Hickman County TN

Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34

County Commissioners · Budget Meeting · Jun 1, 2023

Thu, Jun 1, 2023

The elected legislative body for Hickman County. Sets county policy, adopts the budget, and represents residents across the county’s districts.

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Outline

This outline was generated by an LLM from a transcript and may contain errors or inaccuracies. Prefer the original recording when available.

The budget committee worked through a remaining county general shortfall of about $2.64 million, with $2 million already assumed from fund balance and the school board’s just-approved 2-cent tax-rate reduction contributing about $105,000 back to county revenue. The main contested items were whether to raise taxes at all, whether to restore more funding for fire protection/nonprofits, and whether some salaries should be adjusted. The committee ultimately kept the property tax rate flat, approved county general and ARPA budgets, approved the amended school budget, increased fire protection funding from the previously discussed $110,000 to $150,000, and sent the full budget package forward to the legislative body.

Other notable threads included revised revenue estimates found that morning, including a much larger anticipated state reimbursement tied to voting machines; debate over an economic development line item above the standard 5% raise pattern; a successful motion to reduce the EMA/civil defense supervisor salary line from $75,000 to $69,608; publication-date changes for the budget schedule; and a reminder on open enrollment for commissioners.

Call to Order and budget status recap 0:00:15

  • 0:01:17 Chair recapped that all budgets except County General had already been approved before recess, and the committee reconvened to close out remaining issues.
  • 0:01:42 The county was still facing an approximate $3 million gap at recess, with about $14 million in revenue against $17 million in expenses.
  • 0:02:12 Recess had been intended to allow the school board to consider helping close the gap by reducing its rate by 2 cents so that revenue could shift to County General.
  • 0:02:29 The school board had just approved that reduction, adding about $105,000 back into the county revenue pool.
  • 0:02:59 Chair outlined the needed actions for the night: approve County General, ARPA, nonprofit budget, tax rate, amended school board budget, and then the final budget package for transmission to the legislative body.
  • 0:03:44 Chair said the committee would continue informal discussion briefly before formal motions, but emphasized the need to complete formal action that night.

Revenue update and remaining gap 0:04:09

Finance update — revised revenue estimates 0:04:16

  • 0:04:31 After adding the school board’s 2-cent shift and revised revenue estimates, the adjusted shortfall was stated at about $2.641611 million.
  • 0:05:26 Finance Director Crystal Fitzgerald said orange-highlighted revenue lines reflected items rechecked that morning, moving estimated revenue from roughly $14.9 million to about $15.016 million.
  • 0:06:28 The committee was reminded the County General request remained about $19 million, leaving a substantial deficit even after the revisions.
  • 0:06:50 Revised revenue items included litigation tax, business tax, mixed drink tax, building permits, titling/registration fees, sex offender registry revenue, vehicle coverage reinstatement, investment income, and county clerk fees.
  • 0:07:22 Building permit revenue was raised from about $100,000 to $108,000 based on collections trend.
  • 0:08:18 County clerk fees were slightly decreased because collections did not appear likely to meet the prior estimate.
  • 0:08:33 The biggest change was “other state grants” tied to the new voting machines: the original state expectation had been about $160,000, but after speaking with a state contact, finance felt comfortable budgeting $400,000 in reimbursement, with the possibility the state could ultimately cover all of it.
  • 0:09:12 Total changes brought estimated revenue to about $15,016,338.

Tax-rate options and fund balance framing 0:09:57

  • 0:10:21 Chair summarized the three tools for closing the gap: use fund balance, count the school board’s contribution, and consider a property-tax increase.
  • 0:11:10 With $2 million already assumed from fund balance, the practical amount still needing attention that night was described as about $641,000.
  • 0:11:58 The tax table in members’ packets already reflected the school board’s 2 cents shifting to County General.
  • 0:12:06 Chair recalled prior discussions targeting something between 10 and 12 cents if a tax increase proved necessary.
  • 0:12:14 A 10-cent increase would produce about $525,040; 11 cents about $577,000; 12 cents more than enough to cover the then-remaining $641,000 gap.

