News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Putnam County Budget Committee voted to approve country general fund expenditures as presented Thursday.
The only exceptions: three new employees, including a deputy clerk, one field appraiser, and one firefighter. Those new positions did not make the final budget.
Commissioner Jonathan Williams brought up that Chief Tom Brown said that while three would be ideal to aid at the Monterey fire station, he could make do with two. Mayor Randy Porter said he thought the same.
“I know he needs three for a shift,” Porter said. “They work 24 hour shifts. So to have the station be full time, they need three. But I think he did say Commissioner Williams that with part-time, and some of the other stuff he might be able to make that work with two.”
The committee will propose to commissioners to move $2.5 million from the general fund to capital projects to pay for preliminary fairground excavation work. They also agreed to bring to county commissioners their recommendation of moving $1.2 million out of general fund balance for vehicles.
Commissioner Mike Atwood made the motion, and the committee approved it unanimously. Atwood said that there comes a time when you have to look at the growth in the county, and bite the bullet to approve spending.
“I am personally comfortable with the requests that have been made,” Atwood said. “I think we have to put our big boy pants on I guess and make a decision, if we can agree to that, and figure out how to pay for it.”
In approving the county general fund, the county also approved a pay scale increase. Mayor Randy Porter presented a pay scale study to the budget committee Thursday night. Porter said that the scale was approved by the pay scale committee, and recommended that budget committee approval in order to compete with county growth.
“What we did was, my thoughts and elected officials’ and all the folks is we need to make these adjustments to the pay scale,” Porter said. “It gives us the footing or the flooring to look at the salaries going forward.”
Porter said for the study, he examined the salaries of two counties that were larger in population, two counties that were lower in population, and the City of Cookeville. He then averaged the high salary end and low salary end, which came out to recommended numbers.
Porter said there was some $128,000 in the county’s budget to account for this pay scale increase.
The committee also approved the Putnam County School’s budget expenditures as presented. While the last budget presented was some $2.5 million in the hole, committee moved forward and will let the school make adjustments as needed. The schools are waiting to hear back about some $3 million in ESSER funding that could be used.
Director of Schools Corby King said while he doesn’t have reason to believe the schools won’t get the funding, they won’t get confirmation for some time.
