Oak Ridge Today

Moody’s upgrades Anderson County’s rating, removes ‘negative outlook’

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

CLINTON—Moody’s Investors Service announced from New York that they have affirmed the Aa2 General Obligation, or GO, rating of Anderson County and have upgraded Anderson County’s rating by removing the “negative outlook,” officials said.

During bond issuance for rural elementary and rural high school bonds, as well as tax anticipation notes, Moody’s assigned Anderson County an Aa2 “negative outlook” rating in the 2010/2011 budget year, a press release said.

Highlights from Moody’s rating report of July 9, 2015, noted that the company lifted the negative outlook and that “improved financial performance” led to “reserve and liquidity growth,” the release said. [Read more…]

Roane reappraisals show 3.47 percent assessment drop; OR tax rate calculated at $2.52

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Jason Mumpower

Jason Mumpower

Note: This story was last updated at 5 p.m.

Roane County properties showed an overall 3.47 percent drop in assessed values in the five-year reappraisal process taken over by state officials this year, and the tax-neutral property tax rate in the City of Oak Ridge has been calculated at $2.52, the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office announced Thursday.

The tax-neutral rate is up from the current $2.39 per $100 of assessed value, a 13-cent increase.

Separately, the Oak Ridge City Council has been asked to consider a tax rate increase of up to eight cents, with a one-cent increase requested by the municipal staff and a seven-cent increase requested by the Oak Ridge Board of Education. The one-cent increase would help maintain city services and allow for a 2 percent pay raise for city employees, and the seven-cent increase would help cover a deficit and add money for salaries and staff, including a 3 percent pay raise.

Any tax increase, if approved by city officials, would be in addition to the tax-neutral rate calculated by the state. Each additional cent on the property tax rate generates about another $90,000 in revenue. A one-cent increase would cost the owner of a $145,000 house another $3.63 per year. An eight-cent increase could cost that homeowner another $29 per year. [Read more…]

Guest column: All AC communities decreased in assessed value, which is unprecedented

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Note: This is a copy of a letter from Leonard A. Abbatiello, Anderson County/Oak Ridge Equalization Board representative, to Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch and City Council regarding the 2015 Board of Equalization results.

Dear Honorable Mayor Gooch and Members of City Council:

I currently serve as the Oak Ridge representative on the Anderson County Board of Equalization.

The Anderson County Board of Equalization has completed its task of appraisal hearings for 2015. Attached is our report which has been sent to the Tennessee State Appraisal Office. It is the first year ever when there has been a decrease in the total appraisal base, Anderson County’s first in history.

This is also the lightest Board workload in recent history. This year, we evaluated 208 cases totaling $125,886,000 of appraised value, reducing their total to $95,781,000. Commercial appeals are now dominating Anderson County appeals, with the requests for changes in commercial exceeding residential values by 5.6 times. Some commercial cases are expected to also appeal to the state for additional relief. [Read more…]

Frank to host two information sessions to discuss county budget

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Terry Frank and Connie Aytes

Mayor Terry Frank and Connie Aytes, deputy budget director, review Anderson County financial documents. (Submitted photo)

 

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank will host two special budget discussions to give the public a chance to hear and see a financial snapshot of Anderson County’s health, and to provide the public an opportunity to ask questions, a press release said.

Both an evening and a day meeting are scheduled. The evening meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 16, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Club Room at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. The day meeting is scheduled for Friday, July 17, from 12-1 p.m. at the Clinton Community Center. The public is invited to attend. [Read more…]

Sen. McNally to discuss recent Supreme Court decisions at AC Tea Party meeting

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Randy McNally

Randy McNally

Tennessee Senator Randy McNally will discuss recent Supreme Court decisions and what they mean for the state during an Anderson County Tea Party meeting on Tuesday, July 14, a press release said.

McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, is also expected to discuss how the Tennessee General Assembly plans to address the decisions, the press release said. Those are among the items McNally is expected to address as he talks about items concerning Anderson County and Eastern Tennessee.

The July 14 meeting starts at 7 p.m. at Clinton Church of God. [Read more…]

Anderson County teachers disappointed as commissioners delay vote on budget, pay raise

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Anderson County Budget Committee and Rachel Minardo, Chris Phillips, and Connie Aytes

Rachel Minardo, right, a first-grade teacher at Claxton Elementary School and president of the Anderson County Education Association, asks for a 4 percent pay raise for county teachers and school staff during a May 28 public hearing on the county budget. Also pictured are Chris Phillips, left, director of accounts and budgets for Anderson County, and Connie Aytes, deputy budget director.

 

CLINTON—Anderson County teachers were disappointed as they watched county commissioners postpone a vote on the budget and a possible 4 percent pay raise on Tuesday.

But they’ll be back on Monday, June 29, for the next meeting of the Anderson County Commission, said Rachel Minardo, a first-grade teacher at Claxton Elementary School and president of the Anderson County Education Association.

It’s not clear if the 16-member Commission will agree to fund the school system’s request for a 4 percent raise for all teachers and staff. That’s what the Anderson County Board of Education unanimously recommended last month. The request could require the equivalent of an 18-cent increase in the property tax rate.