New Business / Agenda Items 0:13:03

Economic development salary line discussion 0:13:03

  • 0:13:03 A suggestion was made to restore line 58120 (economic development) to the original $68,000 from about $66,150.
  • 0:14:01 Members asked how much of an increase that represented relative to the general 5% raise pattern; the answer given was roughly an 8% increase.
  • 0:15:03 Opposition centered on fairness and optics: several members said they could accept above-5% treatment for public-safety areas like sheriff and EMS, but not for this line when schools and other departments had already made concessions to help balance the budget.
  • 0:16:22 Supporters argued the position had demonstrated value by bringing in grant and economic-development dollars and by handling significant pressure well; the extra amount at issue was described as only about $1,850.
  • 0:18:20 Additional opposition said some members could not support even 5% generally, much less a larger increase for an outlier position.
  • 0:19:09 One member said the same email or performance explanation could lead readers to opposite conclusions and urged moving from suggestions to formal motions if the committee intended to change the line.
  • 0:21:06 Chair noted a citizen had asked whether this role should be treated as an outlier because of its leadership and grant-development duties.
  • 0:22:10 No motion was ultimately made on this item, so the line did not change during this discussion.

Fund balance and across-the-board reduction ideas 0:22:36

  • 0:23:03 Members compared the current proposal to prior budgets, noting that the 2022–23 original budget had started with about $6.6 million in fund balance and a projected shortfall of about $2.3 million, leaving roughly $4.2 million projected.
  • 0:24:31 A member cited a May 23 report showing about $2.9 million still available and about 82.5% of the budget unused at that point, asking whether some of that would remain.
  • 0:25:33 A member raised the idea of trimming operating budgets by 1% or 2%.
  • 0:25:55 Finance said 1% excluding salary and benefits equaled about $43,068.37, so 2% would approach $100,000.
  • 0:26:18 Finance cautioned many operating lines are fixed expenses and suggested any such reductions would need to be sent back to department heads to determine what was actually cuttable.
  • 0:27:23 A member stressed employee insurance already represented a significant county cost, roughly averaging $15,000 per employee per year, and argued the county should keep looking for ways to reduce the proposed tax increase.
  • 0:28:03 Another member said a prior tax proposal had started around 91 cents and had already been reduced sharply, but still remained too high to support.
  • 0:29:17 A member suggested taking fund balance down to $4 million, which would require about $2.362 million from fund balance and leave only about $241,611 still to cover.
  • 0:30:01 At that point, 5 cents of tax would generate about $262,000, enough to close the remaining gap if the committee wanted to preserve that $4 million target.

Nonprofit and fire protection funding 0:30:22

  • 0:30:22 Members returned to unresolved nonprofit/fire questions, which one commissioner said were the main items still preventing personal agreement with the budget.
  • 0:31:09 The nonprofit/fire total under discussion was described as about $165,000 overall, including $110,000 for fire protection.
  • 0:31:27 Earlier thinking had split fire money among units, but members had just received word that the fire association’s 501(c)(3) paperwork was now in hand, reviving the option to send money to the association for allocation.
  • 0:32:22 Objection was raised to simply transferring $110,000 to the association, because the association’s earlier proposed distribution had been built around $190,000, not $110,000.
  • 0:32:54 Members reviewed that the reduction from $190,000 to $110,000 had come from going line by line through fire protection and setting figures such as $10,000, $40,000, and $60,000.
  • 0:34:16 One concern was that, once the total was reduced so substantially, the committee no longer knew how the association would divide the smaller amount among departments if given discretion.
  • 0:35:49 A suggestion was made to ask the fire chiefs directly how they wanted the reduced money handled.
  • 0:36:23 A speaker for the fire side said the original association request reflected bottom-line operating needs and that one possible compromise would be to fund the three departments’ basic operating budgets and omit training/association extras.
  • 0:38:34 Questions were raised about prior-year support and operating costs; members especially wanted more clarity on the rescue squad line.
  • 0:40:40 It was noted the rescue squad had originally requested $90,000, had received $80,000 the prior year, and had been cut lower during the committee’s prior review partly on the theory that it needed to begin absorbing its own utility costs.
  • 0:42:18 Members split over process: some wanted to revisit amounts; others said time was being lost and the committee needed actual motions and votes.
  • 0:45:34 A commissioner reported that Pete Tibbs had strongly argued Pleasantville could not provide adequate fire protection on only $10,000 without subsidizing it personally.
  • 0:46:37 Speaking as fire chiefs’ association chair, Pete Tibbs said the association’s submitted figures were minimum operating numbers agreed upon by all chiefs and did not include vacations or extras.
  • 0:47:43 A motion was made and seconded to increase the fire protection budget to $150,000 and send it to the association for allocation now that the 501(c)(3) status was documented.
  • 0:48:58 Discussion clarified the motion’s intent: the $150,000 would go through the chiefs’ association rather than directly to separate departments.
  • 0:50:10 Members also clarified that part of the original higher request had included a swift-water component through the association.
  • 0:50:50 Supporters said $150,000 effectively restored the category to the prior year’s level.
  • 0:51:08 Roll-call vote was initially miscounted, then corrected.
  • 0:53:22 The corrected result was 8 yes, 5 no, 1 absent, so the motion carried. Fire protection was set at $150,000, to be distributed by the association.

