Bradley County finance committee approves a slate of budget amendments, schedules department hearings

The Bradley County Finance Committee approved a series of budget amendments affecting road maintenance, public safety, health and other county departments and scheduled department budget hearings for this Thursday at 11 a.m.

The committee approved each amendment by voice vote, with the chair calling each roll and announcing a 5-0 result on the motions recorded in the meeting minutes. Committee members also set a timetable for department and elected-official budget presentations, asking staff to arrange appearances by the sheriff’s office (including jail and workhouse accounts), the library, emergency management (EMA) and other department heads.

The vote tally repeated across the meeting: motions to amend departmental budgets were offered, seconded and approved without dissension. Many amendments moved funds between line items within a department (for example, from a deputy payroll line to equipment or data-processing lines at the sheriff’s office) or authorized use of fund balance to cover specified costs. Several departments requested vehicle purchases and reallocated existing budget lines to pay for them rather than including the purchases in next year’s budget request.

Misdemeanor-probation staff noted a substantive operational change driving one amendment. Rich, a misdemeanor-probation staff member, said the county had added $55,000 to an expense line after a change in law requiring electronic monitoring in some domestic-violence cases and that “to date through Friday, we’ve already collected 69,000.” The committee approved a $15,000 revenue-and-expense amendment to fund electronic monitoring costs.

Committee members discussed auditor-mandated adjustments to fund balances for the road department. A finance staff member described the change as satisfying an audit requirement; the committee approved an amendment to adjust a road fund balance by approximately $131,102 as an auditor-driven fund-balance correction.

Emergency management and EMS also shifted money in current-year lines to purchase vehicles and equipment. EMA moved two vehicle-purchase items together; the committee approved both as a package. EMS accepted a grant and corresponding expense increase of $142,650 to purchase devices identified in grant documentation, and the committee approved that amendment.

The sheriff’s office brought multiple intra-department reallocations and donation items. One amendment moved roughly $110,000 from a jail account to data-processing; another added $118,900 in revenue and a corresponding expense allocation to an internal line (line 599) that county staff said covers costs the medical contract no longer pays. The sheriff’s office also accepted three donations totaling $3,000 for K-9 program support (checks of $1,500, $500 and $1,000), and the committee approved those amendments together.

At the end of the packet, the committee approved the remainder of the line-item amendments as presented and reviewed the upcoming schedule: budget hearings with department heads and elected officials will start at 11 a.m. Thursday; the committee noted lunch will be provided and asked Lori (finance staff) to confirm scheduling and sequence, beginning with the library and continuing with department presentations including EMS, EMA and fire.

