Crossville City Council OKs Budget $1.1 Million in the Red and Tax Rate on FIrst Reading

Crossville city council has approved the first readings of the city's 2018-19 fiscal year budget and unchanged property tax rate.

Crossville City Hall (file photo)

In a special called meeting the council approved the budget with a $1.1 million deficit that will be covered out of the city's over $10 million general fund balance. New funding from the Hotel/Motel tax is anticipated at $150,000 this year in the budget and some $200,000 annually in future years.

CLICK HERE to download a PDF of the budget.

Council also approved the first reading of the property tax rate, unchanged from last year at 59 cents.

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The tax rate approval was voted on as part of the consent agenda along with other routine budget amendments for the current fiscal year. The motion to approve was approved unanimously by the four council members present. Councilman Scot Shanks was out of town for the meeting.

Councilman Danny Wyatt asked for the budget vote to be taken separately and to have $40,000 in funds from the Hotel/Motel tax to be specifically earmarked for the economic development for possible future partnerships with one of several potential regional groups. City manager Greg Wood explained that all the funding from the Hotel/Motel tax was directed toward economic development and tourism so he didn't feel any additional earmarking was necessary. Wyatt moved to make the change anyway and to approve the budget. Wyatt's motion was also unanimously approved.

Two additional readings of the budget and tax rate are required with the next reading expected at the council's regular June meeting along with a public hearing on the budget. One additional special called meeting will be required to approve the budget by the end of June.

A public hearing on the city's capital improvement plan was held but none of the public attended and no comments were made. The plan was also unanimously approved.

Click here to download PDF of the Capital Improvement Plan.

Council deferred action on a request from the county for a waiver of fees related to inspection of the construction of the Crab Orchard Elementary School. Council requested additional information including an estimate of the time and mileage required for the services provided by the city.

Council approved the purchase of a Jet A fuel truck for use at the Crossville Memorial Airport at a cost of $20,000. The city's portion of the cost under a grant is $10,000.   

FIrst Reading of Crossville Budget and Tax Rate on Thursday Called meeting Agenda

The Crossville city council has a full agenda for the special.called.meeting set for Thursday, May 24 at noon.

Among the items on the agenda are the first of three readings required to approve the city's 2018-19 fiscal year budget and the property tax rate of 59 cents, no change from last year.  The budget stands at $1.1 million in the red with the balance to come from the general fund balance with 10 times the deficit amount. CLICK HERE to download a PDF of the budget.

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A public hearing on the budget will be held on June 12, prior to the Council's June regular meeting.

A public hearing is set on the city's capital improvement plan at the start of the meeting and approval of the plan is also on the agenda. Click here to download PDF of the Capital Improvement Plan.

Council will consider a request from County Mayor Ken Carey that the city waives the fees on building permits and inspections for the Crab Orchard school project.  The estimated fees are just over $20,000. 

The purchase of a Jet A fuel truck for the airport will be considered.  A used truck has been located at a cost of $20,000. A grant will fund half the purchase with the city matching the grant.

A few other housekeeping mattered are also on the agenda. 

Council work session Tuesday to talk sidewalks and possible road closing changes.

The Crossville city council meets for their monthly work session Tuesday May 2 at Crossville city hall and will discuss a number of items expected on the regular agenda coming up on May 9. The meeting starts at 5 PM and will be held in the third floor conference room at city hall.

Council plans to discuss downtown sidewalks during the work session once again and will hear from Crossville resident Ed Daszkiewicz who is blind and will discuss with the council what it is like to walk around Crossville.

The City of Crossville gets so many request for road closings for events and 5K races that they are looking at setting a standard 5K route that will reduce the time by city employees and cost to the city. If organizers use that rout there would be no charge but if they choose a different route they would need to reimburse the city for expenses. The council also plans to discuss the possibility of moving the cruise ins and other events to the block behind the courthouse and around the amphitheater.

Council will also discuss action on contracts for the Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant on the redevelopment of Garrison Park. Environmental work has been completed and certified by the state. The contracts under consideration are with the grant administrator Community Development Partners and Lose and Associates for final design and bidding services. The agenda points out that a number of public meetings were held on the project and public hearings on the adoption of the recreation master plan.