Nonprofit budget approval 0:54:31

  • 0:54:31 After fire protection was resolved, the committee returned to the nonprofit list and reviewed a total of $65,000.
  • 0:54:47 Listed allocations included senior citizens $10,000, Chamber of Commerce $25,000, Women Are Safe $5,000, D.A.V. $10,000, Humane Society $5,000, Shady Grove $5,000, and Bernard $5,000.
  • 0:55:01 A motion and second were made to approve the nonprofit budget as listed.
  • 0:56:05 The nonprofit budget was approved; the exact roll-call tally was unclear in the transcript, but the chair stated the item was officially approved.

County General budget approval and salary amendment 0:56:17

  • 0:56:32 After the fire increase, the deficit was restated around $2,681,611, with projected fund balance around $3,718,389.
  • 0:57:20 A motion and second were made to take up County General fund 101 as presented, subject to line-item amendments through formal motions.
  • 0:58:59 A member then moved to reduce line 55130-105 from $75,000 to $69,608.
  • 0:59:13 The argument was that the supervisor/director line had been $64,620 the previous year, that the proposed budget raised it to $75,000, and that another related salary line was $69,608; setting both at $69,608 would still represent about a 7.7% increase while keeping parity between the two jobs.
  • 1:00:55 The motion to cut the salary line to $69,608 was seconded.
  • 1:01:13 With no further debate, the motion passed on roll call, with 8 yes noted in the transcript.
  • 1:02:50 The amended County General deficit was restated around $2.676 million.
  • 1:03:27 A clarification question asked whether approving fund 101 meant accepting a scenario equivalent to roughly a 50-cent increase if fully balanced; finance explained that figure was just an informational representation of the remaining gap, not an adopted tax increase.
  • 1:04:05 A newer member asked whether budgets with comparable deficits had been approved before; veteran members answered yes, saying that had been traditional.
  • 1:05:13 Some members still argued that, with no tax increase yet adopted and fund balance falling to about $3.7 million, the committee should be cautious.
  • 1:06:42 Others replied that approving County General simply meant accepting the line items and the projected fund balance outcome, after which the committee could separately decide whether any tax increase was needed.
  • 1:07:20 One member said prior years had not come close to spending the full deficit amount projected on paper, which made the current fund-balance plan acceptable.
  • 1:08:09 Roll call was taken on County General fund 101 as amended.
  • 1:08:55 County General was approved; the exact tally is not fully legible in the transcript, but the chair declared the budget approved.

Tax rate 1:09:09

  • 1:09:09 A motion was made and seconded to approve the tax rate as presented, described as flat with no increase over last year.
  • 1:10:06 Opposition to a flat rate centered on future sustainability rather than the immediate year: one member said $3.7 million in fund balance was workable, but growth would cost the county more and delaying action could force a much larger increase later.
  • 1:11:16 That member argued county growth is not cost-free, especially for sheriff and EMS services, and said a gradual increase now might be easier on taxpayers than a larger jump later.
  • 1:12:24 The same speaker acknowledged concern for residents on fixed incomes but still favored some modest increase to create a cushion for future service demands.
  • 1:13:43 Chair summarized that view as support for a small increase now to prepare for future growth pressures.
  • 1:14:23 Roll call was taken on the flat-rate motion.
  • 1:15:10 The motion passed 8 yes, 5 no. The tax rate remained the same as the prior year.

