Terry Frank
Spending requests have exceeded expected revenues by more than $4 million, mostly because of a proposal to hire more jailers, and Anderson County officials will discuss the budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 during a Monday evening workshop.
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank and Budget Director Chris Phillips have said they plan to present a balanced budget that does not raise taxes but still provides core services.
County officials have said projected revenues are down slightly, or about 98 percent of what they are in the current fiscal year. There has been a slight increase in property assessments, but sales and business tax revenues are projected to be down.
In April, Phillips said the largest request for new funding comes from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, which has asked for an extra $3.3 million for 34 more jailers for an expanded jail. That’s less than the 41 new jailers recommended in a recent staffing study.
There’s also a possible 20 percent increase in health insurance costs, Phillips said.
Other factors that could affect the budget are $600,000 in capital project requests, including $500,000 for Sheriff’s Department cars and a school budget that has been out of balance by about $3.2 million.
“I’m sure they’re going to be working hard on that to get that down,” Phillips told Anderson County commissioners during an April meeting.
He said the county budget talks may initially appear to be “doom and gloom,” but there is an opportunity to look for ways to make operations more efficient. And he seemed optimistic that the budget issues could be resolved.
In some respects, the early budget discussions this year resemble those of last year, when Anderson County Sheriff Paul White asked for an additional $1.8 million in his proposed budget. County officials were able to provide the Sheriff’s Department with more jailers for a new 128-bed dormitory without raising taxes.
“We have a lot of work to do, but I don’t think there’s anything new that we haven’t faced in the past,” Phillips said last month.
Monday’s budget workshop starts at 5 p.m. in Room 312 at the Anderson County Courthouse. If it’s needed, a second workshop could be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Frank is the chair of the Anderson County Budget Committee. Other committee members are Phillips and county commissioners Dusty Irwin, Tim Isbel, and Steve Mead.
Frank said the Budget Committee will have a public hearing on the proposed budget, once it adopts one. That public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, May 30, in Room 312.
The budget will then be presented to the Anderson County Commission at 6:30 p.m. June 17, also in Room 312 of the courthouse.
The property tax rate in Anderson County is $2.35 per $100 of assessed value in Oak Ridge, $2.503 in Clinton, and $2.532 in rural areas, including Lake City, Norris, and Oliver Springs. The rates vary because Oak Ridge and Clinton don’t have to pay for the county schools’ debt service.
Leave a Reply