May 2019 Report to Cumberland County from County Mayor Allen Foster

The Upper Cumberland Human Resources Agency (UCHRA) asked a couple of the Mayors from the Upper Cumberland to accompany them to Washington, DC to discuss issues relevant to the area. As a part of that contingency, I was able to talk about issues ranging from non-emergency transportation to broadband access in Cumberland County.  I took handouts detailing the broadband issues we have in our county.  It was good to have time with each of our U.S. legislators to get to know them and to promote Cumberland County. Thank you, Senator Marsha Blackburn, Congressman John Rose, and Senator Alexander, for meeting with us.

Allen Foster, Cumberland Co. Mayor

I was honored to attend the Beecher Seagraves Veterans Memorial Park groundbreaking in Pleasant Hill a few weeks ago.  We are blessed to have so many veterans in Cumberland County that sacrificed to serve our country.  I toured the construction work at Crab Orchard Elementary and CCHS along with Board of Education (BOE) staff and several County Commissioners.  Both areas look to be coming along nicely.  I attended a TVA Economic Development 101 workshop with several other elected officials from our community, and was able to present Cumberland County to a TVA Showcase in Nashville along with Mayor James Mayberry, TCAT President Cliff Wightman, and Chamber VP Ashley DeRossett.  I was also honored to speak to the CCHS Honors banquet and at the Police Memorial Day program.
 
The May 20^th meeting of the full County Commission was held with all Commissioners in attendance except Chad Norris and David Gibson. 

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Resolutions
The following resolutions were approved (resolution sponsor in parenthesis):
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-1 Amending Resolution Number 1205-6 clarifying the definition of “Structure” (Hyder).  This resolution defined “structure” for purposed of regulatory standards for the county’s Health and Safety Standards Board (HSSB) in dealing with vacant dilapidated structures.  It clarifies that structures including site-built buildings, manufactured homes, modular homes, and mobile homes or trailers so long as the weight of the structure is supported by blocks, rock, concrete or some other form of permanent foundation and is not supported by wheels.  The motion passed 16-0.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-2 Amending Resolution Number 1205-6 giving the Hearing Board authority to regulate the accumulation of debris, trash, litter and garbage (Hyder). This resolution gave the HSSB the ability to regulate the accumulation of debris, trash, litter.  The motion passed unanimously.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-3 To create a Procedures Manual for the citizens of Cumberland County, Tennessee (Norris).  This resolution requires each Commission Committee to create/update rules/procedures for their respective committees at least annually.  The procedures will then be kept in the Mayor’s Office and posted on the county website.  The motion passed 16-0.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-4 To adopt a new lease and agreement contract between the County and the Cumberland County Fair Association (Wilson).  A new contract for the Cumberland County Fair Association’s use of the Community Complex was approved in a unanimous vote.  The new lease will expire December 7, 2022.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-5 Authorizing the Mayor of Cumberland County to sign a proposal with the Tennessee Department of Transportation for Project No. STP-28 (32), State Project No. 18008-2222-14 (Kyle Davis).  The resolution adopted 16-0, gave me the authority to sign a contract with TDOT to move forward on a section of the US 127N project from near Potato Farm Road to near Hollow Lane.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-6 For designation of the Bluebird as the Official Bird of Cumberland County (Kyle Davis).  This resolution, adopted unanimously, names the Bluebird the official bird of Cumberland County.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-7 To re-appoint Herbert L. Blevins and Danny Cantwell as Judicial Commissioners for Cumberland County for terms not to exceed four (4) years commencing May 20, 2019 (Gibson).  The resolution was approved 16-0.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-8 To reappoint Tom Isham and appoint Joe Koester and Craig Clark as members on the Cumberland County Health and Safety Standards Board for four (4) year terms to expire May 15, 2023 (Foster).  The resolution was approved unanimously.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-9 Appointing Kathy Ivey to the Cumberland County Library Board for a first term of three years to begin July 1, 2019 and end June 30, 2022, reappointing R. Doug Scarlett to the Cumberland County Library Board for second term of three years to begin July 1, 2019 and end June 30, 2022 and reappointing J. D. Atkinson to the Falling Water River Regional Library Board for a second term of three years to begin July 1, 2019 and end June 30, 2022 (Stone).  The resolution was approved 16-0.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-10 To accept offer of Charles V. Sullens to purchase property owned by Cumberland County (Hyder).  The Delinquent Tax Committee recommended an offer of $311.40 for the purchase of one parcel.  This will return the property to the tax rolls after it had been removed due to property taxes not being paid for several years.  The resolution was approved unanimously.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-11 To accept offer of James A. Thomas and Theresa Thomas to purchase property owned by Cumberland County (Hyder). The Delinquent Tax Committee recommended an offer of $424.90 for the purchase of one parcel.  This will return the property to the tax rolls after it had been removed due to property taxes not being paid for several years.  The resolution was approved 16-0.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-12 Budget Amendment, General Fund, Fire Department, $135.00 (Seiber).  This resolution accepted donated funds for the Cumberland County Fire Department and was approved unanimously.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-13 Budget Amendment, General Fund, County Mayor, $876.00 (Hyder).  This resolution reclassified the County Mayor’s Office Manager due to changes in job responsibilities including grant coordination, marketing, and public relations.  The resolution was approved 16-0.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-14 Budget Amendment, General Fund, Election Commission/Voter Registration, $1,837.00 (Seiber).  This resolution, approved unanimously, accepted grant monies into the Election Commission budget.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-15 Budget Amendment, General Fund, County Building, $2,300.00 (Cooper).  This resolution provides for an accessible door on the small stone building in front of the courthouse.  This would allow Steve Norris to continue using the building as an office.  The resolution was approved 16-0.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-16 Budget Amendment, General Fund, County Commission, $4,000.00 (Wilson).  This resolution allocated funding for Wi-Fi access hardware for the courthouse.  The resolution was approved unanimously.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-17 Budget Amendment, General Fund, Sheriff, Jail, $12,000.00 (Patterson).  This resolution, passed 16-0, allowed the Sheriff to spend funds earned by the program for litter removal by inmates.  The funds will be used to construct an outbuilding at the Justice Center.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-18 Budget Amendment, General Fund, Compensation Plan Review, $5,000.00 (Wilson).  This resolution allocated funds for a review of the current compensation plan in place for county employees during the next fiscal year.  The resolution was approved unanimously.
 
