News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cookeville City Council and city department officials gathered Wednesday for City Council Orientation at the new Police Department Headquarters.
City Manager James Mills gave an overview of city functions. He also provided new council members updates on current and future project statuses. He said there are four main issues the council is set to address in the near future, including the potential of becoming a Metropolitan Statistical Area.
“So there are some benefits to it, but there’s also more responsibility,” Mills said. “So if we do get this achievement, if we get this classification, we will get more federal money.”
Mills said the federal money will help to cover more positions such as a Transportation Planner. If the status is achieved, which Mills anticipates it will, he said the Comprehensive Land Use Plan will require major updates. The city hopes to hear back about this designation sometime this fall or winter.
Another major issue to be addressed is Employee Health Insurance. Mills said the city of Cookeville is not alone in the fact that the cost of employee health insurance has skyrocketed, and that changes will have to be made.
“We are self-funded, which means the employees and the city contribute to one fund and we pay claims out of that,” Mills said. “And we’ve got hit hard this year and our fund balance has dipped significantly lower than we ever expected to be. So we’re going to have to make changes, and they’re not going to be easy changes. ”
The new council also heard updates about current and future potential projects, including the aquatics facility, Fire Stations 2 and 3 upgrades, and CPAC renovations. Finance Director Brenda Imel and Human Resources Director Carl Sells presented overviews of their departments to council, among other department heads.
Discussions continue Thursday at the new Police Department Headquarters at 11:30 a.m.
