[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6334032,"mediaKeyId","2299449-3bd83932718528256712b88fe1f01791","parentId",2299449,"title","Commission approves up to $750,000 from hospital fund for school-related nonprofit requests, with application conditions","audioSeconds",538,"startMs",2438000,"endMs",2976000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2299449-3bd83932718528256712b88fe1f01791&start=2438&end=2976","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2299449-3bd83932718528256712b88fe1f01791/thumbnail_2438000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6334032/Sumner-County/Tennessee/Commission-approves-up-to-750000-from-hospital-fund-for-school-related-nonprofit-requests-with-application-conditions","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6334032-a06c4b75b47c2cce4770ce639bf29d93/orig.mp4?Expires=1775311447&Signature=XhHCBUU1wZFdQTZjHMx8qcDA4CIbVLyEDGK4lqcFV3P9wRYYHcFz5oMxOdzh81fDeTp7RdihgkQ3cvExw2YaRGsRqX-4T9C5sqmPCeOTuNXcBqWkpqDrD-wPTjpAhCTxJ2Zp0jrz6Q3OIfggNDjlATgRlo9F~Bu9pKcpYqXCmGmP6QJOV~Vq4cJgGBOMIE7o73AiN3i~ZG7nOJSFU7nxCYw3UepP1HjztBR~~tTrFzHV817Ke50Ork9taTDJlbLMr35lcAMq26ajkOPb1klT2euGKyzjtUe6vQCaouXAcUA2oCCeK3V1fIN4y5Eay5Gw5D5PEOTDf57kciOPY8PhRA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Sumner County, TN","date","2025-02-11T14:00:53Z","article","The Sumner County Budget Committee voted to allocate up to $750,000 of remaining hospital-fund dollars for school-support nonprofit requests, subject to conditions requiring organizations to submit applications, proof of nonprofit status, and receipts showing purchased equipment now constitutes county property.

Committee members debated whether to set a hard cap and how to ensure transparency and fairness. The motion that passed set a maximum appropriation of $750,000 (inclusive of a previously discussed $240,000+ item for Westmoreland) and required that any nonprofit request include the committee's standard application, financial documentation, and receipts proving the equipment has been incorporated as county property.

Why it matters: Committee members said the hospital fund had been used historically for a range of one-time county needs and that this allocation would direct remaining dollars toward school-support organizations while retaining oversight measures to avoid open-ended spending. Members also emphasized that the nonprofit committee's regular application and review process must be followed and that materials should be provided to the commission before final disbursal.

Key procedural points:
- The motion ties the appropriation to the budget cycle but sets a cap so the nonprofit committee can review applications and recommend disbursements.
- The committee added a condition to preserve a portion of the fund until the county confirms the final residual balance; the cap passed after an amendment that fixed the total at $750,000 maximum, inclusive of previously discussed items.

Conditions passed by the committee include:
- Applicants must submit the county's nonprofit application and financials before awards are approved.
- Applicants must provide receipts or other proof that equipment purchased is now county property (the committee said it would not fund items lacking documentation that they are county-held assets).

