Cumberland County Commission Meeting
The December 2024 meeting of the Cumberland County Commission was held tonight with all in attendance.
During the special recognition section of the meeting, I thanked Rebecca Stone for her service to the county. Rebecca was elected to the commission at the same time I was elected to my second term as a commissioner. She has proven to be an outstanding commissioner that studies and is informed of the issues she is voting on. She has been instrumental in working with our archives, on the policies for the public records commission, on the policy for our Investment Committee, and with the Joint Economic and Community Development Board. Well done, Rebecca. Thank you for your service.
APPOINTING A THIRD DISTRICT CUMBERLAND COUNTY COMMISSIONER
Four individuals notified my office of their intent to seek appointment to the third district county commission seat: Curt Boston, Craig Clark, Michael DiBiccaro, and Karen Shanks. Additional individuals were eligible to seek the appointment at the meeting, but no one did. Each individual was afforded the opportunity to address the commission for up to 10 minutes. After the candidates spoke, Curt Boston, Craig Clark, and Karen Shanks were nominated by commissioners for the voting portion of the appointment. In round one of voting, Curt Boston received four votes from Commissioners Potter, Gibson, Baldwin, and Cooper. Craig Clark received seven votes from Isham, Stone, Davis, Sherrill, Maxwell, Mall, and Patterson. Karen Shanks received seven votes from York, Hyder, Threet, Seiber, Lowe, Wilson, and Holbrook. That moved the vote to the second round where Clark kept the same seven votes he received in round one. Shanks kept her seven from the first round, and picked up Potter, Gibson, Baldwin, and Cooper, giving her 11 votes in round two.
This was truly a great set of candidates for this seat. All spoke well and I thank them for participating in the process. It takes a lot of courage to do what they did. I’m proud to know them all personally.
Congratulations to Karen Shanks on being appointed as the new Third District County Commissioner!
The following routine budget amendments were approved by the Commission for various county departments. Details of each resolution can be found here. These resolutions were moved to the front of the agenda as Commissioner Threet was unable to stay for the entire meeting but wanted to be able to vote on these budgetary items. The vote was unanimous on all amendments.
- RESOLUTION 12-2024-10 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, CIRCUIT/SESSION COURT (GIBSON).
- RESOLUTION 12-2024-11 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, SANITATION CONVENIENCE CENTER (WILSON).
- RESOLUTION 12-2024-12 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, CODES COMPLIANCE (GIBSON).
- RESOLUTION 12-2024-13 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, COUNTY COMMISSION (BALDWIN).
- RESOLUTION 12-2024-14 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, PARKS AND RECREATION (HOLBROOK).
- RESOLUTION 12-2024-15 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, CODES COMPLIANCE (ISHAM).
- RESOLUTION 12-2024-16 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, LOCAL HEATLH CENTER (HOLBROOK).
- RESOLUTION 12-2024-17 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, COUNTY COMMISSION (WILSON).
- RESOLUTION 12-2024-18 – GENERAL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT, AMBULANCE SERVICE (THREET)
RESOLUTION 12-2024-1– ASSIGNMENT OF COMMISSION COMMITTEES TO THIRD DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE (FOSTER). After the appointment and swearing in of the new commissioner, this resolution assigned all committees that Rebecca Stone was on, to the new third district representative. The vote was 17-0-1 as Commissioner Threet had to leave the meeting.
RESOLUTION 12-2024-2 – APPOINT MEMBERS TO THE CUMBERLAND COUNTY BUILDING CODES BOARD OF APPEALS (FOSTER). Sam McAdoo was reappointed to the Building Codes Board of Appeals in a 16-1-1 vote, with Commissioner Patterson voting against. His first term was for one year, but this one is for a full four-year term. It is done this way to ensure the board members are staggered so all would not need to be reappointed in the same year.
RESOLUTION 12-2024-3 – RE-APPOINT MEMBER TO THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU WATER AUTHORITY (FOSTER). Missy Sliger was reappointed to a second, full term on the CPWA in a 17-0-1 vote. Her first term was for two years, but this one is for a full four-year term. It is done this way to ensure the board members are staggered so all would not need to be reappointed in the same year.