School board amended budget 1:15:18

  • 1:15:25 A motion and second were made to approve the school board’s amended budget, reflecting the earlier 2-cent adjustment.
  • 1:15:49 One member declared a conflict as a school employee but said he would still vote yes on behalf of constituents.
  • 1:16:18 The amended school budget was approved; the transcript indicates broad support, though the precise count is not fully clear.

ARPA budget 1:16:29

  • 1:16:29 A motion and second were made to approve fund 127 as presented, described as the ARPA budget.
  • 1:16:53 There was no substantive discussion.
  • 1:17:17 The ARPA budget passed unanimously or near-unanimously on roll call based on the transcripted responses.

Budget publication schedule 1:17:28

  • 1:17:28 Before final transmittal, a member noted the committee also needed to amend the budget schedule/publishing dates.
  • 1:17:43 A motion was made and seconded to approve the new budget publishing dates.
  • 1:18:00 With no discussion, the revised schedule was approved on roll call.

Final transmission to legislative body 1:18:42

  • 1:18:42 A motion was requested to send the final budget from committee to the full legislative body for formal approval.
  • 1:18:57 A motion and second were made.
  • 1:19:13 With no discussion, the motion passed on roll call, formally advancing the budget package out of committee.

Announcements and adjournment 1:19:37

  • 1:19:45 Finance reminded commissioners that open enrollment started the next day and that anyone wanting insurance changes or using Citizens insurance could get help at listed locations.
  • 1:20:01 A motion and second to adjourn were made and approved.