Next steps: The nonprofit committee will accept applications and review them under the county's established process; the budget committee directed staff to include the capped amount in the budget cycle and to provide the nonprofit committee's application materials before votes on individual disbursements.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Budget Committee (Table) 2/10/25","oneSentenceSummary","The Sumner County Budget Committee voted to appropriate up to $750,000 of remaining hospital-fund dollars for school-support organizations, subject to nonprofit status documentation and proof that purchased equipment is county property; the measure will be processed during the budget cycle and distributed by the county's nonprofit committee.","taxTitle","Sumner County, Tennessee","taxId",19115,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6334036,"Election commission reports higher-than-expected costs; committee orders one-month benchmark and allows transfers",373,1587000,1960000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2299449-3bd83932718528256712b88fe1f01791&start=1587&end=1960","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2299449-3bd83932718528256712b88fe1f01791/thumbnail_1587000.jpg","/articles/6334036/Sumner-County/Tennessee/Election-commission-reports-higher-than-expected-costs-committee-orders-one-month-benchmark-and-allows-transfers","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6334036-42170b1626ae4b9ac5e6eef527f0aec5/orig.mp4?Expires=1775311447&Signature=BFvIvUGaHiVt34nko69CCfH3q4eVXiO4tcW1awiiKz~4ZgyFBpeTi9yogkdi8d-MO6CnoWuK1qx~DJT1aTXaf6jBHDVlECumt74GQf~o8BudELIga3Ba3K1bAqTILF4qNzWu-UAuVnyo3AkZQTZmejzMxjE6rba1zpB-ZDRiVreObX0gKOX2tUTdg35-f1W3KriNkdR8Zqf91EdtpZoi9JY9oFX~Jd20wA9wvtHBsmQhtXmJZ8kBtsNpHJfprNtedklhHJcCvyjwIUkjaMzY8KS9eDxu1rjagjzBxdt6Bf2O9SxMfC5WjfhOelSx7Bvjpk~PYwyA3D~VgLq5lII4Dw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Sumner County's election officials told the Budget Committee that the office exceeded budget line items for election workers and overtime after the most recent election, and the committee approved a short-term plan to avoid unpaid bills while staff compiles a benchmark of peer counties.

At the meeting, the election official clarified a public comment about \"data processing\": \"I just want to clarify for anyone that is in the room ... that has absolutely nothing to do with our voting machines being connected to the Internet. That is an absolute incorrect fact. ... Our voting machines are never connected to Internet,\" the elections representative said, responding directly to a member of the public.

Committee members and staff reviewed two large overages the elections office reported: election workers (the office cited $52,007.21 in overage on that line) and overtime (about $4,561 over budget, as discussed in the packet). The elections office explained two drivers: higher turnout in the most recent presidential election compared with prior cycles and the county's new voting machines that include voter-verified paper audit trails and weigh more, which increased rental and handling costs.

To prevent unpaid, statutorily required expenses from falling through, one commissioner moved to provide an immediate supplemental amount; another commissioner amended that approach. The committee ultimately adopted an amendment directing the elections office to move remaining funds among existing line items as needed for the near term, and the county administration was directed to produce a benchmarking report comparing Sumner County election expenditures and processes with other large Middle Tennessee counties within one month. Committee members said they preferred that accounting-based transfers be used now rather than repeatedly authorizing out-of-cycle appropriations.

Why it matters: The elections office said it had paid legally required bills (for example, legal notices and vendor invoices) and that failing to fund statutorily required operations could force a chancery-court petition under state law. County counsel advised that Tennessee Code Annotated allows an election commission to petition the Chancery Court if a county does not appropriate funds reasonably necessary for discharge of statutorily mandated duties.

What the committee did:
- Adopted an amendment to allow the election office to reallocate remaining funds among line items to cover overages and instructed county staff to compile a benchmark comparison against other counties to return at the next meeting.
- The committee explicitly declined, at this meeting, to adopt a one-time special supplemental appropriation beyond transfers; commissioners said they wanted benchmarking data first.

Key quotes:
- \"Our voting machines are never connected to Internet,\" the elections representative said when addressing public concern about data processing.
- County counsel read the relevant statute aloud: \"If a county fails to pay appropriate funds sufficient to pay expenses that are reasonably necessary for the discharge of statutorily mandated duties of its election commission, such commission may petition the Chancery Court to compel the appropriation of such funds.\" The counsel noted the statutory phrase \"reasonably necessary.\"