Votes at a glance

- Road Department — insurance recovery $18,473.75; motion by Commissioner Collins; second Commissioner Mason; outcome: approved (5-0). - Road Department — capital outlay adjustment (new trucks, salt spares) $122,422.44 (as stated in packet); motion by Commissioner Slater; second Commissioner Collins; outcome: approved (5-0). - Road Department — unemployment compensation increase $11,900; motion by Commissioner Mason; second Commissioner Alford; outcome: approved (5-0). - Road Department — fund-balance audit adjustment ~$131,102; motion by Commissioner Slater; second Commissioner Mason; outcome: approved (5-0). - Road Department — overtime reallocation $20,000; motion by Commissioner Mason; second Commissioner Slater; outcome: approved (5-0). - Health/HI item (payroll/expense line) — amount as stated in packet; motion by Commissioner Mason; second Commissioner Collins; outcome: approved (5-0). - Mayor’s department — utilities reallocation (Farmers Market/electric) $1,750; motion by Commissioner Collins; second Commissioner Alford; outcome: approved (5-0). - Finance/legal services (deductibles) reallocation — net $10,000 (decrease $7,000 + decrease fund balance $3,000); motion by Commissioner Mason; second Commissioner Collins; outcome: approved (5-0). - Finance/legal fees reallocation $1,000 (packet line) — motion by Commissioner Slater; second Commissioner Mason; outcome: approved (5-0). - Human Resources — reallocation from unemployment to testing $33,000; motion by Commissioner Slater; second Commissioner Collins; outcome: approved (5-0). - General Sessions (Judge Collins) — dues/membership $400 (fund-balance decrease); motion by Commissioner Mason; second Commissioner Collins; outcome: approved (5-0). - Misdemeanor Probation — electronic-monitoring revenue and expense $15,000; motion by Commissioner Collins; second Commissioner Slater; outcome: approved (5-0). Staff reported the department added $55,000 to the expense line in response to a change in law and has collected about $69,000 to date. - Parks and Recreation — equipment reallocation $1,000; motion by Commissioner Alford; second Commissioner Mason; outcome: approved (5-0). - EMA — vehicle purchase reallocation $22,317.12; motion by Commissioner Collins; second Commissioner Slater; outcome: approved (5-0). - EMA — second vehicle purchase reallocation ~$12,992.28; taken with previous EMA item; motion by Commissioner Collins; second Commissioner Mason; outcome: approved (5-0). - Health Department — fund-balance decrease to cover purchase order $9,875; motion by Commissioner Slater; second Commissioner Mason; outcome: approved (5-0). - EMS — maintenance-to-vehicle reallocation $68,629.19 (packet line) for new vehicle; motion by Commissioner Slater; second Commissioner Mason; outcome: approved (5-0). - EMS — grant revenue and corresponding expense $142,650 for devices (grant documentation in packet); motion by Commissioner Collins; second Commissioner Slater; outcome: approved (5-0). - EMS — dues/memberships reallocation $150 (packet line); motion by Commissioner Collins; second Commissioner Mason; outcome: approved (5-0). - Fire & Rescue — supplies/materials increase (packet line) $500 and a small $4.99 line item; motion by Commissioner Slater; second Commissioner Alford; outcome: approved (5-0). - Fire & Rescue — separate $5 donation/item (packet line); motion by Commissioner Collins; second Commissioner Alford; outcome: approved (5-0). - Sheriff’s Office — deputy payroll to equipment reallocation (packet line); motion by Commissioner Slater; second Commissioner Alford; outcome: approved (5-0). - Sheriff’s Office — jail-account to data-processing reallocation (~$110,000 as stated); motion by Commissioner Slater; second Commissioner Alford; outcome: approved (5-0). - Sheriff’s Office — revenue increase and allocation to internal line 599 $118,900 (packet line); motion by Commissioner Slater; second Commissioner Alford; outcome: approved (5-0). County staff said line 599 covers items the medical contract does not. - Sheriff’s Office — donation package for K-9 program (checks of $1,500, $500 and $1,000); motion by Commissioner Slater; second Commissioner Collins; outcome: approved (5-0). - County — sale of scrap material revenue $396.80; motion by Commissioner Mason; second Commissioner Alford; outcome: approved (5-0). - Remaining packet amendments — motion by Commissioner Slater; second Commissioner Mason; outcome: approved (5-0).

Why it matters

The committee’s actions reallocate existing funds within the current fiscal year to cover equipment purchases, legal deductibles, monitoring and other department needs without creating new budget requests. Several reallocations reflect operational changes (for example, probation’s expanded electronic-monitoring expense after a change in law) and auditor-required corrections to fund balances. The schedule the committee set for department hearings will shape final budget deliberations later in the county’s budget cycle.

Meeting notes and next steps

Finance staff (Lori) will confirm the order and timing for Thursday’s budget hearings, starting with the library and including the sheriff’s office (jail and workhouse), EMA, EMS and fire. The committee emphasized using current-year lines where possible to cover vehicle purchases rather than adding those requests to next year’s budget ask. The session concluded after the committee approved the packet and confirmed logistics for Thursday’s nonvoting budget presentations.