The Oak Ridge City Council considers a series of potential budget amendments during a special meeting Thursday.
They were scheduled to consider more than a dozen budget amendments Thursday, but Oak Ridge City Council members approved only one that could immediately affect spending. It was a recommendation to spend another $50,000 on the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce contract.
The proposal will be considered by the City Council during the second and final budget reading on May 28. The new fiscal year starts July 1.
During a special four-hour meeting Thursday, Council rejected other proposals to increase spending on capital maintenance by $250,000 and cut spending on travel. Members asked for further study on a recommendation to consider relocating Fire Station No. 2 in east Oak Ridge to Melton Lake Drive.
Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn, who had submitted nine proposals to cut spending and reduce the property tax rate by up to 45 cents, withdrew her recommendations Thursday. She said other Council members hadn’t agreed to reduce the property tax rate from its current rate of $2.39 per $100 of assessed value.
“I don’t think it’s fair to arbitrarily make cuts if we don’t have a plan of action,” Baughn said.
She said the residents who voted for her want a competitive tax rate and are concerned about the city’s relatively high debt and rising sewer and water rates.
“We are losing ground,” Baughn said.
But six of her amendments had already been rejected by Council in lopsided votes during a regular meeting on Monday. Among other things, her amendments could have slashed spending on travel and memberships in economic development organizations, and cut funding for the Oak Ridge Public Library and Recreation and Parks Department.
Other Council members said residents were satisfied with municipal services and the tax rate. The property tax rate hasn’t been raised in five years, city officials said.
“I want to keep the tax rate right where it is,” Council member Charlie Hensley said.
“Our tax rate is not egregious,” Council member Anne Garcia Garland said. “It’s not a burden on most people.”
Several Council members who opposed cutting services or the tax rate said they didn’t want to slow down the city’s economic development momentum. They cited a range of projects that could start generating new tax revenues soon, possibly next year, including the redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall and the new Kroger Marketplace development, now known as the Westcott Center.
“I’m not interested in cutting any department, nor am I interested in cutting the tax rate,” Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan said. “It’s the wrong message to send to people.”
“I would hate to see us back off now,” Garcia Garland said. “I would hate to see us ‘nickel and dimed.’”
City Manager Mark Watson had originally proposed spending $125,000 on Chamber-related services and projects such as sending city officials on recruiting trips. But in a 4-3 vote, Council members approved an amended proposal from Chuck Hope and raised the amount to $175,000. The money would not be used for Chamber personnel costs, and the additional spending would come from city reserves.
Separately, Watson had already proposed reserving an extra $25,000 for unexpected Chamber-related expenses.
Hope said Watson is using a three-part approach that also includes economic development consultants Ray Evans and Steve Jones, who could earn a total of $84,000 in the next fiscal year, which starts July 1.
“It’s no longer just $200,000 for the Chamber,” Hope said. “I’m just afraid that the resources there are too low.”
Voting in favor of the increased spending for the Chamber were Hope and Hensley, and Council members Jane Miller and David Mosby. Voting against it were Beehan, Baughn, and Garcia Garland.
Baughn said the city didn’t have evidence of a return on investment from the Chamber during the past decade, and Garcia Garland said there is a natural conflict of interest in asking the Chamber to perform economic development work for the city.
“I can no longer support funding that organization at such an extravagant level,” Baughn said.
“I really think we should follow a different pathway right now,” Garcia Garland said.
The capital maintenance and fire station proposals had also been recommended by Hope. The initial recommendation to reduce travel expenses Thursday was proposed by Miller.
Hope had said residents in the far southeast corner of the city are outside a five-mile radius that could help with response times and insurance rates. He also said there are some building issues at Fire Station No. 2, including concerns about settling.
But Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, who retired from the insurance industry, said companies now look at other factors besides distances from fire stations. He said he would want more detail before the city considers relocating the fire station, particularly since it could cost more than $1 million to build a new one. The mayor said the project should be service-related, if it is considered, and not driven by concerns about insurance rates.
“I’m suggesting that we need more data,” Beehan said.
In a 6-1 vote, Council agreed to set aside the fire station proposal and make it part of Watson’s goals for the upcoming fiscal year.
The budget approved by Council in a 5-2 vote on first reading on Monday did not include a property tax rate increase, but it does include a 1 percent pay raise for city employees.
Note: This story was updated at 6:45 p.m. May 19.