Next steps: County staff will prepare a benchmarking report comparing Sumner County election costs and practices with similar counties and present it at the next meeting. The elections office will adjust line-item spending where possible to cover the identified overages for the near term.","The county's election office told the budget committee it exceeded budgeted amounts for election workers and overtime after a larger turnout and new voting equipment requirements. The committee approved an amendment allowing the office to reallocate existing line items and requested a benchmark comparison with peer counties within one month.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6334041,"Budget committee sends revenue guidance to schools, cites maintenance-of-effort duty under state law",617,521000,1138000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2299449-3bd83932718528256712b88fe1f01791&start=521&end=1138","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2299449-3bd83932718528256712b88fe1f01791/thumbnail_521000.jpg","/articles/6334041/Sumner-County/Tennessee/Budget-committee-sends-revenue-guidance-to-schools-cites-maintenance-of-effort-duty-under-state-law","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6334041-190003bc17dc4d8c820a3ced8f95ee10/orig.mp4?Expires=1775311447&Signature=VZk0PkEg4mNJNuE0g9wYe8iEkbbSSmQ4NfgM-PlLG3ZCoqbwzZUJBJshbnfRWcjkVk3z4YBl-4h745H6TFyLreexObLlFQcNx4qYLM4Xr0qk2~2S956tt3bs-v8Fg95diIlQO4bYZo6fRmuxOBP7KHdnbpJ9PiveaSvr6rzHz6uC~oWre6vYAga~hsAwCPl8qDD6OIhKFwjHdJvAKLOSCV9BR5y9elFApw-516iQtCMWQT3ARCSk9leA~G9I5buCn5xRHx8E6~tHR-s6Qx9P9X08zKLfmGJseMTnB-QwGW1ed1FS-x7Pr1d0TU6v~3c-5gv~-25n9kn4ol5PLdRJng__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Sumner County Budget Committee voted to send a revenue estimate and formal guidance to the Sumner County Board of Education, directing the school board and director of schools to prepare a budget aligned with the committee's revenue determinations and maintenance-of-effort (MOE) expectations under state law.

The committee's decision came after staff outlined the county's revenue picture and reviewed relevant Tennessee Code Annotated language that assigns the county legislative body the duty to make revenue estimates and the school board the duty to prepare a budget according to those estimates. \"The director of schools and the chairman of the board of education shall prepare a budget according to the revenue estimates and revenue determinations made by the county legislative body,\" a committee staff member read aloud from the packet.

Why it matters: The action frames how much local revenue the school district should plan to receive, which in turn limits what the schools can responsibly promise in their budget requests. Committee members said they wanted to give the schools early, clear guidance so the district can prepare its budget on a known revenue baseline.

During the discussion the committee reviewed a packet that listed local MOE figures. Staff described the county's current local taxes and projected revenue, noting sales tax as the area with the largest conservative surplus. The packet included an MOE figure for local revenue described in the meeting as \"$134,062,500\" (local MOE for the current fiscal year, as stated by staff in the packet) and highlighted a recommended additional amount the committee asked the schools to factor into planning. Committee discussion included whether to hold MOE steady or recommend an increase; one commissioner argued for a conservative approach, another for providing an upward guidance so the district can work toward teacher salary targets.

The motion the committee adopted directed staff to forward the committee's revenue estimate and the committee's recommendation to the school board. Committee members repeatedly emphasized the county's statutory role: providing an estimate that the schools must use when preparing their budget.

What was said:
- A county finance staff member described how the packet shows the distribution of budgeted local taxes and how revenue projections could produce additional local revenue over the budget baseline. \"If we reprojected all of them county wide out of 236 some odd million dollars, you'd bring an additional $4,000,000 or a little over 1%,\" the staff member said when describing the packet.
- A committee member summarized the recommendation to the schools in the meeting as a specific guidance figure contained in the packet: \"I basically wanna give guidance that you that they've got $66,194,239, extra dollars from local revenue. That's the recommendation this year,\" the commissioner said during debate.

The committee did not adopt an amendment to hold the MOE amount at the previous year's level without change. Members said they wanted to provide the schools with guidance so the district could prepare a budget that aligns with county projections rather than waiting until later in the cycle.

Next steps: Staff will forward the committee's revenue estimates and recommendation to the school board, as described in TCA provisions discussed at the meeting. The school board and director of schools are statutorily responsible for preparing a budget that reflects those revenue determinations.","Sumner County budget committee voted to forward revenue estimates and guidance to the school board so the district can prepare a budget that complies with the county's maintenance-of-effort obligations under Tennessee law.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Commission approves up to $750,000 from hospital fund for school-related nonprofit requests, with application conditions

Election commission reports higher-than-expected costs; committee orders one-month benchmark and allows transfers

Budget committee sends revenue guidance to schools, cites maintenance-of-effort duty under state law