Plan for Garrison Park redevelopment

Garrison Park

The lease on the Crossville depot is up for renewal later this year and the city has been notified that the C. A. T. S. group that has operated the depot for the past 3 years will not be renewing or extending the lease. Council will discuss what to do next. The lease expires August 31.

Council will discuss a request from Cumberland Co. mayor Kenneth Carey on the work on the animal shelter. Carey is requesting that the city waive permit fees and city crews install sewer line from the tap to the location of the new building along with providing a grinder pump to the contractor. All material costs would be deducted from the city share of the cost of the building.

Council will discuss the city's capital improvement plan that is required by the charter to be approved by council. A draft of the plan is available on the city website here.

Crossville city council holds called meeting and work session Thursday evening

Crossville city council has a busy night Thursday with a special called meeting and a work session all starting at 5 PM at Crossville city hall.

Crossville city hall

The called meeting includes discussion and possible action on the city's downtown sidewalk project. The sidewalk project has been discussed as far back as 14 years when a complete makeover of downtown first was discussed. As the years went by and the costs grew, the council dropped much of the downtown improvement program leaving waterlines and sidewalks. Plans to bid out sidewalk work was changed and now appears to be most likely done by the city street department over a 2 year period.

Downtown sidewalk

Tied to the sidewalk project is a new traffic signal installation at the intersection of Main Street and Lantana Road at the bottom of water tank hill. The changes are needed to level out the corners to make ADA accessible sidewalks through the area. The city is seeking grant money for that part of the project.

Also on the called agenda is approval of a memorandum of understanding related to a grant from the Tennessee Fire Chiefs Association to assist with recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters and several budget amendments.

The work session to follow the called meeting is on the city's capital plan and the 2016-17 operating budget.   

Crossville council holds special called meeting and work session Tuesday evening

The Crossville city council will meet in a brief special called meeting followed by the monthly March work session Tuesday March 7 in the third floor conference room.

The special called meeting to handle Centennial Park concessions bids will be held at 5:00 PM. The city has received two bids for the operation of the concessions operations at Centennial Park, the Duer Soccer Complex and Garrison Park. Proposals were received from Nick's Italian Ice and W6 concessions.

A committee was appointed by the interim city manager to study the proposals and make a recommendation to the council. Quick action is needed to be ready for a tournament scheduled for March 17-19.

Immediately following the called meeting the council will meet in work session to discuss a number of items expected to be on the regular meeting agenda March 14. Subjects on the work session include rehiring of previously retired employees, the city's annual capital improvement plan and a discussion of the solid waste collection contract.

Previous discussion on the subject of rehiring previously retired city employees has revealed that rules by the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) mean that such actions are more expensive then hiring those who were not previous retirees. Those rehires must be returned to the TCRS retirement program that costs the city some 18 percent of the employee's salary each year versus a retirement cost of between 5 and 8 percent for the program the city uses for new hires similar to a 401K program.

The city Human Resources department is requesting the council to approve a policy on the conditions of any such rehiring. According to the agenda information the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) surveyed some Tennessee cities and of the 14 responses only 2 advised they would rehire a previous retiree in a full time capacity.

The council will be presented with a rough draft of the annual capital improvement plan prepared by finance director Fred Houston. Council will review the document and determine if a work session is necessary to review the plan in more detail and get more information.

As the city gets closer to the deadline for notifying their contractor Cumberland Waste Disposal of the decision on whether to rebid the city's solid waste collection contract or to take the work back in house to be done by city employees. Street department supervisor Kevin Music will be addressing the issues that need addressed as the city moves forward to make that decision.

Also on the council work session are discussion of a telecommunications facility ordinance and a moratorium on new facilities until the city can complete work on the ordinance. The ordinance would govern towers, antennas for cell service, broadband internet and other communications technologies. The ordinance is being developed by a committee of several departments involved and still has finishing touches needed before final approval.

The city is looking at a system to provide city sewer to developed areas out side of the city limits because the new rules on annexations. The city has received requests for sewer service and has been looking at ways they can provide the needed service in a fair way. The policy is being developed and will be presented to council with a request for some decisions for moving forward with the program.