Jack C. says
Melton Lake Drive is mainly a residential area with hopes of making it more of a tourist attraction and recreation area. Diverting 3-4 acres from those uses for a fire department seems detrimental to those aims. Is there not another location that would provide adequate fire protection ?
bill says
why the need, and what’s the justification, for building a new fire station that far east?
Ellen Smith says
In a nutshell, the concern is that the houses in the southeasternmost corner of the city (Park Meade, Rockbridge Greens, etc.) are ‘too far” from a fire station. Moving the east end fire station to Melton Lake Drive would reduce response times and could greatly reduce homeowner’s insurance cost for folks in that area. However, it’s not clear what the actual situation is, and most of Council felt that it would be premature to take any action other than asking staff to look into the matter.
Sam Hopwood says
One might want to keep in mind that our affluent friends bought/built their McMansions in those gated communities by choice in order to get away “from the herd” so to speak. I have heard the figure of $1M-$2M to move the fire station. No problem with that as OR seems to enjoy borrowing money, however, keep in mind that if that does occurr can a fire station at the far end of Wisconsin Ave. be far behind? Think about it.
Just haven’ a little fun, folks
Now to watch the Preakness… I’m betting on ORB!
Ellen Smith says
It has been publicly noted that the fire-station situation existed when those houses were built and when the residents bought them. Unfortunately, it’s likely that some of those buyers were given the impression that a new fire station was being planned. Indeed, in years past there was some discussion of building an additional fire station to serve southeast Oak Ridge.
If it’s determined that there is a real need for better fire-station access in southeast Oak Ridge (I don’t know if there is such a need), moving the east-side station to Melton Lake Drive would be a far better deal financially than adding another fire station near Edgemoor Road. Relocating a fire station would cost $1M-$2M as a one-time expense, but equipping an additional fire station would add significantly to that cost (fire trucks are expensive, you know!) and staffing an additional station would cost at least $1 million a year — every single year! The existing east-side station is an older building that is expected to need some major renovations soon, so it makes sense to ask whether the city should relocate it instead of fixing it up.
Denny Phillips says
I’m not sure I follow the logic on this issue. If property taxes are not a “burden on most people” and cutting homeowner expenses is “the wrong message to send to people”, why would we then argue that reducing homeowner’s insurance costs for a handful of homes owned by people who would appear to be the most likely to afford paying a little more as a valid reason to spend money on relocating a fire station?
Also, out of curiosity, would relocating the fire station, while good for reducing the insurance rates for some residents, then put other residents that are close to the current station further away from a station and thus cause their insurance rates rise?
If it does, I could imagine that some person (not me of course, because I have the utmost confidence in our municipal leadership) might accuse the COR of picking wealthier home owners for beneficial insurance rates over the needs and wishes of less wealthy home owners.
I mean I would personally send a formal request to the Oak Ridge Housing Authority to prepare an in depth report on the potential impact on individual homes complete with home-by-home breakdowns of projected response time and insurance rate adjustments. It would probably be useful if they assigned a subcommittee, perhaps the East End Oak Ridge Fire Station Economic and Public Safety Advisory Board, or EEORFSEPSAB for short.
At the same time I would task the Environmental Quality Advisory Board with drafting a report on potential impacts of relocating the east end fire station in regards to wildlife, green areas, noise pollution, carbon footprint, soil erosion, and other environmental concerns. To date there has been no formal discussion on whether flashing lights and sirens might potentially impact plant growth, wildlife migration, contribute to water quality problems from the washing of fire trucks/fire drills, or whether the move might create longer drives to the majority of emergency response calls which could negatively impact Co2 emissions and climate instability. Again, a subcommittee tasked to this study would be useful, perhaps it might be called the Environmental Quality Advisory Board Subcommittee on East End Fire Station Environmental Impact to Indigenous Wildlife, Habitat, Water Quality and Greenhouse Emissions, or the EQABSEEFSEIIWHWQGE for short.
As a third point of information I would then enlist the Industrial Development Board to consider potential impact on commerce and industrial activity from such a move by way of the Industrial Development Board Delegation on East End Fire Station Commercial and Industrial Activity Impact as Affecting Growth, Public-Private Partnership and Long Term Viability, the IDBDEEFSCIAIAGPPPLTV..
