Friday, June 12, 2015
From the County Executive’s Desk
T. R. Williams
The last few weeks have been filled with meetings between the heads of every county department and the Commission’s Budget Committee, where financial needs and wants for the coming year are discussed.
As County Executive, I am chairman of the Budget Committee. Commissioners Scott Franks, Nathan Keeton, Jeffrey Hughes and Shane Eaton are other members of the committee, but all Commissioners are encouraged to attend, and many do. Budget Director Teresa Purcell plays a critical role in the process and we are very lucky to have someone with her talent and dedication working for us.
All committee meetings are open to the public. Dates and times are posted on the county website, LawrenceCountyTN.gov, and publicized by local newspapers and radio stations. Most are held in the conference room on the second floor of the Administrative Center, and announcements always specify the time and location. I encourage everyone interested in learning more about county government to attend committee meetings.
The state requires a new budget by June 30 each year, a deadline that has not been met in several years. Typically, the Lawrence County Commission passes a continuing budget on June 30, and a final draft several weeks later. Last year’s budget was not finalized until September 30, one week after I took office.
This year my goal is to have the 2015-16 budget complete by June 30, and day-long budget committee meetings have been held the last two weeks. I believe it’s important to meet our deadlines and have budget worries behind us so we can address other issues in a timely manner.
Requests presented to the budget committee include four new deputy positions at the Sheriff’s Department to handle courtroom security. The cost to train, equip, pay and provide cars for those officers adds up to $386,000. Lawrence County and the School System took on the cost of training and placing additional Student Resource Officers in all local schools last year. We are so glad to have those officers in place, but the annual expense is a strain on an already overburdened budget.
The county has also absorbed the cost of running the jail and taking care of inmates. Our last tax increase helped build a new, larger facility, but included no funds for its operation. Unfortunately, our jail population has increased 40% (311 is the current number) in the last year and a half and medical and food costs have doubled.
In 2014-15 alone, medical expenses at the jail were $450,000. Inmates lose any TennCare benefits when they are incarcerated, so the county bears all of the cost for their care. Drug abusers come to us with a variety of health problems, including dental issues that can cause systemic infections if they’re not corrected. Many have mental health issues that must be addressed as well.
Another potential cost in that area is a request from Overflow Ministries. Rick and Cinde Lucas direct the Life Skills Reentry Program at the Lawrence County Jail, and have had much success helping inmates become productive citizens after they’re released. However, the three-year grant that established the program was not renewed, and unless other funding is secured, the county may be called on to fund that program at a cost of $53,000 this coming year.
Ambulance director Larry Glass has asked for three more paramedics in his department so that three current staff members can take on more management responsibilities and serve as back-up when needed. The Lawrence County Health Department has requested $35,000 to match grants for capital improvements.
Inflation affects us all, whether we run a household, a business, or a government entity. Every budget expands to maintain a status quo, without factoring in the need for improvements or unforeseen costs. Our Highway Department and School System have needs that must be addressed in order to preserve the standards that Lawrence Countians deserve and economic development efforts require.
Road Superintendent Donnie Joe Brown has asked for $2 million for 2015-16 road projects alone. Dr. Bill Heath reports that school system costs have increased at a rate of 24% over the last six years, while county funding during the same period has increased only nine percent. These figures address basic funding only, not the proposed school building projects.
Coupled with these concerns is a stagnant economy. Jones Distribution Corporation, a longtime member of our industrial community, will shut its doors at the end of this month. The job losses are tragic for the families involved; but the closing has other economic ramifications that are not as obvious.
The company will continue to pay property taxes on the buildings and land unless it declares bankruptcy, but Lawrence County will suffer the loss of thousands in personal property taxes (paid on equipment and furnishings inside a place of business); sales tax collected on the company’s wholesale sales; and business tax on its gross receipts.
Through this regular report, I hope to keep Lawrence Countians better informed about issues that affect them, and none may affect them more than the budget. The county budget has been “balanced” in recent years by removing money from our fund balance, a savings account of sorts that we are required by law to maintain at a certain level. We can no longer rob our fund balance, and that means hard choices are before us.
