County Mayor’s Notes – January 17th, 2023

Courthouse Repair Update
The work to shore up structural integrity at the old Courthouse is complete.  The envelope inspection of the building is scheduled to start next week.  This inspection will result in a detailed report of the work that will need to be done in order to permanently fix the issues.

Cumberland County Commission Meeting
The January 2023 meeting of the Cumberland County Commission was held tonight with all Commissioners in attendance.

Resolutions
The following resolutions were considered by the Cumberland County Commission.  The sponsor of the resolution is in parenthesis.

RESOLUTION 01-2023-1 – TO ACCEPT OFFER(S) TO PURCHASE DELINQUENT TAX PROPERTY OWNED BY CUMBERLAND COUNTY (HOLBROOK) The following delinquent tax properties were approved unanimously for purchase and will now go back on the tax rolls.

Offerers                           Property                                    Price            Advertising

Sherry & Cody Wayne Lawson   13 Kipling Ct./91I E 42.00                       $360.50             $45.00

William Grant Billings                116 Walker Dr/170P A 2.00                    $271.80             $45.00

Matthew Regis Billings               114 Walker Dr./170P A 3.00                    $271.80             $45.00

Kelly Ann Strachan                    137 Shopsmith Rd./90K D 23.00             $405.60             $45.00

Scott & Elizabeth Becker             146 Blackburn Dr./90A J 23.00                $459.60             $45.00

RESOLUTION 01-2023-2 – TO REAPPOINT MEMBER TO THE TRI-COUNTY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD OF CUMBERLAND, MORGAN AND ROANE COUNTIES (FOSTER).  Jeff Waldo was reappointed to an additional term expiring January 18, 2029 in a 18-0 vote.

RESOLUTION 01-2023-3 – TO AUTHORIZE GOLD STAR AND VIETNAM VETERAN MEMORIALS AT THE WAR MEMORIAL PARK (WILSON).  The resolution approved the addition of Gold Star and Vietnam Veteran memorials at the War Memorial Park across from the courthouse.  It was approved unanimously after a slight wording change.

RESOLUTION 01-2023-4 – REGARDING THE COUNTY ARCHIVES, COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE, AND THE 1905 COURTHOUSE (WILSON).  This resolution was worked out in Building & Grounds.  It serves to:

• Reallocate the original $1,600,300 plus architect fees to fund a modified renovation of the current County Archives facility.
• Keep the County Clerk’s office at 1760 S Main Street with $10,000 to be allocated for restoring the building.
• Reimburse funds allocated via capital outlay note in Resolution 01-2021-08 used to purchase 1760 S Main Street plus any other expenses that have been used from the original $1,600,300 allocated for the County Archives project.
• Stop all construction work at 1760 S Main Street until County Archives plans and funding are approved.

The resolution was approved 18-0.

RESOLUTION 01-2023-5 – UPDATED INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT JOINT ECONOMIC COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BOARD IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY, TENNESSEE (STONE).  This resolution, approved unanimously, updated the interlocal agreement forming the JECDB between Cumberland County, Crossville, Crab Orchard, and Pleasant Hill.  It clarifies membership and roles.  The City of Crossville has been managing the program for many years, but officially handed it off to Cumberland County on January 1, 2023.  I want to thank the City of Crossville for the excellent job done over the years!

The following routine budget amendments were unanimously approved for various county departments by the Commission:

• RESOLUTION 01-2023-6 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, CAPITAL OUTLAY (PATTERSON)
• RESOLUTION 01-2023-7 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, CAPITAL OUTLAY (STONE)
• RESOLUTION 01-2023-8 – AUTHORIZING THE FILING OF A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FOOD INSECURITIES (CDBG-CV) APPLICATION (SEIBER)
• RESOLUTION 01-2023-9 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, COUNTY MAYOR (SHERRILL)
• RESOLUTION 01-2023-10 – VARIOUS FUNDS, DEPARTMENTS, INSTITUTIONS, OFFICES AND AGENCIES OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY (SHERRILL)

RESOLUTION 01-2023-11 – TO ACCEPT THE 2023 VERSION OF THE CUMBERLAND COUNTY ROAD LIST (LOWE).  The 2023 version of the Cumberland Road list was approved by the Planning Commission and the Environmental Committee.  The County Commission voted to approve 18-0 after a minor error was caught and corrected.

Financial Update
Sales tax collections came in at $1,289,256 against a budgeted number of $1,289,013 for a positive variance of $243 for the month.  Year-to-date, we are $197,060 above budget.

EMS collections for the month were $345,950 with year-to-date collections of $2,002,669 which is $197,333 below budget.

Property tax collections are at 55.3% of budget compared to 57.1% last year. 

Hotel/Motel Tax collections are at $646,122 compared to $588,960 at the same point last year.  The annual budgeted amount is $1,163,326 which was the actual amount collected last year.  That means we are at 55.54% of budget this year compared to 72.83% last year (compared to a lower budgeted number).

Prisoner Boarding collections are at $171,872 against a reduced budget of $423,925 which is 40.54% of the annual budget.

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.com