RESOLUTION 05-2019-19 Budget Amendment, General Purpose School Fund, Additional Targeted Support and Improvement Grant, $125,000.00 (Hyder).  The Board of Education (BOE) was awarded the Additional Targeted Support and Improvement Grant.  This resolution accepted and allocated the funds and was approved 16-0.
 
Financial Report
Sales tax collections through April were $7,167,419.  The April receipts were $690,817 which is above budget by $24,070.  For the year, collections are approximately $208,998 above budgeted projections.  Property tax collections are at 100.5% compared to 98.3% at this point last year.  Hotel/Motel collections are $586,351 year to date compared to $603,406 last year.  That is 66.3% of the annual Hotel/Motel budgeted income compared to 74.5% last year.  Prisoner boarding, which is received sporadically from the State of Tennessee, is at $478,101 for eight months which is 77.1% of the budget.  Ambulance collections were above budget at $588,364.  The EMS backlog of billing has been caught up, and we have collected in excess of year to date budgeted projections by $107,737.  Gasoline was budgeted at a $2.25 per gallon and diesel was budgeted at $2.50 per gallon.  Currently, our weighted average cost for gasoline is $1.81 and diesel is $2.13.  Prisoner medical costs that are outside of the third-party contract for services were budgeted at $85,000 for the year.  Those costs continue to increase and currently stand at $41,333.73 over budget with approximately $17,748 of outstanding bills yet to be reconciled.  This overage will be handled at the end of the budget year in the standard cleanup resolution.