The budget committee of the county commission concluded its work for the year Tuesday night and is recommending that the property tax rate remain the same for the 2018-19 fiscal year.

The committee has reviewed and approved budgets for all county departments subject to final approval by the 14 member county commission in July.

The overall tax rate is expected to remain at $1.8335 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

The rate recommended for each department is as follows:

County General: 0.9635 cents
General Purpose Schools: 0.6100 cents
Debt Service: 0.1300 cents
Highways/Public Works: 0.0300 cents
General Capital Projects: 0.1000 cents

Revenue from the current property tax assessments for the 2018-19 fiscal year based upon estimated assessed valuations of $497 million dollars is $49,700 per one cent of the property tax rate. However the county is actually expected to receive $46,658 per cent of the tax rate based on a 94% collection rate or a 6% delinquency.

The estimated net collection from the overall property tax rate is $8,565,745 in local revenue to help fund the county general department, general purpose schools, debt service, highways/public works, and general capital projects.

Funding to non-profit organizations is as follows:

Upper Cumberland Development District: $ 2,000

Tennessee Forestry Division:$ 1,500

Plateau Mental Health Center: $ 7,180

Senior Program: $ 38,029.05 (includes $6,000 for Alexandria Senior Center)

DeKalb County Soil Conservation District: $ 41,991.21

Chamber of Commerce:$ 17,500

Veterans Services Cemetery $ 7,215

DeKalb County Rescue Squad: $ 22,821

Upper Cumberland Human Resources: $ 1,200

Upper Cumberland Reconnect: $925

Imagination Library:$ 7,200

Veterans Honor Guard:$ 2,000

DeKalb County Fair: $ 1,500

WCTE $ 5,000

Upper Cumberland Child Advocacy Center: $ 1,780

UCHRA Assessment – Homemaker Aide, etc. $ 9,245

Genesis House: $ 1,500

TOTAL NON-PROFITS $ 168,586.26

Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell may get more help for his office.

During Tuesday night’s meeting, the budget committee of the county commission voted 3 to 2 to fund a new position for the Assessor’s Office in the 2018-19 budget. Members Jack Barton, Larry Summers, and Jerry Adcock voted in favor. Wayne Cantrell and Jimmy Midgett voted no.

The action is subject to final approval of the county commission with passage of the budget in July.

The Assessor currently has three clerks working for him. This move would give him a fourth employee. A new employee in the Assessor’s office would start out earning $26,785 per year.

The decision by the budget committee is a reversal of a vote taken on Thursday, May 31 concerning the assessor’s request. At that meeting, the committee recommended that no new spending be included in the general fund for the 2018-19 budget except for pay raises already approved earlier this year for county employees and anything mandated by the state. Requests from the Assessor of Property and County Clerk for an additional full time employee for their offices were denied along with a request for more local funding for the Recovery Court and a proposed increase in salary for the EMS director. The vote was 3 to 1. Members Wayne Cantrell, Jimmy Midgett, and Jerry Adcock voted in favor. Jack Barton voted no. Larry Summers was absent.

During the following meeting on Monday, June 4, budget committee member Jack Barton made a motion that the committee revisit the Assessor’s request at a later meeting and take another look at the overall EMS budget regarding salaries. Barton’s motion was approved.

Barton said Tuesday night he is convinced Cantrell should have another employee.

“I really believe Shannon gave a good presentation to the budget committee in a previous meeting of how he would utilize an additional employee in generating some new tax revenue for the county by getting out and inspecting homes, properties, and all that. His presentation was compelling as to why he doesn’t have enough employees to bring in the revenue,” said Barton.

Based on the number of parcels in the county at more than 18,000, Cantrell contends he is entitled to a fourth employee under state law. Others say the law provides for an employee per 4500 parcels, after the first 4500 parcels.

“Shannon is over 18,000 parcels and is into his statutory need for an extra person. By law for every 4,500 parcels the assessor can have an employee. The first 4,500 parcels is under him (Cantrell) but all the subsequent 4,500 parcels are for his clerks. He is beyond 18,000 by a couple of hundred so he is into his next 4,500 parcels,” said Barton.

The budget committee did not re-consider the County Clerk’s request for an additional employee.

As for the EMS budget, Barton said too much was allocated in certain categories for salaries beyond what the county commission had authorized earlier this year.

“I felt like based on the (pay) plan we (county commission) approved there was too much budgeted for salaries and there was. The county mayor’s office came to the same conclusion,” said Barton.

Although no EMS employee’s salary will be affected by the move, the committee voted Tuesday night to trim the EMS budget by $30,000 in the category for full time medical and $60,000 for part time personnel. The budget committee’s action will be forwarded to the county commission for final approval in July.

Teachers and Support Staff of the DeKalb County School System are a step closer to getting a local pay raise.

The county budget committee Tuesday night approved the Board of Education’s revised 2018-19 spending plan for schools and will send it on to the entire county commission for final approval in July. Director of Schools Patrick Cripps formally presented the proposal to the committee.

Under the plan, all certified personnel including teachers would be given a $600 local pay raise in addition to the $600 increase they are getting from the state for a total of $1,200. Support staff would also get a local $600 pay hike under the board’s new request.

The School Board initially wanted to give teachers and other certified personnel a $2,400 local pay raise along with the $600 state increase and $1,500 for support staff.

In addition to the reduced proposed pay raises, the board has revised its requests in other areas.

Funding to implement a Dyslexia Program for children at the elementary school grade level has been eliminated. The board cut its requests for $215,000 in new money to buy science textbooks down to $65,000. One new school bus will be purchased instead of two buses, a savings of $100,000.

Money to purchase Chrome Books for the 3rd through 5th grades at a cost of $240,000 will be carried over since it was budgeted this past year and not spent. Students from the 6th grade through high school already have Chrome Books. Extra funds ($20,000) is still included to repair and replace existing Chrome Books.

The proposed budget still includes $10,000 in new spending for meeting mandates of state evaluation and testing.

Due to the increasing demands of technology, the board still plans to make a current half time computer tech position full time ($13,150 in new money) which would give the school system three techs.

Extra funds are included for employee matching benefits and $2,500 to help schools cover their phone bills.

The proposed general purpose school budget now totals $23,322,099 for the 2018-19 fiscal year, an increase in spending of $849,816 from this past year. If the school expenditures exceed revenues in the coming year, the budget committee wants the Board of Education to understand that the overage will be taken from the school system’s fund balance (reserves) to balance the budget.