Trousdale County finance committee approves routine purchases, reviews finances and discusses park track repaving

The Trousdale County Finance Committee met to approve routine minutes and purchasing items, review trustees' cash balances and monthly financial summaries and discuss repaving the walking track at the county park, including whether remaining ARPA funds allocated for the park can cover the work.

Committee members voted to approve the meeting minutes and a package of purchasing and budget items, and they accepted the trustees' report and the county's month-to-date financial summaries. Committee discussion identified roughly $500,000 in county funds currently unallocated, a health-department project with a county match reported at about $130,000 and a total project cost staff said is about $730,000, and an ARPA residual tied to a prior park project of $180,645 that may be available for further park work.

Why it matters: The committee's reviews and approvals set the county's near-term spending priorities and clarify available funds for capital work. The parking-track repaving conversation highlights a local infrastructure request that the committee discussed funding with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) balances and other park allocations.

The committee began by approving the minutes from the Sept. 15 packet after a motion by Overman and a second from Commissioner Chris Gregory. The purchasing report included outstanding purchase orders from the prior fiscal year; staff described a number of older purchase orders that remain open and said some have since been cleared.

On department purchases, staff noted a health-department project for which the county's match was reported at roughly $130,000 and said the total project cost is running about $730,000. Committee members asked clarifying questions about individual purchase-order line items, including a public-safety line referenced as 10154310 and a purchase of roughly $9,570 tied to fire equipment. The purchasing package was approved on a motion by Commissioner Chris Gregory with a second by Beverly Atwood.

The trustees' cash-balance report prompted discussion that the committee has approximately $500,000 in funds without a specific destination, which staff described as roughly 10% of available funds. The committee voted to accept the trustees' report; Jerry Ford seconded that motion.

Committee members reviewed the county's month-to-date financial statements. Staff noted typical seasonal lag in property-tax receipts and that local-option sales tax receipts have been running a month or two behind. Expenditure drivers called out included the county's insurance premiums and workers' compensation charges (paid in July and described as a large, one-time draw) and an ongoing $52,000 grant tied to the rescue squad. The financial summaries were accepted by the committee (motion and second recorded in the minutes).

On budgetary adjustments presented as a group, committee members agreed to take the items together and approved them as presented. One line item flagged in discussion concerned a $2,820 EMS insurance service charge related to an ambulance incident; committee members described the charge as the result of minor vehicle damage during a call.

Parks and recreation staff raised a request to repave the walking track at the county park. A county staff member estimated the repaving work could be in the roughly $50,000 range but said a firm quote had not yet been produced. Committee members discussed whether leftover ARPA funds previously used for park rework — described in the packet as $180,645 remaining and originally paid from ARPA (with staff noting a prior 50% match on the project) — could be used to complete the track work. Staff said the paperwork that established the prior park allocation may constrain how the remainder may be used; the committee discussed seeking clarity and returning with a plan for spring work. Members also noted seasonal constraints on paving work and suggested planning for spring implementation.

Other items noted in the packet: an adequate-facilities development tax showing $35,750 so far this year and approximately $1,000,000 sitting in capital-project accounts for future use; a county maintenance-of-effort contribution of $115,000 to a line in the packet; and a mention by a committee member to review a 2019 agreement with TVA, which the member suggested could be worth revisiting for context. Committee members characterized that TVA comment as a follow-up item rather than a current action.

The meeting concluded after a motion to adjourn. The minutes record the routine approvals and the committee's direction to return with clarifying information on the park funding and paving plan.