Hamilton County commissioners Joe Graham and Marty Haynes will be allowed to return their combined $200,000 in discretionary funds - money they could have spent on pet projects - to the county's reserve fund.
The decision was made at Wednesday's commission meeting after discussion of the controversial topic culminated in impassioned pleas and a tense vote.
Just a week after commissioners said they knew of no plans to redirect discretionary money to other projects in the county, it took a 5-4 vote to shoot down an effort led by Warren Mackey and Sabrena Turner-Smedley to give the returned money to the Orange Grove Center, a facility in Mackey's district that serves people with intellectual disabilities.
The commission then voted 7-2 to allow Graham and Haynes' discretionary funds to return to the county's reserve fund.
Traditionally, the nine county commissioners have received $900,000 in the county budget to split equally for special projects in their districts. That changed earlier this year when County Mayor Jim Coppinger did not include discretionary money in the budget. In response, the commission voted to dip into the county's reserve fund to get the $900,000 and then voted to override Coppinger's veto of the move.
Graham, Haynes and Greg Beck opposed taking the money from the reserve or "rainy day" fund, and Graham presented a resolution at last week's meeting to return his share. Haynes announced his intention to do the same on Monday, but he did so amid speculation that some commissioners had other ideas for the returned money.
"That money is used for good purposes," Mackey said Wednesday, during strident comments in support of discretionary funding. The debate heated up with his motion to direct the $200,000 to the Orange Grove Center.
"Commissioner Haynes' predecessor, Commissioner Graham's predecessor - they used discretionary money with good usage," Mackey continued. "And now, for whatever reason, I guess we're trying to out-conservative everybody."
Before the commission voted on Mackey's motion, Graham weighed in, saying it would be like "stealing the money again" for the commission to redirect the money instead of allowing it to return to the reserve fund.
"This is a horrible precedent we're setting and very irresponsible government and very irresponsible spending from this government," Graham declared.
Beck, who kept his original share of the discretionary funding, questioned why Graham and Haynes felt the need to put the money back in the reserve fund.
He opposed the idea, however, of allowing their discretionary money to go toward other projects.
"It's like robbing Peter to pay Paul," Beck said. "It's way out of bounds. It's almost out in space that we would take someone else's appropriations and do what we want to do with them."
Haynes, a candidate for county assessor, and Graham said they were simply seeking to fulfill their duty as elected officials by sending the money back to the reserve fund. They added the qualification that returning the discretionary money would not prevent them from responding to emergencies in their districts.
"I don't believe in my heart of hearts that I can spend this money in good conscience," Haynes said. "It belongs to the taxpayers, and I think it is the conservative thing to do. And if that's ideology, it's what I was elected for by the folks in District 3, to protect and be responsible with the money that is assigned to us."
Mackey, Turner-Smedley, Randy Fairbanks and Chester Bankston voted in favor of moving Graham's and Haynes' discretionary funds to the center.
Graham, Haynes, Jim Fields, Tim Boyd and Greg Beck voted against the move.
East Ridge football stadium
Problems with crumbling bleachers and buildings at East Ridge also were discussed at the meeting.
Boyd, who represents East Ridge, personally sought out three bids for a replacement for the recently condemned Raymond James Stadium at East Ridge High School.
The bids, which were for bleachers and press box facilities only, ranged from under $125,000 to $209,000, according to Boyd.
"The county and the city of East Ridge are willing to help," said Boyd. However, he challenged Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith and the school board to take the lead in the replacement.
"They need to step up, because that is their responsibility," he said.
Staff writer Jay Greeson contributed to this story.
Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.