A dramatic Hamilton County budget season may come to a close next week as county commissioners consider a revised version of the proposed fiscal year 2020 budget.
Here are three things you should know about the remaining budget process:
» After the commission did not pass county Mayor Jim Coppinger's proposed budget in June due to opposition to the proposed 34-cent property tax rate increase to benefit schools, representatives of the Hamilton County Department of Education will present a revised, balanced version of the budget to the commission on Wednesday.
» According to Coppinger, if "all goes well" on Wednesday the commission will vote on the new budget at the Aug. 7 meeting.
» The county has been under a continuation budget since the end of fiscal year 2019, or June 30. The commission is legally required to pass a fiscal year budget by Aug. 31. If the county fails to adopt an operating budget by the deadline, it can 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 Sept.
Both of those commission meetings and all that panel's regular meetings will be held in the commission chambers on the fourth floor of the Hamilton County Courthouse at 9:30 a.m. and can livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/user/HamiltonCountyTN
Contact Sarah Grace Taylor at 423-757-6416 or at staylor@timesfreepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @_sarahgtaylor.