Finance Related Items Approved By Commission

July 22, 2004

HUNTSVILLE - With completion of the budget still at least a month away, county commission Monday night voted to authorize the issuance of a tax anticipation note of up to $300,000 to help keep local government running until tax collections begin coming in.

County Mayor Dwight Murphy told the commission that the money would not be borrowed unless or until it was needed, and that whatever funds are borrowed will have to be paid back out of this year's tax collections.

That was but one of a series of resolutions passed by the commission Monday, as it met in formal session at the Scott County Office Building.

In other matters related to finance and the budget, the commission:

* Voted to advertise for bids for five vehicles, four police cruisers for the Sheriff's Department, and one administrative vehicle for county government and, once purchased, retire six of the police cruisers currently in use;

* Voted to award bids for several goods and services for the new fiscal year, among which were: milk/ice cream (Mayfield Dairy), stone (Caryville Stone), rock haul (K-Cap); legal advertising (Independent Herald); corrugated metal pipe (Scott Farmers Co-op), Tires (Tire Center of Knoxville), compressed gases (Shafer & Shafer Welding Supplies), pest control services (Volunteer Pest Control, Inc.) and crackers (Lance, Inc.);

* Approved a 10-year lease extension for the Oneida Nursing and Rehab Center (with Preferred Health Services of Tennessee), which extends the lease to a total of 20 years, and is expected to increase revenues $24,000 the first year, according to Mayor Murphy. Terms of the new lease agreement include raising the per-bed lease fee from $100 to $120 a month, plus two and one-half percent increase each year;

* Voted to refund $3,236.91 in tax payments to Leo Williams, after it was determined that he had been paying taxes on a 50-acre tract which is no longer on the tax maps of the county;

* Voted to authorize a special committee to negotiate leases for vacant office space in the Straight Fork Community Center;

* Approved a resolution to create the possition of Litter Education Coordinator, to be supervised by Mayor Murphy and Sheriff Jim carson. The position would be filled by a police academy-trained law enforcement officer who would be responsible for enforcing litter laws and going into schools to educate children on the harmful effects of littering;

* Joined the twons of Oneida and Winfield in approving a $25.00 per case litigation fee for all Juvenile and Sessions Court cases to help fund the S.T.A.N.D. drug testing and prevention program in the local schools;

* Endorsed an act of the Tennessee General Assembly assessing a litigation fee on all drug-related cases in Scott County Sessions Court, with the funds being earmarked for a "drug court" to help pay the costs of rehabilitation for drug offenders; and,

* Appropriated $250 to sponsor the Annual Scott County Auction/Telethon, which is set for next month to raise funds for the Boys & Girls Club.

Monday night's meeting opened with State Representative Les Winningham (D - Huntsville) and State Senator Tommy Kilby (D - Wartburg) reading and presenting resolutions which had been adopted by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed by the governor. One was in recognition of retired Scott County Solid Waste Director Vivian Smith, and the other in honor of the widow, sons and extended family of the late Scott County Sheriff's Deputy Hubert "John John" Yancey, who died in the line of duty.

Karen McClellan, a representative of the Appalachian Service Project, appeared before the commission to explain how her volunteer organization is at work throughout the county helping repair homes for the low income and elderly. She stated that 70 to 80 youth from churches all across the country are in Scott County each week through the summer. By the end of the season, she said, as many as 20 homes and families will have been assisted by the volunteers.

Scott County Emergency Management Director Wayne Shoemaker presented representatives of local fire departments with hand-held radios which have been obtained with a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The commission also approved a resolution establishing new policies for the Scott County Sheriff's Department, which include new rules and regulations for reserve officers (and adopting a list of qualified officers), approving a chain of command within the department, allowing part-time jailers to be employed when the jail population increases, and approving a salary schedule for deputies.

Responding to a request from former Scott County resident Clovis Eugene Lay of Alabama, the commission voted to allow a military monument to be erected on the right-of-way of a road in the Rock House community, in memory of all from that area who have served in the armed forces. A special committee was established to determine the site for the monument.

County Mayor Murphy reported on the completion of the landfill reclamation project in Helenwood, noting that Scott County Road Superintendent Dick Sexton had "saved the county a half-million dollars" by using his men and equipment to put the final cap on the site.

By an all aye vote, the commission voted to put electrical wiring underground to both the Finance Department and Board of Education's Central Office, during the construction of the Department of Human Service's addition, which is located behind those buildings. Murphy said that by taking down the poles and overhead wiring, additional parking spaces could be added behind the buildings.

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