The Hamilton County Commission on Wednesday will vote on a revised version of the proposed Fiscal Year 2020 budget after shooting down the first proposal in June.
Here are five things you should know before the vote:
» The original budget proposed a highly controversial 34-cent property tax rate increase to benefit Hamilton County Schools. The tax increase was the only unbalanced part of the budget, proposed by Mayor Jim Coppinger, and was criticized and narrowly blocked by five commissioners.
» The revised $418 million education budget includes $19 million in growth money from increased local tax revenue and other projected revenue increases. It also budgets about $8 million from the district’s fund balance to pay for a one-time bonus for teachers, instead of a 2.5% pay raise originally included in the first revised budget proposal.
» The rest of the county budget, aside from changes to the schools request, remains the same as the balanced request praised by commissioners in June, which does not raise taxes and gives preference to public safety with more than a 6.4% increase totaling $3.5 million in the sheriff’s budget.
» The county was supposed to have passed the budget by the end of June, but per state law, was forced into a continuation budget through Aug. 31 after missing that deadline. Now the county must adopt a FY2020 budget by the end of the month or it will have to appeal to the Office of State and Local Finance to adopt a continuation budget approval resolution that extends its prior fiscal year appropriation authority through September.
» Here’s how the commissioners voted on the June 26 amendment to scrap the tax increase (“yes” votes were opposed to the budget as presented, “no” votes were in favor):
District 1 Commissioner Randy Fairbanks: Yes
“I won’t support a tax increase at all this year.”
District 2 Commissioner Chip Baker: No
“I’ve heard from all sides – friends, foes and everything in between – this has become an all-or-nothing budget. I’m a conservative and I don’t like asking for taxes, but I think now is the time when everyone is aligned.”
District 3 Commissioner Greg Martin: Yes
“I believe going forward it’s time for the school board and the county commission to work together … Raising property taxes is not the only solution.”
District 4 Commissioner Warren Mackey: No
“It’s time to do the right thing and have courage.”
District 5 Commissioner Katherlyn Geter: No
“Now is the time to do this.”
District 6 Commissioner David Sharpe: No
“Do you support public education, accelerating student achievement and promoting economic growth in Hamilton County? If you do support those three things, it’s a clear answer: You support this budget.”
District 7 Commissioner Sabrena Smedley: Yes
“There’s a lot as county commissioners that we have to consider. I was here in 2017, going into an election year, and voted for a tax increase. I was convinced at the time and I thought it was more important to do what’s right.”
District 8 Commissioner Tim Boyd: Yes
“I am absolutely opposed to a tax increase. … We’re not a bank and we’re not going to keep giving.”
District 9 Commissioner Chester Bankston: Yes
“I am absolutely against us passing any tax increase this year.”
Contact Sarah Grace Taylor at 423-757-6416 or at staylor@timesfreepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @_sarahgtaylor.