVIS)
- RESOLUTION 02-2022-11 – BOE, FEDERAL PROGRAMS 142 BUDGET $15,137,618.41 (NORRIS) – This resolution detailed the use of federal grants and will be used for salaries, supplies, and construction among other things. This includes an auditorium at CCHS.
RESOLUTION 02-2022-12 – AUTHORIZING A CONTINUOUS FIVE (5) YEAR REAPPRAISAL CYCLE (FOSTER) – The Property Assessor requested approval of the continuous five-year reappraisal cycle. The request was approved unanimously.
Financial Update
EMS collections for the month were $296,547 which is $36,786 below the monthly budgeted amount of $333,333. Year to date we have collected $2,736,826 which is $403,495 above projections.
Sales tax collections for the General Purpose School Fund came in at $1,159,721 which is $145,291 above projections. Year to date we have collected $6,757,471 and are $707,551 above budget.
Property tax collections year to date are approximately 67.53%. Last year we had collected 63.8% of revenue.
Cumulative Hotel/Motel taxes are $658,636 which is 81.4% of the budgeted amount of $808,712. Last year, with a smaller budgeted amount of $668,166, we had collected $409,491, or 61.3% of budget, at this point.
Cumulative Prisoner Boarding collections are $204,204, or 33.9% of the $602,396 annual budget. Last year we were at $200,733, or 33.3% of the $602,396 annual budget. Payments for prisoner boarding are somewhat sporadic from the state.
COVID-19 Update
The state of Tennessee has moved to reporting COVID-19 data on a weekly basis on Wednesday of each week for the previous Sunday through Saturday and is not out as of this writing.
I will be out of the office for the next two days in meetings, but datasets for additional information can be found at the link below with updated information available Wednesday evening: https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov/data/downloadable-datasets.html.
CMC and Covenant released a dashboard with information about current COVID-19 patients. The number is too low to report for COVID-19 ICU patients at CMC that are unvaccinated, and 67% of all COVID-19 patients at CMC are unvaccinated. Currently there are 10 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospitalizations at CMC. At CMC, the median age of those in the ICU is not available as the volume is too small to report, and the median age of other COVID-19 hospitalizations is 72.5.
Covenant also released aggregate data for the entire hospital system. Data provided indicates 70% of all COVID-19 ICU patients in a Covenant hospital are unvaccinated, and 61% of all COVID-19 patients in a Covenant hospital are unvaccinated. Currently there are 157 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospitalizations in a Covenant facility. The median age of those in the ICU is 67 and the median age of other COVID-19 hospitalizations is 70.
Complete Covenant COVID hospitalization data can be found here:
https://www.covenanthealth.com/covid-19-dashboard/
State Vaccination Dashboard:
https://data.tn.gov/t/Public/views/TennIISCOVID-19VaccineReporting/SUMMARY?:showAppBanner=false&:display_count=n&:showVizHome=n&:origin=viz_share_link&:toolbar=no&:embed=yes
Cumberland County Schools Update
According to Director of Schools Dr. Ina Maxwell, as of Friday, February 18, there are 10 students that are positive for COVID-19 and 8 staff members.
Cumberland County Health Department Update
The Cumberland County Health Department is currently offering the Pfizer COVID 19 Vaccine and Booster. Unfortunately, the Moderna Booster is not available at the Cumberland County Health Department at this time. There are several other local facilities that offer Moderna. A complete list can be found at www.vaccines.gov. If the status changes for the Moderna vaccine and booster, the Health Department will send out an announcement.
COVID-19 Testing Hours Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 11:00 am (MWF are self-testing days)
COVID-19 Vaccine Hours Monday – Friday, 8:00 pm – 4:00 pm
All COVID-19 Vaccines are currently being given inside the Health Department. No drive-thru option will be offered.
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
allenfoster.com 