County Poised to Pass "NO NEW TAXES" Budget

The Sumner County Commission passed a budget recently and that budget does NOT include new taxes. Here's more from Gallatin News:

Sumner County Commissioners are scheduled to vote on a combined county government and school system budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year next week, which does not include a property tax increase for residents.

The approximately $355.5 million combined spending plans were approved by the county’s budget committee on June 15. A vote by the full commission is set for June 29.

Unlike in previous years, Sumner County Budget Committee Chairman Chris Taylor said that county departments and elected officials were told this year that additional funding would be limited due to the negative economic impact the pandemic has had locally.

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Atchley Throws Tantrum, Resigns

Sumner County Administrator of Elections Lori Atchley is throwing a fit (and playing and loose with "the facts") as she leaves her post by way of resignation.

The Hendersonville Standard has more:

Citing a growing frustration with the Sumner County Commission’s unwillingness to pay her employees a comparable wage, Sumner County Administrator of Elections Lori Atchley has resigned from the post she has held since 2011. Atchley’s resignation will become effective Nov. 18. 

While Atchley claims the County Commission is not paying attention to her staff's salary needs, here's what Budget Committee Chair Chris Taylor had to say:

Budget Committee Chairman Chris Taylor says the budget committee met and used the comparative information Atchley provided and came up with a fair raise of 12 percent for election office employees.

“Her budget was increased more than anyone else’s budget,” said Taylor. 

Atchley acknowledged that her department employees received a seven percent raise as well as the same five percent cost of living increase all county employees received.

Atchley also indicated she's tried to improving voting in Sumner County -- this despite the fact her office has actually worked to close polling places and reduce satellite early voting:

In recent months, the Election Commission has voted NOT to have satellite early voting in the Presidential Preference Primary in March -- which is also the primary for the Tax Assessor position. Then, the reaffirmed that vote, in spite of resolutions from the cities of Hendersonville, Portland, and Goodlettsville asking for the voting. And most recently, they voted against allowing a public comment period before meetings.

The facts just aren't on Atchley's side.

For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

TABLED

The Sumner County Commission tabled the 2019-2020 budget in a meeting last week after disagreement about funding for volunteer fire departments and other funding disputes.

The move comes as Sumner County enters a 5th consecutive year without any revenue increase. Here's more from the Hendersonville Standard:

After lengthy discussion and hearty citizen disapproval of stripping the volunteer fire department of funding, the commission voted to table the 2019-2020 fiscal year budget appropriations and to approve a continuation budget at 1:28 a.m. on June 18.

The continuation budget was approved by a vote of 21 – 2 and means that all department funding will stay as it is beginning on July 1 until a decision is reached. The appropriations were tabled and will be discussed at the next commission meeting on July.

“One thing to bear in mind when volunteer fire department came up, and that was a tough one, we had slotted $10,000 to $14,000 (each),” Taylor said, but the previously awarded $24,000 was not available due to additional expenses, such as the jail roof and repairs to jail locks.

“I’m going to ask for a one time $450,000 improvement for them, call it a tax increase, call it whatever you want,” he continued.

This was later approved by vote of 19 – 1 with 3 abstaining votes, though where the money would come from was not decided. It would give every volunteer fire department the $24,000 and also leave $130,000 for emergency services to distribute to other stations upon review. Donations and fundraising activities make up the rest of their funding.

While the County Commission struggles to fund growth, the Sumner County School Board sent a budget that included a 5th consecutive budget without a scale increase for teacher pay. Sumner County ranks 103rd in Tennessee in rate of teacher pay raises since 2014.

The situation last week echoes the early warning signs of fiscal crisis that preceded the 2012 closing of Sumner County Schools due to a budget impasse between the School Board and County Commission.

It will be interesting to see how the County Commission ultimate responds to this challenge. Will they move to increase revenue by way of a small property tax increase or will they shift funds in order to kick the can down the road or will they adjust priorities?

It seems many more early morning meeting adjournments may be forthcoming.

For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

Where's Jim?

Where's Jim? That's the question citizens in the 6th County Commission district are likely asking about County Commissioner Jim Vaughn following his recent column in the Hendersonville Standard.

