Commissioners in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, have asked county department heads to trim 8% from their 2019-20 budgets in hopes of avoiding a property tax hike or dipping into the county fund balance.
But the outcome isn't predictable.
County Mayor Gregg Ridley vetoed a $500,000-plus shortfall budget in July after the county commission shot down a proposed 18-cent property tax hike, then adopted the budget with the additional spending still in it. After the veto, the commission met again on Monday to officially request department heads make the cuts and discuss ideas.
But some county department heads said Monday night that the 8% sought-for cuts could cripple county operations, according to commission chairman Craig Mercer, a commissioner since 2002 and a member of the panel's finance committee.
REGION TAX RATES
Southeast Tennessee property tax rates per $100 of assessed value.Bledsoe: $2.2060Bradley: $1.7084Coffee: $2.93240Franklin: $2.67360Grundy: $2.53830Marion: $2.16860Meigs: $1.98130McMinn: $1.54690Polk: $2.51200Rhea: $2.19660Sequatchie: $2.44220Source: Tennessee Comptroller’s Office, 2018
The committee in July proposed the 18-cent hike that Mercer believes still would fall about $200,000 or so short of a balanced budget, creating a financial situation that has been a couple of years in the making.
Bledsoe's 2018-19 budget contained a deficit because county leaders felt a $2 million fund balance was a little high for a county Bledsoe's size and they wanted to reduce it and avoid a tax increase at the same time, Mercer said. The fund balance took a nearly $700,000 hit and fell below the most-desired $1 million mark. Another similar hit this year could spell trouble, Mercer said.
During Monday's commission meeting, Ridley said in order to make the 8% cut his office's two employees would likely be furloughed for periods of the year, and another cut would include reducing the number of phone lines in his office to one, according to an Aug. 1 article in the Bledsonian-Banner newspaper. Ridley said he'd already reduced the speed of internet service for his office and removed a postage meter to trim expenses.
Ridley said he was against a property tax hike but was seeking middle ground between taxpayers and county employees, the paper reported.
Commissioners also discussed other possible remedies, including reviving the idea of getting the historic Dr. James A. Ross House - which sits off the courthouse square and houses the Bledsoe County Historical and Genealogical Society's offices - off the county property list. That suggestion drew fire earlier this year after a county commission committee was formed to study the feasibility of continuing to maintain the house.
IF YOU GO
The Bledsoe County Commission will meet at 7 p.m. CDT Aug. 6 at the Bledsoe County Courthouse to hear county department heads respond regarding requested 8% budget cuts and to discuss ideas for balancing the budget.
But those are only short-term solutions and the county will be in the same fiscal boat next year, possibly with the county school system seeking more funding, too, Mercer said.
"About $550,000 is what we've got to come up with," he said. Mercer is counting on a boost in revenue at the county jail once a 50-bed addition is complete, freeing up room for the facility to house more state inmates at a reimbursement fee of about $39 per day.
A boom in local inmates last year took up beds once filled with state prisoners, resulting in a 30% or so drop in annual revenue.
With increasing costs, a dwindling fund balance and already-tight purse strings, "I don't know how we can do it without a tax increase," Mercer said.
"We'll see what the office holders can bring to us," a doubtful Mercer said Thursday. "I feel good about the commission. They've always done a good job, but this is going to be a tricky one."
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.