Cumberland County Commission Meeting

The April 2023 meeting of the Cumberland County Commission was held tonight with all Commissioners in attendance except David Gibson and John Patterson.  I am currently out of town in Washington, DC (at no cost to the local taxpayer) meeting with our federal legislators and other groups to discuss the needs of our community.  My Office Manager, Beth Wyatt-Davis, attended the meeting and gave me the voting information to make this update complete.

Under new business, the Election Commission made changes to their personnel policies.  They do not follow the county wide personnel policies so the County Attorney reviewed and has signed off on the updates as being legal.  The policies will be placed in the minutes of the meeting.  No vote was required for this action.

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

RESOLUTION 04-2023-1 – TO ACCEPT OFFER(S) TO PURCHASE DELINQUENT TAX PROPERTY OWNED BY CUMBERLAND COUNTY (HOLBROOK).  The following delinquent tax properties were approved in a 16-0 vote for purchase and will now go back on the tax rolls.

RESOLUTION 04-2023-2 – TO AUTHORIZE A TWO-DOLLAR FILING FEE FOR DOCUMENTS FILED ELECTRONICALLY IN THE REGISTER OF DEEDS OFFICE IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY, TENNESSEE (DAVIS).  The Register of Deeds, Trey Kerley, requested a resolution that allows the collection of a $2.00 electronic filing fee for documents filed via the internet.  The resolution required a 2/3 (12) majority of the Commission to pass.  The resolution was approved in a unanimous vote.

RESOLUTION 04-2023-3 – AUTHORIZING THE SALE OF A SURPLUS BOOM TRACTOR TO THE CITY OF PLEASANT HILL, TENNESSEE (MAXWELL).  Road Superintendent Stanley Hall has declared a 1994 New Holland tractor with mower boom as surplus.  The resolution to sell to Pleasant Hill for $2,500 was approved 16-0.

RESOLUTION 04-2023-4 – GENERAL FUND BUDGET AMENDMENT, COUNTY CLERK (DAVIS).  This resolution moved $3,500 from the County Clerk’s Technology Fund to purchase a postage machine and supplies.  The resolution was approved unanimously.

RESOLUTION 04-2023-5 – GENERAL FUND BUDGET AMENDMENT, EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (PATTERSON).  This resolution, approved 16-0, moved $89,100 from Fund Balance to pay for the increased price of remounting three ambulances.

The following resolutions were also approved:

• RESOLUTION 04-2023-6 – GENERAL PROGRAM SCHOOL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT (DAVIS).
• RESOLUTION 04-2023-7 – GENERAL PURPOSE SCHOOL FUND, CTE STATE AND NATIONAL COMPETITION BUDGET AMENDMENT (SHERRILL).
• RESOLUTION 04-2023-8 – GENERAL PROGRAM SCHOOL FUND, BUDGET AMENDMENT (DAVIS).

RESOLUTION 04-2023-9 – TO APPROVE UPDATING THE CURRENT CUMBERLAND COUNTY PERSONNEL POLICY (FOSTER).  There were a few minor changes and additions to the county personnel policy.  The update policy, approved 16-0, will be posted online soon.

RESOLUTION 04-2023-10 – TO APPROVE THE HIRING OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES FOR COURTHOUSE REPAIRS AND RENOVATION (MALL).  The next step in getting the old courthouse back in shape and in working order was taken with the hiring, in a unanimous vote, of WJE Engineers & Architects, P.E., and Upland Design Group.  They were brought in on an emergency basis back in September of 2022 to check the Courthouse for safety, and to study, design, and create solutions to temporarily remediate the issues found.  Both companies, along with our Maintenance Supervisor, John Doddroe, were instrumental in keeping people safe.

Financial Update
Sales tax collections came in at $1,156,878 against a budgeted number of $1,099,224 for a positive variance of $57,654 for the month.  Year-to-date, we are $220,317 above budget projections.

EMS collections for the month were $386,739 against a monthly budgeted amount of $366,667 for a positive monthly variance of $20,072.  Year-to-date collections are $3,217,420 which is $82,583 below budget, but the gap is closing.

Property tax collections are at 99.3% of budget compared to 99.2% last year. 

Hotel/Motel Tax collections are at $856,922 compared to $789,373 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 73.66% of budget this year compared to 97.6% last year (compared to a lower budgeted number).

Prisoner Boarding collections are at $243,868 against a reduced budget of $423,925 which is 57.53% 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