Coppinger quietly attempts to kill commissioners' discretionary spending, again

Kirk Kelly, interim superintendent and Christy Jordan, assistant superintendent of finance present the school budget during the Hamilton County Commission meeting Tuesday.
Kirk Kelly, interim superintendent and Christy Jordan, assistant superintendent of finance present the school budget during the Hamilton County Commission meeting Tuesday.

Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger is making a second run at reining in the Hamilton County Commission's discretionary funding. For the second year in a row, the proposed Hamilton County budget does not include discretionary funds for commissioners.

A year ago, six commissioners voted to take $900,000 out of the county general fund balance to replenish discretionary funds after Mayor Jim Coppinger left their special project money out of the fiscal year 2016 budget. The six commissioners - Chester Bankston, Tim Boyd, Randy Fairbanks, Jim Fields, Warren Mackey and Sabrena Smedley - also torpedoed Coppinger's veto of the amended budget.

During a budget workshop today, neither Coppinger or seven attending commissioners mentioned the subject.

Afterwards, Coppinger acknowledged the absence of commissioner discretionary funds.

"Everyone knows it," Coppinger said.

Bankston, who serves as the body's chairman, would not comment, but Commissioner Joe Graham expressed approval.

"We have limited funds and we're using them wisely," Graham said.

In May, Commissioner Tim Boyd said he wanted to ask his colleagues - by email - what they thought about discretionary fund policies.

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