E-911 Director Renews Request for Help from County in Funding New Dispatcher Position

June 20, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Due to increased call volume and workload over the last 16 years, the DeKalb County Emergency Communications District (E-911) is looking to hire more dispatchers with extra help from the City of Smithville and DeKalb County governments.

The city has already done its part.

During a budget work session in April, 911 Director Brad Mullinax met with the Smithville Mayor and Aldermen at city hall to ask that the city increase its annual contribution to $160,000, up from $119,595. Two weeks ago (June 7th) the aldermen honored Mullinax’s request by including in the 2021-22 city budget funding of $40,405 (salary and benefits) for another paid E-911 dispatcher position. The aldermen adopted the budget on second and final reading last Thursday night, June 17.

Mullinax made a similar request of the county budget committee Thursday night, June 17.

“Over the last 16 years we have had almost a 100% increase in call volume due to new emergency services personnel having been added to the county for the Sheriff’s department, Smithville police department, and fire departments. In addition to that our workload has increased. We are entering and validating more warrants in the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) as well as updating and registering information on sex offenders which is time consuming,” he said.

Another concern is that the Smithville and DeKalb County law enforcement agencies and Smithville Fire Department have to share the same radio frequency. Mullinax said the problem could be addressed by adding more dispatchers and making use of another available radio frequency to separate the departments on the air.

If approved the county’s annual contribution to the E-911 operation would increase from $119,595, to $160,000. Between the county, city, and E-911 district, four more dispatchers would be added (funded one each by the city and county and two by E-911) in order to have three dispatchers per shift (four shifts).

The DCECD (E-911) central dispatch center currently employs ten dispatchers, two per shift.

“The city and county each currently fund three dispatch positions and the Town of Alexandria funds us about $25,000 a year and then DeKalb County E-911 picks up the other piece of that (those costs). We (E-911) are also responsible for all the operational costs, radio repairs, tower repairs, etc.,” said Mullinax.

He is also asking that the county make repairs and improvements to the E-911 center building on Mountain Street in Smithville with COVID-19 relief funds or American Rescue Plan Act money if possible and to repave and seal the parking lot.

“Wood around the outside of the building next to the eaves is becoming rotten. We have temporarily patched it but the lights are falling down on the front of the building. We would also like to improve insulation in the building to lower the electric bill and the parking lot needs new asphalt. Its possibly a $50,000 to $60,000 expense but the E-911 district might help share some of the repair and improvement costs,” said Mullinax

The County Commission’s Health, Education & Public Welfare Committee is recommending that the budget committee approve Mullinax’s request.

The budget committee has not yet acted.

June 20, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Judicial Commissioners are asking for an increase in pay.

The request was made during Thursday night’s county budget committee meeting.

The pay for each of the three Judicial Commissioners, Tammy Ashburn, Joy Whitman, and David Gash is $12,900 per year. The request is to up the pay by $1,000 per year for each of the three judicial commissioners.

Last September the county commission adopted a budget amendment to increase the pay at that time by $75 per month.

Duties of the Judicial commissioners include processing the following:

*Criminal summons for the general public

*Orders of protections

*Signing all arrest warrants for the Smithville, Alexandria, and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Departments, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Edgar Evins State Park Rangers, and TWRA Officers.

*Signing search warrants and search warrants for blood draws

*Signing Mittimus, setting bonds

*Speaking with every person who has been arrested

*Answering any and all calls from the public

*Attending certification classes three days each year with no pay for hours attended.

Judicial Commissioners are subject to call at all hours of the day and night when on duty. Only one judicial commissioner works at a time during a one week period on call for 168 hours. They rotate their weeks one week on duty and two weeks off.

The budget committee has not yet acted on the request.

June 19, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

A year ago the City of Smithville created and funded another full time firefighter position. More than $40,000 (salary and benefits) was added to the budget last summer to pay for it and Dalton Roberts was later hired for the job joining Chief Charlie Parker as the only full time paid members of the Smithville Fire Department.

(Click link below to view city budget)

Budget

Last month, Chief Parker requested that the city fund a third firefighter in the 2021-22 budget but the aldermen approved the new budget on first reading June 7 without including a new position.

Prior to passage of the budget on second and final reading Thursday night, Alderman Shawn Jacobs, who also serves as Commissioner of the Police and Fire Departments, made a motion that the third paid firefighter position be included in the new budget but his motion died for the lack of a second.

Alderman Jacobs said there is a need for a third full time firefighter and the city has the money to meet that need.

“If we had a third person it would be exponentially the amount of help that would be because they could truly fight a fire. Two people really can’t do that very effectively and in the day time only two or three volunteers show up for a fire. Someone has to run the pump, the engine and you must have somebody to fight the fire with a hose and someone to help hold the hose. I just think it would be a true benefit to the city. They get a call almost every day and many days they get multiple calls and since we do have what I consider a healthy surplus I would like to see us move forward. I feel obligated to go to bat for the fire department since I am their commissioner. Even Baxter has a paid fire department,” said Alderman Jacobs.

Alderman Brandon Cox said while it could be considered next year, now is not the time to act.

