July 27, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
Although he will remain a member of the county commission serving the fifth district, a frustrated Jerry Adcock announced his resignation from the budget committee during Monday night’s regular monthly commission meeting.
Adcock said he needed a break and no longer desired to serve on the budget committee. “I have been on this committee for eight or nine years. I haven’t had a break or a real vacation in so long because these things (budget committee meetings) take more time than we need to worry about so I don’t want to do it anymore,”
The budget committee is made up of seven members including one from each district, Julie Young, Sabrina Farler, Jenny Trapp, Dr. Scott Little, Jerry Adcock, Jeff Barnes (Chairman), and Beth Pafford.
Adcock is clearly upset with the budget committee’s action last week to include funding for a few projects in the 2021-22 budget which he apparently feels are not needed.
Specifically, a proposed contribution of $39,805 to hire an additional full time employee with benefits at the animal shelter. The money is to go to and the employee is be hired by and under the control of the Coalition and not the county at the starting wage of $15 per hour. Adcock said many county employees don’t earn that kind of salary.
“The budget committee has approved (funding) to put somebody over at the dog pound to shovel poop for $39,000 a year total (insurance and everything). I know the budget comes up (for passage) next month but I believe we need to vote that (animal shelter funding) down and just give them $10 an hour like we do the employees at the (solid waste) convenience centers,” said Adcock.
Adcock also took issue with proposed funding of new vehicles for the EMS Director and Assessor of Property to use for official business. The budget committee approved a request by EMS Director Hoyte Hale for the funding of a new four wheel drive EMS SUV ($30,000) to replace a 2006 Ford Crown Victoria with approximately 160,000 miles. And for Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell, the budget committee okayed a request to fund the purchase of a new pickup truck to replace a 2006 model with 180,000 miles ($30,000). Both vehicles would be paid for from the county’s Capital Projects Fund which is set aside for projects like that.
Last week during the budget committee meeting, Adcock argued that used vehicles could be purchased instead of new, suggesting that maybe even used sheriff’s department patrol cars being taken out of service might be an option. Adcock made a motion at that meeting to strip from the proposed budget the $30,000 expenditure for both the EMS and Assessor new vehicles. The vote passed 4-3.
Following that vote, Budget committee member Sabrina Farler moved that $15,000 be budgeted for the purchase of used vehicles for the EMS director and Assessor but that motion failed 5-2.
Budget committee member Julie Young then moved that the $30,000 request for new vehicles be restored for both the EMS director and Assessor and the measure passed 4 -3 as Adcock switched from being a no vote to a yes vote, apparently thinking that used vehicles might not be found for much less than $30,000.
Adcock later changed his mind again and renewed a motion at that meeting to remove the $30,000 funding for each vehicle from the proposed budget but the motion died for the lack of a second.
The county commission will meet in a workshop on August 10 at 6 p.m. to review the overall budget and then convene on August 17 at 6:30 p.m. in a special session to adopt it. If needed, the budget could be revisited during the regular monthly meeting on August 23 at 6:30 p.m. but it must be adopted and sent to the state by August 31.
There is no proposed property tax increase this year. While assessments have changed due to reappraisal, the county’s new certified property tax rate will be lower than last year dropping from $2.1235 to $1.7308 per $100 of assessed value but it is expected to generate about the same amount of local revenue as this past year.