Committee advances 10¢ property-tax proposal, OKs 5% employee raises as debate over TVA school revenue continues

Coffee County’s Budget & Finance Committee voted Wednesday to forward a proposed 10¢ increase in the county property tax rate to the full commission and approved a 5% across‑the‑board pay increase for county employees, following extensive public comment from sheriff’s deputies and a line‑by‑line budget explanation from the county budget director.

Marina Edinger, Coffee County Director of Accounts and Budget, told the committee the budget under review remains draft until the legislative body adopts a final version and outlined specific revenue and reallocation options for the school general purpose fund. “The TVA revenue rightfully belongs to the Coffee County General Fund,” Edinger said, describing Tennessee Valley Authority property tax receipts as state‑collected revenue the county can budget but which historically has sometimes been redirected to rural school needs. Edinger said the TVA amount removed from the schools in the draft budget was $671,240, and she presented a set of shifts she said would reduce the county general‑fund deficit from $2,665,646 to about $1,603,013 under her proposals.

Edinger recommended several adjustments intended to lower next year’s budget shortfall: moving a school bond (the “train bond”) payment into the rural debt service fund instead of the school general purpose fund, shifting $500,000 out of the sheriff’s operating line into general debt service, moving about $150,000 of HVAC work into capital projects, and postponing a 2% across‑the‑board salary increase while keeping longevity pay. Edinger also listed projected revenue increases for the schools: $260,111 in current property tax…