Hamilton County commissioner questions discretionary spending

Hamilton County Commission Chairman Chester Bankston wants to use the county's line of credit to help pay for an athletic field striping machine for Ooltewah High School, since he does not have enough discretionary money to cover the total cost.

Bankston has $932.94 in bond funds available to put toward the $3,400 piece of equipment. Although Bankston has a little more than $20,000 in county discretionary money, only bond funds may be spent on schools, according to a state comptroller ruling last year. The purchase proposal calls for the commission to tap $2,467 of the county's credit line, which Bankston has pegged at $55 million.

Commissioners use discretionary allotments to pay for special projects that might otherwise go unfunded from the county's general budget.

In a recent meeting, Commissioner Joe Graham questioned Bankston about using the county's line of credit to make an unbudgeted purchase for the school system, describing the measure as "unprecedented" and "a slippery slope."

"To start buying paint machines with money that hasn't been allocated to our districts out of the blue, just because you can or just because you can put five votes together, doesn't make a good practice," Graham said.

Bankston said the high school's last paint machine "blew up" and he did not have any more discretionary money.

"Out of fairness to Hamilton County, our line of credit is designed to buy things general government needs within our budget," Graham said, citing concerns that similar spending proposals could hurt the county's AAA bond rating.

Commissioner Warren Mackey defended Bankston's proposal, citing unmet needs in schools.

"I think it's money very well spent," Mackey said. "You can spend it on athletic programs or you can spend it in the jails. I'd rather spend it on the kids."

Commissioner Sabrena Smedley asked Hamilton County Finance Director Al Kiser if the purchase met the criteria for bond fund use.

"It's certainly a good use of bond money," Kiser said. "Our bond capacity, you know, can be limited at some point. We don't have an endless supply of bond money, but it's certainly an adequate, a good use of bond money."

Mackey said he did not want to reopen the question of discretionary money, but said he wanted to "get it back on the table at some point."

Mayor Jim Coppinger left commissioner discretionary money out of the 2017 budget, repeating a stance he took with the 2016 budget.

However, six commissioners - Bankston, Mackey, Smedley, Tim Boyd, Randy Fairbanks and Jim Fields - voted to amend the proposed 2016 budget by taking $900,000 from the county's $90 million reserve to divvy up among the body's nine members. The same faction shot down Coppinger's veto of the amended budget.

Commissioners have not publicly challenged the absence of commission discretionary funds in the 2017 budget.

Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @pleach_tfp.

Upcoming Events