In the column, Vaughn suggests the recently adopted tax rate came as a surprise to him. He further notes that he doesn't understand why the schools need more money and that it's not clear to him Sumner County faced financial disaster if something wasn't changed.

Vaughn might be surpised about the budget and tax issues because meeting minutes from the September 2nd meeting where Commissioners were sworn-in and assigned to committees reflect that Vaughn wasn't present that night.

Minutes from the September 8th meeting where the School Board's budget was voted on by the Education Committee indicate that Vaughn didn't bother showing up for that one, either. And, on September 15th, when County Commissioners voted on the budget for schools, Jim Vaughn wasn't present.

Voters elected Jim Vaughn to serve them by attending meetings, asking questions, and being a part of the process. But it looks like he took most of September off. No word yet on whether Vaughn will return his monthly stipend for September to the General Fund.

Vaughn did show up to the October 20th County Commission meeting. But his November 21st article suggests he wasn't aware of what was going to be discussed at a November 3rd County Commission meeting.

Vaughn says he was surprised a tax increase was being discussed in spite of public notice published on the County Commission website and in the Hendersonville Star News and Gallatin News Examiner on both October 22nd and October 31st. The notice stated clearly the "intent to exceed the certified tax rate."

Further, as a County Commissioner, Vaughn would have received a meeting packet and agenda. So, sometime in the two weeks between when he should have known what was on the agenda and the night of the meeting, Vaughn could have talked to Finance Director David Lawing and found out more about what was going to be recommended.

Finally, Vaughn asserts that the county was well-managed in the past. This must mean he suffers from the same faulty memory currently afflicting fellow Commissioner Merrol Hyde. Vaughn previously served on the budget committee. He was a part of the group that consistently recommended deficit budgets made whole through spending of reserve funds. It was Vaughn who helped craft a taxpayer-funded bailout of the county's failed insurance trust.

As County Commissioner Chris Taylor made clear in an analysis of the budget situation, before the vote to raise taxes, Sumner County was on the verge of financial collapse as early as July, 2015. This because previous leaders, Vaughn among them, steered the ship wrecklessly in the name of never raising taxes.

Now, taxpayers in District 6 are left to wonder: Is Jim Vaughn doing his job? He's not showing up to meetings, he's not paying attention to meeting notices, and he's not taking responsibility for his past failed leadership.

For more on news in Hendersonville, follow @HvilleNews

Chris Taylor Takes on the Budget

County Commissioner Chris Taylor has prepared a 6-page document that explains the reasoning behind the new property tax rate of $2.50.

Taylor uses charts and graphs and straightforward explanation to note why the County Commission set the rate where it did.

Here are a few highlights:

1) The property tax rate had not been raised or adjusted for inflation since 2003. Real purchasing power has declined by about 21 cents on the dollar over that time period. That means the county brings in the same dollar amount and it buys less and less each year.

2) The previous County Commission borrowed over $22 million from various reserve funds over the past 5 years to make up for the deficit budgets they were running.

3) The County Insurance Trust was bailed out using reserve funds in 2013 and will need another $3 million bailout to remain solvent in 2015. The Commission intends to correct this problem going forward by charging an appropriate rate for benefits and by properly funding the employee portion of benefits

4) Each 1 cent increase on the tax rate generates roughly $400,000

5) Operating funds for schools, including the new Burrus Elementary, account for nearly 18 cents of the increase

6) An additional portion of the increase will be used to pay for capital projects at schools, including a building plan that will both increase space at existing facilities and repair aging HVAC systems.

7) There are 700-800 people in Sumner County without running water. It will cost roughly $30 million to correct this problem -- but once fixed, it will have long-term health and economic development benefits.

YES - you did just read that there are homes in part of Sumner County that in 2014 do NOT have running water. 

The rate was set at $2.50 so as to allow for projected growth and adjust for inflation over time. In other words, the current County Commission did not want to just cover expenses and be faced with a crisis again next year. This rate, explains Taylor, will allow for growth and the accumulation of reserves.

Read his full presentation here.

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