Signup for Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Underway for Livestock and Crop Producers

May 28, 2020
By:

Donny Green, County Executive Director for the DeKalb-Cannon County Farm Service Agency announces that the signup for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) began May 26 and will continue until August 28, 2020. CFAP will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

“America’s farming community is facing an unprecedented situation as our nation tackles the coronavirus. President Trump has authorized USDA to ensure our patriotic farmers, ranchers, and producers are supported and we are moving quickly to open applications to get payments out the door and into the pockets of farmers,” said USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. “These payments will help keep farmers afloat while market demand returns as our nation reopens and recovers. America’s farmers are resilient and will get through this challenge just like they always do with faith, hard work, and determination.”

Non-Specialty Crops and Wool

Non-specialty crops eligible for CFAP payments include corn and soybeans. Wool is also eligible. Producers will be paid based on inventory subject to price risk held as of January 15, 2020. A payment will be made based 50 percent of a producer’s 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory as of January 15, 2020, whichever is smaller, multiplied by the commodity’s applicable payment rates.

Livestock

Livestock eligible for CFAP include cattle, lambs, yearlings and hogs. The total payment will be calculated using the sum of the producer’s number of livestock sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020, multiplied by the payment rates per head, and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, 2020, multiplied by the payment rate per head.

Specialty Crops
For eligible specialty crops, the total payment will be based on the volume of production sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020; the volume of production shipped, but unpaid; and the number of acres for which harvested production did not leave the farm or mature product destroyed or not harvested during that same time period, and which have not and will not be sold. Specialty crops include, but are not limited to, beans, broccoli, sweet corn, squash, strawberries and tomatoes. A full list of eligible crops can be found on farmers.gov/cfap. Additional crops may be deemed eligible later.

Applying for Assistance
Producers of all eligible commodities will apply through their local FSA office. This program is a self-certification program, but approved applicants may be spot-checked and required to provide documentation to support the producer’s application and certification. Applications will be accepted through August 28, 2020.

Payment Structure
To ensure the availability of funding throughout the application period, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid later as funds remain available. If funds are not sufficient to cover the 20 percent remaining amount needed for approved applications, a prorated payment factor will be applied to all applications. In other words, there is no funding advantage to being the first or last applicant as long as the application is received by the August 28, 2020 deadline.

USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only. While program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with producers by phone, email, and postal mail, and using online tools whenever possible. Persons wishing to conduct business with the FSA are required to call the DeKalb-Cannon County Farm Service Agency at 615-597-8225, Ext. 3 to schedule a phone appointment. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.

May 28, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The third annual Officer Joe Bowen Memorial Men’s Softball Tournament will be held Saturday May 30, starting at 8am at the Alexandria ball field. This will be a 7 team – double elimination tournament. All of the proceeds from the tournament including concessions will fund a college scholarship for graduating seniors at DeKalb Co High School, in honor of Joe. For further information or to sign up please contact Chris McMillen 615-417-0217. Please come out and enjoy a day of softball and food.

May 28, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Funding for construction of a new police department building and the creation of another paid firefighter position are among the extras included in the new 2020-21 fiscal year budget up for passage on first reading Monday night, June 1 by the Smithville Board of Aldermen.

The meeting will be at 6:00 p.m. at city hall.

After a 25 cent property tax increase a year ago, the city now has ample funds in the general budget to operate for the next year and arguably for years to come. The city ended the fiscal year in June 2019 at $38,235 in the red. By the close of the 2020 fiscal year on June 30, the city is projected to finish in the black by $413,141 and by almost that much again in June 2021.

The water and sewer fund is a different story.

Although city water and sewer rates were last increased in 2017 the city is about to finish its second year operating in the red which may force the mayor and aldermen to take another look at rates again next year (2021-22) .

According to the budget, the city’s water and sewer fund finished in the hole by $72,748 in 2019 and is projected to be in the red by $162,371 come June 30, 2020. Next year the problem is expected to be even worse finishing at a deficit of $246,821 But those numbers are somewhat deceiving in that revenues are projected to actually exceed cash expenditures next year by more than $548,000 not counting depreciation. However the state requires a utility to account for depreciation even though it is a non cash expense. When the city’s water and sewer depreciation expense totaling $795,000 is figured into the equation, the department is then expected to show a loss of $246,821.

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 mayor and aldermen may soon commission a rate analysis to essentially give the basis for a plan of action to address the concern should the state’s water and wastewater financing board become involved.

The proposed budget keeps the property tax rate at 89.9 cents per $100 of assessed value. Water and sewer rates would also be kept at the same level. City water customers currently pay $7.25 per thousand gallons of usage. Rates for customers outside the city limits are $10.88 per thousand. City sewer customers pay $6.75 per thousand gallons.

The largest city spending project is construction of a new police department building. The Boyce Ballard Construction Company of Murfreesboro had the lowest bid at over $2.6 million for a total roofed area of 12,800 square feet which includes a 1,400 square foot sally port. Although the cost may still be trimmed somewhat the city has budgeted the full amount to be funded by a bond issue yet to be authorized with a payout schedule over 20 years at a debt service payment the first year (2020-21) at $172,310 or less.

The new budget also includes funding for:

* A 2% cost of living pay raise for city employees except for police officers stepping to a higher level on the department’s five tier wage scale

*Another paid firefighter position at $40,876 (salary and benefits)

*2 new Dodge Charger police cars: $62,000

*New chipper truck with bed for the street department: $60,000

*New pickup truck for the fire department: $35,000

*$150,000 for street paving

* State COVID-19 grant: $135,774 to be spent as follows :$70,000 for tornado warning sirens, $43,000 for 16 air bottles and 10 sets of turnout gear for the city fire department, $14,000 for city hall roof repairs, $2,000 for two in car radios for the police department, and $5,500 for office computers at city hall.

* Airport: $527,725 grant for obstruction clearing and $30,000 Airport CARES grant

* $35,000 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for cost of repairs being made at Center Hill Dam. Under federal law, water utilities permitted by the Corps to draw water from lakes, including Center Hill are required to share in the costs for making repairs. Smithville is authorized to draw from the lake approximately two million gallons of water a day.

Although E911 director Brad Mullinax had requested the city up its annual contribution to the DeKalb County Emergency Communications District by $45,000 to fund another dispatcher position, the city apparently plans to deny the request and keep its contribution at the same level of $120,000 this coming year.

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