And, of course, a subcommittee report from the Traffic Safety Advisory Board’s, TSABSEEFSRERTCIPSRD (Traffic Safety Advisory Board Subcommittee on East End Fire Station Relocation Effects on Routine Traffic, Commuters Impact, Pedestrian Safety and Road Deterioration).
Once these reports were completed, I would ask CC to partner with two senior representatives from the EEORFSEPSAB, EQABSEEFSEIIWHWQGE, IDBDEEFSCIAIAGPPPLTV, and the TSABSEEFSRERTCIPSRD to develop a 10 year plan on the project. i would then send the plan, the “COR 10 Year Proposed East End Fire Station Relocation Plan” to a consulting firm and pay $500,000 for a feasibility study.
After carefully reading through the findings, I would then have the CC vote on it.
Anything short of these measures I have suggested above would constitute a lack of due diligence, in my opinion.
Then again, what do I know?
Ellen Smith says
It looks to me like you are protesting a decision that hasn’t been made yet, Denny. It hasn’t even received serious analysis. (See John Huotari’s reply to “bill”, where John says “This proposal was set aside and made a part of the administration’s goals for the next fiscal year.”)
As for the justification, I have the impression that the main determinant of a need will be the adequacy of protection for life and property.
Eileen Slater says
Shouldn’t “adequacy of protection for life and property” be a part of the initial permitting process for large residential developments such as those in question, and the related capital costs be included in the infrastructure requirements borne initially by developers? This way other property tax payers who have been taking care of their own burden for this service don’t have to share this expense, unfairly in my opinion. It’s too easy, after the fact, to justify continuing major expenses to the general population with the afterthought of “adequacy of protection” as if it couldn’t be foreseen.
Ellen Smith says
Eileen, there’s no value in arguing about what should or shouldn’t have been done back in the 1990s when these subdivisions were started. Somebody (not me and not you — and not the people who are making decisions for the city now) made those decisions and the community needs to address the situation that exists today.
Anyway, please don’t read my comment as suggesting that it was unsafe for those homes be built without a fire station in the neighborhood. It’s more of a question of whether the city fire department can meet the standards it sets for itself. I don’t have data on response times, but I guesstimate that Oak Ridge’s professional fire department can provide better response times to those homes volunteer fire departments can provide in most of the county. Also, at least some of those homes were built with sprinklers, which greatly reduce the potential for loss.
Denny Phillips says
Protesting? Oh heavens no. If the COR told me they needed my first born child I would gladly submit.
I’m sort of ashamed to admit it, but I never graduated college. Worse yet, my high school education was from Anderson County High School instead of Oak Ridge. Because of my ignorance and lack of pedigree, I always yield to the wisdom of the COR leaders. I trust their wisdom implicitly.
Somebody tried to tell me the COR had some debt problems, high tax rates, growing drug problems, a slipping school system and pressing utility problems the other day. I said “Poppycock! Oak Ridge is Ex-an-a-doo”. He told me later that its actually the X is actually pronounced like a Z in Xanadu, and I was like “Well, you know how ignurnt us county peeple are.”
Helen Standifer says
Sounds like someone has a big ole chip on his shoulder because he THINKS Oak Ridgers think they are better than him. I ran into an Oliver Springs lady who felt that about 40 yrs. ago.
mary connolly says
Not much.
Ck Kelsey says
But more than another poster 🙂
mary connolly says
Thanks for your response Ck. But I wouldn’t bet on that.
Denny Phillips says
You are certainly correct on that one Mary. I just wanted to sound like a smart person for a change.
Here in Marlow, we would just stick a fire department on the main road (Hwy 61) in the middle of the community. No studies, hearings, proposals, boards, committees or nothing. No spending money, ribbon cuttings, long-winded speeches. Nope, none of that.
It’s really lame. I mean, it would be cool if we had a bunch of that stuff so that maybe me or some of my cousins or something or maybe my daughter when she gets old enough could get on a committee or board or something so we could feel important and stuff.
mary connolly says
Denny,
I believe that the studies, meetings,etc. that you mention are called the democratic process and the transparency that is required in our democracy.
I prefer everyone having information based on facts and public response than major decisions which affect the quality of all our lives being made in secret, at the last minute, and then dropped on an unwary and uninformed public.
As to putting family members on boards and/or committies in order to feel important, that is more in the realm of your own family experience.
Denny Phillips says
You learn something new every day. For instance, being the ignurnt hillbilly I am, I thought we lived in a representative republic not a democracy. That is why I love coming to this website. Just the mere proximity to greatness makes me feel a little smarter.