“Charlie (Parker) comes to us and asks for an employee (full time firefighter) every year and he got one last year which is good and I think it has helped out a lot but this is short notice. Although you (Alderman Jacobs) are right and we are probably headed in that direction (more full time firefighters) this just seems a little bit last minute for me and I don’t think I would support adding that at this point but I definitely think it is a strong consideration for one or maybe two next year I don’t know,” said Alderman Cox.

The Smithville Fire Department is made up of twenty six volunteers plus two full time paid firefighters (Chief Parker and Firefighter Roberts). The regular pay salaries of the two full time firefighters combined is $84,553 according to the budget. Although they are not full time, volunteer firefighters get some money per call. The city budgets $50,000 annually in total for that expense.

After the firefighter issue was settled, the Aldermen Thursday night adopted the 2021-22 fiscal year budget on second and final reading.

In other business, the aldermen voted to transfer city employee Megan Moore, former director of the DeKalb Animal Shelter, to a clerk position at city hall to fill a vacancy.

The new city spending plan includes a 2% increase in water and sewer rates and tap fees.

City water customers currently pay $7.25 per thousand gallons of usage. That will go to $7.40 per thousand. Rates for customers outside the city limits will increase from $10.88 to $11.10 per thousand. City sewer customers pay $6.75 per thousand gallons. That will jump to $6.89 per thousand. The new rates are expected to generate up to $50,000 a year in new revenue.

City officials believe its wiser to implement smaller rate increases now rather than larger hikes later to keep incoming revenues ahead of expenses and that is also the recommendation of the state comptroller. A year ago, the city’s water and sewer fund was projected to end the current fiscal year June 30, 2021 in the red by $37,713 but by keeping a close eye on spending the city is now expected show a surplus of $142,631 by the close of this month. This time next year with the rate increases included, the water and sewer fund is forecast to be in the black by $58,575.

Under state law, if a utility continues to operate at a loss for more than two years and doesn’t address it, the state has the authority to force rate increases to make it solvent.

The city property tax rate will drop from 0.899 cents to the new certified tax rate levied by the state of 0.7523 cents per $100 of assessed value to offset new reappraisal property assessments. Although the new certified tax rate is to generate about the same amount of local property tax revenue as this past year, the city is projecting $1,274,471 in property tax collections in 2021-22, down by $20,000 from $1,295,000 this past year (2020-21).

Still, the General Fund is projected to end the current fiscal year in the black by $388,766 on June 30, 2021 and $249,161 to the good by June 30, 2022.

The General Fund Debt Service for the new police department building is projected to be $177,550 for the year including $100,000 in principal payments and $77,550 in interest on long-term debt.

The new budget also includes funding for:
* A 3% cost of living pay raise for hourly city employees with more than four years of service. Hourly workers with four years of service or less will receive a step raise on their employment anniversary date with a 3% cost of living increase July 1. Salaried employees will get a $5,000 pay raise.

*Another paid E911 dispatcher position at $40,405 (salary and benefits). This would increase the number of city funded dispatchers to four to a total annual cost of $160,000, up from $119,595

CHANGES MADE SINCE THE FIRST READING OF THE BUDGET ORDINANCE JULY 7TH:
*City is to provide bonuses of $1,000 to full time employees of the general fund and water and sewer fund and $500 to two part time employees deemed essential with Federal American Rescue Plan grant funds. The total amount of the bonuses comes to $49,000 including $35,000 for the general fund and $14,000 for the water and sewer fund. The city is to get more than $1.3 million from this grant but the money can only be spent according to federal guidelines. The money will come to the city over two years and at least half of it will be used to replace deteriorating sewer lines.

*The city is increasing the uniform expense to the fire department from $10,000 to $25,000 per request of Fire Chief Charlie Parker to purchase new sets of turnout gear.

GENERAL FUND CAPITAL OUTLAY PROJECTS:
POLICE DEPARTMENT
*2 new police cars and related equipment: $95,000 ($45,000 of which is grant funded with local match)
*Furniture and office equipment for new Police Department building: $125,000

STREET DEPARTMENT
*Salt truck: $20,000
*Bridge capital repairs: $25,000
*Street paving $335,000 which includes $250,000 grant
*Unspecified: $15,000

FIRE PROTECTION
*10 portable radios: $9,200
*New Air Bags and Controller: $15,000
*Battery Powered Combination Rescue Tool: $10,000
*Swiftwater equipment: $5,000
*Site work for training site: $6,000
*Unspecified: $30,000

AIRPORT
*Obstruction Clearing Grant: $899,012
*Unspecified: $10,000

PUBLIC WORKS-BUILDINGS & GROUNDS
*Lift and Forks: $20,000
*Unspecified: $5,000

OTHER GENERAL GOVERNMENT
*TN Local Government Support COVID 19 Grant- $136,000

PARKS AND RECREATION
*Walking Trail Improvements: $20,000
*Unspecified: $10,000

MUNICIPAL POOL
*Strainer: $10,000
*Unspecified: $5,000

GOLF COURSE
*Unspecified: $10,000

CITY HALL BUILDING
*Unspecified: $30,000

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION
*Unspecified: $5,000

SANITATION
*Unspecified: $5,000

WATER AND SEWER FUND PROJECTS (FIXED ASSET ADDITIONS):
*Meter reading software: $10,000
*Backhoe: $103,000
*Tube settlers: $30,000
*Replacement of sewer lines: $600,000 (Half of Federal COVID Grant Funds)

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