Key figures and statistics

Figure Type Context / topic Timestamp
$3 million Budget gap Approximate gap at recap after recess 0:01:42
$14 million Revenue Revenue figure cited at recess status 0:01:48
$17 million Expense Expense figure cited at recess status 0:01:48
2 cents Tax rate School board reduction to free revenue for County General 0:02:12
$105,000 Revenue Added to county revenue pool from school board action 0:02:29
$2.641611 million Budget gap Updated adjusted shortfall after changes 0:04:31
1.6924 Tax rate Property tax figure referenced in updated budget sheet 0:05:26
$14.9 million Revenue Prior revenue level before morning revisions 0:06:07
$15.016 million Revenue Revised estimated revenue total 0:06:14
$19 million Expense request County General request level cited in discussion 0:06:28
$300 Revenue estimate Prior mixed-drink-tax estimate referenced as too low 0:07:05
$100,000 Revenue estimate Prior building permit estimate 0:07:22
$108,000 Revenue estimate Revised building permit estimate 0:07:22
$15,000 Revenue Additional titling and registration fee line 0:07:33
$160,000 Grant / reimbursement Original expected state reimbursement for voting machines 0:08:41
$400,000 Grant / reimbursement Revised state reimbursement estimate for voting machines 0:08:48
$15,016,338 Revenue Total estimated revenue after changes 0:09:12
$2 million Fund balance use Amount already assumed from fund balance 0:10:29
$641,000 Budget gap Amount said to still need closure that night 0:11:10
10 cents Tax rate First tax-rate option discussed 0:11:58
12 cents Tax rate Upper end of tax-range discussion 0:12:06
$525,040 Revenue Revenue from a 10-cent tax increase 0:12:14
11 cents Tax rate Midpoint tax option 0:12:33
58120 Budget line Economic development line item discussed 0:13:03
$68,000 Salary Proposed restored economic development amount 0:13:38
$66,150 Salary Lower economic development amount in current draft 0:14:38
5% Percentage General raise benchmark repeatedly referenced 0:15:12
$1,850 Salary difference Amount supporters said was at issue on economic development line 0:17:26
$6.6 million Fund balance Prior-year starting fund balance referenced 0:23:03
$2.3 million Budget gap Prior-year original budget shortfall referenced 0:23:10
$4.2 million Fund balance Prior-year projected remaining fund balance referenced 0:23:24
$2.9 million Budget availability Amount still available as of May 23 per cited report 0:24:31
82.5% Percentage Portion of budget cited as unused in May report 0:24:41
1% Percentage Potential operating-budget cut discussed 0:25:33
$43,068.37 Expense reduction Savings from a 1% operating-budget cut excluding salaries/benefits 0:25:55
2% Percentage Larger operating-budget cut discussed 0:26:03
$100,000 Expense reduction Approximate savings from a 2% cut 0:26:03
$15,000 per employee per year Benefit cost Approximate average insurance cost cited 0:27:23
91 cents Tax rate Early tax increase starting point cited by a member 0:27:52
8% Percentage One member’s own reassessment/tax change reference 0:28:03
54% Percentage Higher reassessment increase cited for some constituents 0:28:12
$2.362 million Fund balance use Suggested amount to take from fund balance to leave $4 million 0:29:17
$4 million Fund balance Suggested target remaining fund balance 0:29:30
$241,611 Budget gap Remaining amount if fund balance reduced to $4 million 0:29:36
5 cents Tax rate Tax increase that would cover the remaining $241,611 gap 0:30:01
$262,000 Revenue Revenue from a 5-cent increase 0:30:01
$165,000 Budget total Overall nonprofit/fire amount cited 0:31:09
$110,000 Fire protection funding Reduced fire protection amount under discussion 0:31:17
$10,000 Fire allocation One fire line allocation referenced in prior breakdown 0:32:54
$40,000 Fire allocation One fire line allocation referenced in prior breakdown 0:32:54
$60,000 Fire allocation One fire line allocation referenced in prior breakdown 0:32:54
$190,000 Fire protection request Earlier fire-association-based distribution amount 0:34:23
$90,000 Nonprofit request Rescue squad original request 0:40:40
$80,000 Nonprofit funding Rescue squad prior-year amount 0:40:57
$150,000 Fire protection funding Motion to set fire protection budget at this level 0:47:43
501(c)(3) Status Fire association nonprofit status cited as received 0:49:43
8 yes, 5 no, 1 absent Vote Corrected vote on fire protection increase to $150,000 0:53:22
$65,000 Nonprofit funding Total nonprofit budget approved 0:54:31
$10,000 Nonprofit allocation Senior citizens allocation 0:54:47
$25,000 Nonprofit allocation Chamber of Commerce allocation 0:54:47
$5,000 Nonprofit allocation Women Are Safe allocation 0:54:47
$10,000 Nonprofit allocation D.A.V. allocation 0:54:47
$5,000 Nonprofit allocation Humane Society allocation 0:54:54
$5,000 Nonprofit allocation Shady Grove allocation 0:54:54
$5,000 Nonprofit allocation Bernard allocation 0:54:54
$2,681,611 Budget gap Restated deficit after fire-protection change 0:56:32
$3,718,389 Fund balance Projected fund balance after updated County General deficit 0:56:32
101 Fund number County General fund under consideration 0:57:14
55130-105 Budget line Salary line amended during County General review 0:58:59
$64,620 Salary Prior-year supervisor/director compensation cited 0:59:13
$75,000 Salary Draft salary line before amendment 0:59:13
$69,608 Salary Amended salary level approved 0:59:37
7.7% Percentage Increase supporters said remained even after salary reduction 1:00:09
8 yes Vote Roll-call support noted for salary reduction motion 1:01:43
$2.676 million Budget gap Approximate revised County General deficit after salary amendment 1:02:50
50 cents Tax rate equivalent Figure discussed as informational representation of balancing need 1:03:27
$3.7 million Fund balance Remaining fund balance level debated during tax discussion 1:06:42
8 yes, 5 no Vote Vote keeping the tax rate flat 1:15:10
127 Fund number ARPA fund approved 1:16:29

External vendors, brands, and software

Name Type Context / topic Timestamp
Zoom Software Meeting said to be live on Zoom 0:04:01
Citizens Insurance Company Open enrollment reminder for commissioners using this insurance 1:19:45

Laws and policies

| Citation / name | Level | Type | Context / topic | Timestamp | |---|---|---|---| | 501(c)(3) | Federal | Code | Fire chiefs association eligibility to receive and allocate nonprofit/fire funds | 0:31:27 | | 501(c)(3) | Federal | Code | Chair stated documentation was now in hand and in member packets | 0:49:43 |