And again, you have hit the nail on the head. Thanks to my family ties I have managed to procure powerful positions like sandwich maker and dishwasher, clearly tasks well above my competency level.
John Huotari says
Denny,
I have updated the story with a little more information about the possible fire station relocation. Council members had some questions similar to those you raised in the first two paragraphs of your comment above.
City Manager Mark Watson said the fire station has been discussed in the past but taken out of the city’s Capital Improvements Program, or CIP. He said the city staff has a lot of work to do on this potential project and said the proposed $50,000 could be better spent in the future.
Tom Beehan said the project, if it is considered, should be service-related, and not based on lowering insurance rates.
More information is available on pages 6-9 of the special meeting agenda: http://www.oakridgetn.gov/images/uploads/documents/agendas/05162013_SpecialMtg_Agenda.pdf
TJ Garland says
You remind me of the Mogambu Guru
http://www.gold-speculator.com/mogambu-guru/
Denny Phillips says
I do love me some acronyms!
johnhuotari says
Jack C. and bill, please remember to use your last name when posting here. Thank you.
Regarding your question about the fire station, Chuck Hope said residents in the far southeast quadrant of the city are outside the five-mile radius for response time and insurance rates. Also, as Ellen said, the existing building might need some repairs, including to address settling issues.
But with this project expected to cost $1 million or more, other council members, including Mayor Beehan, as well as the city staff, said they needed more detail before starting a relocation study. This proposal was set aside and made a part of the administration’s goals for the next fiscal year.
Dave Smith says
“‘I don’t think it’s fair to arbitrarily make cuts if we don’t have a plan of action,’ Baughn said.”
Is that the exact wording of her explanation for withdrawing her recommendations? If so, the use of the word “arbitrary” implies that her proposed cuts were based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system. My opinion has been that the proposed cuts were strongly aligned with the laundry list of activities and people that a smallish group of Oak Ridgers have objected to over the years.
I do not think a majority of Oak Ridgers are supportive of an irrational emphasis on reducing the property tax rate nor are they displeased that the city has borrowed money and raised water/sewer rates to fix our problematic overflow problems. In terms of selling Oak Ridge, I think an unwillingness to remedy contaminated storm water would be much more deleterious to our image than having a property tax rate that is marginally higher than our neighboring communities.
I think we have some capable and trustworthy folks managing our city government and economic development entities, including the land bank. There is little need for certain members of Council to micromanage their activities.
Ellen Smith says
I can’t be sure exactly what she said. I believe she used the words that John Huotari reported. My realtime record of the meeting (at http://ellensmith.org/blog/2013/05/16/live-blogging-the-may-16th-city-council-special-called-meeting/ ) says: “Trina Baughn says no one but her is committed to returning some budget savings to the taxpayers via reduced tax rates. Her intent was to return money to the citizens. She is withdrawing all of her previous motions and will not seek further reductions.” Also; “Trina Baughn says she is dropping her other proposals because she doesn’t think it’s fair to cut spending if there’s no commitment to follow up by cutting the tax rate.” The combination of John’s version with my version probably comes closer to what she said than either of us managed to record individually.
Dave Smith says
Ellen, thank you for the link to your live blog of the work session. That blog is an excellent resource, with just the right amount of non-partisan commentary thrown in!
During your hiatus (?) from Council we should pay you to blog the meetings. Few Oak Ridgers have time to attend the marathon Council meetings or to watch them on TV.
Ellen Smith says
Thanks, Dave. I don’t think I want to volunteer to live-blog every meeting. I decided to do this one because it wasn’t being videoed, and I knew that a number of people were disappointed that they couldn’t watch it on TV or over the Internet. I’ll probably do this again, but not on a regular basis!
johnhuotari says
Trina had a few comments about why she withdrew her proposals. She also said no other council members wanted to return money to taxpayers, and if council wasn’t going to decide how to reallocate savings, then she didn’t want to consider other proposals. Charlie Hensley objected at one point, saying, essentially, he didn’t want another council member speaking for him or putting words in his mouth.
Denny Phillips says
I agree whole-heartedly. That is why I don’t understand why Oak Ridge keeps offering tax abatements to businesses. These businesses should be eager to pay these highly reasonable property taxes to be part of this vibrant, well-serviced community with inspired capable brilliant leadership.
I feel certain we can all agree on that.