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KNOXVILLE—The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors approved a $10.5 billion fiscal year 2014 budget at its meeting Thursday and a 1.5 percent retail rate increase—TVA’s first increase in two years.
The public utility said the rate increase is less than the economy’s modest growth in inflation since the last increase in 2011, and it will add about $1.50 to the monthly power bill of a residential consumer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
On Thursday, the Roane County School Board voted to make several deep cuts to balance its budget for this year.
The cuts became necessary earlier when the Roane County Commission rejected the school system’s request for a 14-cent property tax increase to make up a $1.5 million shortfall. The deepest cut was to funding for the purchase of new textbooks to the tune of about $1 million. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau is one of three organizations that present the annual Secret City Festival. ORCVB President Katy Brown is pictured above, fifth from right, at the opening ceremonies for the 2012 festival along with other state and local officials.
Its budget has been cut 25 percent, but there will be no layoffs at the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Instead, the four-person staff will focus on attracting more weekend visitors to the Secret City and bringing in more events, possibly including those that generate fees. The organization could “own more events,” ORCVB President Katy Brown said, and rely on more grassroots efforts. That could include using more social media and travel writers.
“It’s going to be a shift,” Brown said Monday after the Oak Ridge City Council approved—in a voice vote with no opposition—a new one-year $300,000 contract for the ORCVB, the city’s main tourism organization. The funding is down from $410,000 last year. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
The Roane County Commission approved its budget Monday night with no tax increase. School officials had been seeking a 14-cent property tax increase to help make up a $1.5 million shortfall in the system’s budget for this year. Without the tax hike, school leaders say that deep cuts will be necessary to balance the budget.
The school board is scheduled to meet next Monday to begin making those cuts.
Mark Watson
The Oak Ridge City Council has already agreed to cut funding for the city’s main tourism organization by 25 percent under the budget approved in May.
On Monday, Council members will officially consider a one-year contract for the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau that would set funding at a maximum of $300,000, down from $410,000 last year. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
On Monday, the Clinton City Council approved the city’s budget for Fiscal Year 2013-2014.
The budget is balanced with no property tax increase for city residents, leaving the tax rate at 76 cents per $100 of assessed value while providing 2 percent pay raises for city workers and taking into account projected increases of between 5 and 20 percent in employee-related and liability insurance. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
The Roane County school system is facing a $1.5 million budget shortfall and some are calling for a property tax increase to make up the deficit, while others are saying no tax increase is needed and that the schools need to live within their means. Among the options that have been floated include possibly closing Midway High School.
The Roane County Budget Committee has recommended a budget that includes no tax increase, but school leaders have asked for a 14-cent property tax rate increase. [Read more…]
Terry Frank
Note: This story was updated at 1:12 p.m. June 18.
CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission unanimously approved a budget that cut the property tax rate by one-third of a penny on Monday.
It was a small but symbolic gesture, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said when she proposed the move, and commissioners endorsed it, during a special meeting last week.
For now, officials have resolved an impasse over whether there was enough money to cover the cost of new jailers hired in the past year by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department for a jail dormitory that is already open—and to pay for more than 30 new jailers needed when a 212-bed addition opens later this year or early next. [Read more…]
CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission could officially approve a budget tonight that lowers the property tax rate by one-third of a penny, and commissioners will consider re-establishing the Alternatives to Incarceration program under the direction and control of the Sheriff’s Department.
Commission will also consider selling 22.4 acres in the David Jones Industrial Park, with a 4.27-acre swap. The land would be sold for $13,500 per acre, with 2.9 acres removed from the original parcel to be retained by Anderson County.
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in Room 312 at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
On Thursday, the Oliver Springs Budget Committee recommended a tax rate increase and across-the-board water and sewer rate increases as they prepare to adopt a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
BBB-TV reported that the committee recommended water and sewer rate increases for both residential and commercial customers as the city prepares to apply for a loan to make improvements to its aging wastewater plant. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
On Monday, the Norris City Council voted on second and final reading to adopt its budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The budget approved this week contains no property tax rate increase, but it does provide 2 percent cost-of-living raises for city workers.
The Council did approve rate increases in water and sewer service that should cause customers’ bills to go up by anywhere from $5 to $10 a month. The increased rates are needed to pay for sewer improvements mandated by the state that will be undertaken during the next three years.
CLINTON—The Anderson County Commission endorsed a budget Thursday that lowers the property tax rate, gives employees a day off, and is supposed to provide enough money to pay for jailers hired in the past year while allowing the sheriff to hire new ones for a jail addition that could open later this year.
The budget would also restore some funding for the relatively new Alternatives to Incarceration program, which Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank had proposed cutting by 80 percent, and add money to cover the cost of increased health insurance premiums for county employees.
The budget was endorsed in a 12-1-1 vote during a special meeting Thursday, the second this week. It could officially be adopted during the County Commission’s regular meeting on Monday. [Read more…]