RESOLUTION 12-2024-4 – APPOINT MEMBERS TO THE ADULT-ORIENTED ESTABLISHMENT BOARD (FOSTER). Kevin Poore, Sandy Brewer, and Wanda Reid were reappointed to the Adult-Oriented Establishment Board for four-year terms. The resolution was approved 17-0-1.
RESOLUTION 12-2024-5 – APPOINT MEMBERS TO THE AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION COMMITTEE (FOSTER). Jose Rodriguez and Deborah Ward, upon recommendation from the Ag Extension County Director, were submitted for four-year terms to the Agricultural Extension Committee. The recommendations were approved 17-0-1.
RESOLUTION 12-2024-6 – APPROVING RIGHT-OF-ENTRY REQUEST FROM THE CITY OF CROSSVILLE FOR THE JUSTICE COMPLEX (GIBSON). Cumberland County is working with the City of Crossville on upgrades to the sewer line at the Justice Complex. This resolution gives the City of Crossville right of entry to install and perform checks on a bar screen, and was approved 17-0-1.
RESOLUTION 12-2024-7 – APPROVING THE CUMBERLAND COUNTY IDLE FUNDS INVESTMENT POLICY (FOSTER). The Investment Committee created and approved policies and procedures for cash management, and investment of idle county funds to receive the best return for the funds invested. The new policy was approved by the Investment Committee on November 18, 2024, and was approved by the full commission in an 17-0-1vote.
RESOLUTION 12-2024-8 – ADOPTING MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING PERTAINING TO STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS FOR THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT (FOSTER). This MOU was needed to legally solidify the allocation of funding of American Rescue Plan funding for upgrades at the Cumberland County Health Department. It did not allocate additional funds, but merely codified the allocation of those funds. The resolution was approved 17-0-1.
RESOLUTION 12-2024-9 – ADOPTING MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING PERTAINING TO THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS FOR CUMBERLAND COUNTY (FOSTER). This MOU was needed to legally solidify the allocation of funding of American Rescue Plan funds received by the county. This includes several funding allocations previously approved by the County Commission. It did not allocate additional funds, but merely codified the allocation of those funds. The resolution was approved 17-0-1.
RESOLUTION 12-2024-19 – APPOINT CUMBERLAND COUNTY FLEET MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR (FOSTER). I recommended Adam Ciabattari to fill the vacant Fleet Maintenance Supervisor position. In an 17-0-1vote, the resolution was approved.
RESOLUTION 12-2024-20 – URGING THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE TO ENACT LAWS UPHOLDING NULLIFICATION OF UNCONSTITUTIONAL FEDERAL ACTION AND RESTORATION OF STATE OF SOVEREIGNTY (PATTERSON). This resolution urged the State of Tennessee General Assembly to pass a law enabling the nullification of unconstitutional federal actions that violate the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution. The Tennessee Legislature passed resolution SJR9005 in October of 2021 to this affect. The full text of the resolution can be found here. The resolution failed due to lack of a motion.
Financial Update
The Cumberland County Codes Department issued 48 building permits, 37 general mechanical permits, and 57 general plumbing permits in November 2024. A total of $55,351 in fees were collected.
The EMS department collected $283,374 this month for a year-to-date total of $1,824,622 which is $50,374 below projections. To make the annual budget of $4.5 million, monthly collections need to average $375,000. Collections are lower this month because our third-party billing company switched software and not all of the bills were able to be processed. The additional funding is being processed and should show on the next monthly report.
October sales tax collections (for cash register receipts two months prior) for the BOE for this fiscal year came in at $1,364,585 which was $5,741 above projections. Year to date, collections are $116,895 above projections. Property tax collections were 29.46 percent compared to 30.28 percent in the prior year. Hotel/Motel tax collections are $513,708, which is 41.05 percent of the annual $1,251,275. With still only two months of revenue paid, prisoner boarding collections are $87,494 of a $386,952 annual budget.
I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!
Thank you for being part of the solution and 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 X (formerly Twitter).
Thank you.
Allen Foster
Cumberland County Mayor
http://allenfoster.com
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