But during debate over proposed pay raises for some county employees on Tuesday, several commissioners said they want to be consistent and fair to all workers. [Read more…]

NAACP has forum on voting rights restoration on Thursday

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Tom Marshall

Tom Marshall

Have you been convicted of a crime and are now unable to vote, or having trouble getting a job?

On Thursday, the Oak Ridge/Anderson County chapter of the NAACP will present the first in a series of public forums designed to help you. The forum starts at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 25, at Spurgeon Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church at 100 South Benedict Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Tom Marshall, District 7 Public Defender, will provide information on how people having served their sentence can potentially get their voting right restored and their record expunged, a press release said. Additional agencies are providing information. [Read more…]

Emory Valley Early Learning Center receives ‘Gold Sneaker’ designation

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In front row, left to right, are Nina Vasquez, Kwan Davis, Brock Smith, and Tommy Meredith. In back, from left to right, are Patty Campbell, Anderson County Health Department nutritionist; Terry Frank, Anderson County mayor; Terry Peek, director of the Emory Valley Early Learning Center; and Jennifer Enderson, president of the Emory Valley Center. (Photo courtesy of Anderson County Health Department)

In front row, left to right, are Nina Vasquez, Kwan Davis, Brock Smith, and Tommy Meredith. In back, from left to right, are Patty Campbell, Anderson County Health Department nutritionist; Terry Frank, Anderson County mayor; Terry Peek, director of the Emory Valley Early Learning Center; and Jennifer Enderson, president of the Emory Valley Center. (Photo courtesy of Anderson County Health Department)

 

The Emory Valley Early Learning Center in Oak Ridge recently completed all requirements to be considered a “Gold Sneaker” facility by the State of Tennessee.

And on June 10, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank and employees of the Anderson County Health Department presented Emory Valley Learning Center with its Gold Sneaker incentives. The Gold Sneaker Initiative designation, developed by the Tennessee Department of Health, is an enhanced certification for daycares in Tennessee and requires that these centers maintain rigorous standards of physical activity, nutrition, and a tobacco-free campus, a press release said.

“The team at Emory Valley Center was so proud of their recognition, as they should be,” Frank said in the press release. “A focus on health and wellness during the early years is assuredly an investment in a healthy adulthood. I congratulate their wonderful team’s hard work and commitment meeting the standards of the governor and the Department of Health.” [Read more…]

Robbery warrant against Bartley recalled, dismissed

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Kenneth Stuart Bartley

Kenneth Stuart Bartley

The aggravated robbery warrant against Kenneth Stuart Bartley has been recalled and dismissed, authorities said.

Bartley, 23, had been identified as a suspect in a Sunday morning robbery in Anderson County. The alleged robbery occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, June 14, at the Marathon Station on Lake City Highway near Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

But authorities said Bartley was located in Vienna, Virginia, on Sunday night, and his family said he had been in Virginia.

On Sunday evening, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said its investigators would travel to Vienna to interview Bartley and work with Virginia authorities to determine if “Bartley was indeed in Virginia at the time of (the Sunday morning) robbery.” [Read more…]

Update: Bartley located in Vienna, Va.

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Kenneth Stuart Bartley

Kenneth Stuart Bartley

Kenneth Bartley, who has been identified as a suspect in a Sunday morning robbery in Anderson County, was located in Vienna, Virginia, on Sunday night, authorities said.

“We are aware his family is saying he has been in Virginia,” Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said. “Therefore, our investigators will be traveling there this evening (Sunday evening) to interview Bartley and work with Virginia authorities to determine if Bartley was indeed in Virginia at the time of this morning’s robbery. We will update everyone tomorrow (Monday, June 15) as to the results of the follow-up investigation.”

Bartley, 23, served time for homicide after a school shooting in Campbell County in 2005.

On Sunday afternoon, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said Bartley was the suspect in an armed robbery near Rocky Top on Sunday morning. The alleged robbery occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, June 14, at the Marathon Station on Lake City Highway near Rocky Top (the former Lake City). [Read more…]

One dies in single-vehicle crash on I-75

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Note: This story was last updated at 5:15 p.m.

Information from WYSH Radio

One person died in a single-vehicle crash on I-75 South in Anderson County on Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The crash, which was investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, involved a Ford pickup truck, and it occurred at about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday.

WBIR-TV in Knoxville has reported that the driver was Scott Davis, 46, of Jacksboro, Tennessee. [Read more…]

Fire destroys AC mobile home

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Sunday evening fire destroyed a mobile home on Cedar Grove Lane in Anderson County.

The fire was extinguished by crews from the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department with assistance from both the Clinton and Oak Ridge fire departments, and no injuries were reported.

The resident of the mobile home, Michelle Turnbill, told an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department deputy that she had grilled hot dogs on a small grill on the front porch. She said she checked it when she was done to make sure that the coals were out, and she told the deputy that it appeared to be cool to the touch. After going back inside, she heard what sounded like the grill turning over, and she looked out to see the indoor/outdoor carpet on the front porch ablaze.

She and her family made it out safely and called 911. She told investigators that there had been three dogs and a cat inside the home at the time of the fire, but the report does not indicate their fate.