The April 20th, 2020 meeting of the full County Commission was held with all Commissioners in attendance by conference call except Commissioner Sue York. Ben Lomand provided a teleconference line to the county free of charge during the pandemic. It has certainly been used a lot during the last month. I had hoped to find a way to live stream the full Commission meeting tonight. I talked to Ben Lomand to see if there was a way to live stream a conference call from their software, but there isn’t.
Courthouse Tower--file photo by Jim Young
If the meetings continue to need to be held electronically, I will try to find time and funds for a more robust system. In the meantime, the county will comply with the Governor’s Executive Order 16 by making audio recordings available after any meetings that are held. You can find the audio on the official county website at www.cumberlandcountytn.gov.
Like with many other issues during this time, we are doing the best we can with what we have under less than ideal circumstances. We have always endeavored to be open with our meetings and will continue to do so.
The first item of business for the evening was a motion to make a determination on the record that meeting electronically is necessary to protect public health, safety, and welfare in light of the coronavirus, with the motion and vote to be included in the minutes of this meeting. The motion was approved 17-0.
Next was approval to add to the minutes changes made to the personnel policy of the Cumberland County Clerk. The changes are the same as those made to the county-wide personnel policy that are detailed below. The motion was approved 17-0.
Resolutions
The following resolutions were next on the agenda (resolution sponsor in parenthesis):
RESOLUTION 04-2020-1 – To appoint members of the Cumberland County Board of Equalization (Foster). Willie Freeman, Bill Hargis, Daniel Husk, Levon Hubbard and Rhonda Rector were appointed to the Cumberland County Board of Equalization. This board reviews property owner’s complaints regarding property tax assessments. Each member must complete a minimum of four hours of annual training as provided by the Comptroller of the Treasury. The resolution was approved unanimously.
RESOLUTION 04-2020-2 – To appoint a County Medical Examiner (Foster). James Wojick, M.D. was reappointed to be the county Medical Examiner for another five-year term in an 17-0 vote.
RESOLUTION 04-2020-3 – To approve updating the current Cumberland County Personnel Policy. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, certain policies needed to be added for audit purposes. The following text was unanimously approved to be added to the county-wide personnel policy. The complete policy can be found online at the official county website, www.cumberlandcountytn.gov. Note that while the county offices following these policies do have some employees that are working from home, none are on administrative leave.
On page 6- please find the additional information:
TELEWORKING/WORK FROM HOME
During the threat of all types of major emergencies and disasters, both natural and manmade, the County Mayor may determine that temporary changes need to be made in the operation of county government. The determination must be made in writing and be provided to all county-wide elected officials and the County Commission.
During that time, the Cumberland County Mayor or Elected Official may allow employees to work from home as needed. Employees will follow processes created by the Mayor or Elected Official in regards to timekeeping, requirements for work, and supervision of the employee in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
On page 10- please find the additional information:
ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE
During the threat of all types of major emergencies and disasters, both natural and manmade, the County Mayor may determine that temporary changes need to be made in the operation of county government. The determination must be made in writing and be provided to all county-wide elected officials and the County Commission.
During that time, the County Mayor or Elected Official may reduce or suspend normal operating hours for certain offices or departments or may grant additional paid leave to full and part time employees, within the confinements of the budget and in accordance with local, state and federal laws.
RESOLUTION 04-2020-4 – Budget Amendment, General Fund, Fire Department $1,600.00. The Cumberland County Fire Department received a donation from Middle Tennessee Natural Gas to provide fire education and carbon monoxide detectors to eligible households. The resolution to accept the grant funds was approved 17-0.
RESOLUTION 04-2020-5 – Budget Amendment, General Fund, County Clerk $7,400.00. The County Clerk requested to move funds in the technology line item to data processing equipment in order to upgrade computer technology in the office. The resolution was approved unanimously.
RESOLUTION 04-2020-6 – Budget Amendment, General Fund, Emergency Medical Service $40,761.00. The Cumberland County Emergency Medical Service (ambulance service) is in a contract with the State of Tennessee to enhance Medicare/Medicaid payments. The cost is calculated based on the number of runs made by our ambulances. Due to several factors, the number of runs has increased this year. That means the estimated payment has increased, but it also means we will receive income from these funds that will more than offset the additional cost. The resolution was approved 17-0.
RESOLUTION 04-2020-7 –Encouraging All Elected Officials to Prepare a No Growth Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2020-2021. The resolution was approved 16-1 with Commissioner Blalock voting against.
RESOLUTION 04-2020-8 - Establishing Fiscal Guidance during State of Emergency – Coronavirus Pandemic. This resolution issued an affirmation to follow the current budget, with the department heads working with the Mayor to defer or postpone nonessential, or discretionary expenditures such as certain capital outlays, equipment, and travel, and to take action to manage and monitor overtime for hourly employees. The resolution was approved unanimously.
Property tax collections for the Board of Education are at 98.2% compared to 99.6% at this time last year. Hotel/Motel tax collections are approximately 64.5% of the $817,283 budget as revised down due to last year’s collection. So far $526,780 has been received, but the COVID-19 pandemic will definitely negatively affect this line item. Prisoner boarding is at 49.6% of budget at $368,277 after seven months of revenue has been collected. Local option sales tax collections came in at $638,878 which is $68,282 below estimated revenue. Overall, we are approximately $69,386 above the budgeted amount year to date. This is another revenue line item that will likely be significantly affected beginning with the collections shown next month. EMS collections for the month were $436,369. This puts year to date collections at $3,775,496 which is $775,499 above budget. The annual budgeted amount is $4,000,000. While we should make the budgeted revenue estimate, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be decreasing the ambulance runs. We will continue to monitor this closely.
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