Hamilton County commissioners are considering using more than $33,000 of county tax dollars on discretionary spending, including giving money to nonprofit agencies.
But some on the body’s finance committee are rebuking a proposed retirement-policy change that would ease the cost of retirement for the school system’s lowest-paid workers – because they say the county “is not a philanthropic organization.”
Commissioners discussed nearly $33,000 in so-called discretionary expenses Wednesday. After a vote next week, commissioners plan to repair municipally owned properties, donate to area nonprofit agencies and buy costumes for the local ballet.
But when Assistant Superintendent Christie Jordan asked commissioners Wednesday to consider allowing the Hamilton County school system to participate separately in the state’s consolidated retirement system, the finance committee balked. Right now, the school system is on the countywide retirement plan.
In April 2014, the County Commission voted to put all county employees hired after Oct. 1, 2015, on the state’s revamped 401(k)-style retirement plan. New employees will be required to contribute 5 percent of their pay, and an optional 2 percent more unless they opt out.
Current employees will keep their traditional pensions, in which they contribute nothing to retirement, then get paid 48 percent of their salary if they retire after 30 years.
Jordan wants to put new school-system employees who aren’t teachers on the old pension. She says that would allow the school system’s lowest-paid workers – cafeteria workers, teaching assistants and clerical staff – to keep more of their paychecks without risking their retirement. In addition to helping about 1,100 employees, she said it would make it easier to hire and retain workers. The Hamilton County Board of Education unanimously supported the effort last week.
But Commissioner Tim Boyd said the county shouldn’t be paying such employees directly anyway.
“This is not a philanthropic organization here; we are trying to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money,” he told Jordan.
He said the school system should get out of the business of serving food and cleaning and instead contract those services.
Joe Graham, who leads the commission’s finance committee, said he opposed putting new employees on the old plan, because of the cost to taxpayers.
“It’s a little less expensive for the employees, but it’s more expensive for the school system,” he said.
Under the new 401(k)-style plan, the school system is projected to save about $400,000 over seven to 10 years, he said.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next week, but as chairman of finance, I’m going to strongly recommend (that the full commission) denies this,” Graham said.
Only Commissioner Warren Mackey supported the proposal Wednesday.
Jordan said after the meeting that contracting food service would have no impact. Cafeteria workers are paid by lunch fees and federal funds.
“There is no general operating money allocated to the food service, that’s a stand-alone operation,” she said. “It would have no beneficial impact to contract them.”
And the school system contracted custodial and grounds work years ago, she said.
She said many of the affected employees make around $17,000 to $20,000 a year, and recent changes to the school system’s health insurance plan shifted more costs to workers.
“We felt this was not the best time to do this, to make this change, for school system employees,” Jordan said.
Minutes before commissioners debated the retirement policies, they discussed plans to spend tax dollars on pet projects across the county.
Commission Chairman Jim Fields, who represents District 2, is asking commissioners to spend $6,027 to pay for a parking lot for Signal Mountain Middle/High School’s indoor batting cage and $4,960 to repair a ceiling in a building owned by the Town of Walden.
In District 5, Commissioner Greg Beck is asking to give $2,500 in taxpayer funds to Girls Inc.
Graham wants to spend $12,500 in county money to help renovate and repair a pavilion and picnic area owned by the Town of Lookout Mountain.
And Boyd is asking to give $1,750 to the Chattanooga Ballet to replace 25-year-old “Nutcracker” costumes and $6,000 to buy materials for the Sculpture Fields at Montague Park. That money would pay for materials for a sculpture dedicated to the five U.S. servicemen who died in the July 16 shooting at the U.S. Naval and Marine Reserve Center on Amnicola Highway.
No commissioner questioned any of the proposals.
After the meeting, Boyd said his proposal for the ballet is different from the school system request. It’s an investment, he said.
“Twenty-five-thousand people see ‘The Nutcracker’ every year. They eat dinner downtown; they spend money. Believe it or not that little organization is an economic driver for downtown during the Christmas season,” Boyd said.
Commissioners will vote next week on the proposed retirement change and the discretionary spending items.
Contact staff writer Louie Brogdon at lbrog don@timesfreepress.com, @glbrogdoniv on Twitter or at 423-757-6481.