By Tom Davis
Correspondent
DAYTON, Tenn. – Rhea County commissioners this week adopted a $44 million budget and announced a special meeting to consider a 15-cent property tax increase to fund it.
Meeting in special session, the commission voted 6-2 Thursday to approve the 2010-11 budget, with one commissioner absent.
Before the vote was taken, Commissioner Bill Hollin asked the status of the county’s surplus funds. Finance Director Bill Graham said the county will have about $1.1 million in surplus, not including some $820,000 in statutory reserves, if the budget is approved.
“Except for the drug fund, every (fund) has a positive fund balance,” he said. The drug fund is funded by fines and forfeitures resulting from drug cases.
Commission Chairman Ronnie Raper announced the board would meet in special session on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. to consider the budget on second reading and to consider the property tax rate for the coming year.
The budget committee has proposed a 15-cent increase in the property tax rate – now $1.59996 per hundred dollars of assessed valuation – to fund the budget.
Budget Committee Chairman Emmaly Fisher said 3 cents of the increase would be allocated to the highway department, 8 cents would be appropriated to the debt service account and 4 cents would be allocated to the county general fund.
This would be the first year in memory that the highway department has received property tax funds. Previously, the department has operated primarily off state gasoline tax appropriations.
Before the meeting, several county residents spoke at a public hearing, questioning the need for a tax increase and encouraging commissioners to consider alternatives to the property tax as revenue sources.
Tom Davis is based in Dayton. Contact him at tsdavis@volstate.net.