Giles County commissioners set framework for budget, agree to 17.5% option after work session

Giles County commissioners spent a full-day work session on June 25 hammering out a budget framework that would narrow earlier proposals and push several equipment purchases out of the operating budget. Commissioners agreed to a package of departmental cuts and funding shifts that, as calculated in the session, would leave the county’s combined property tax rate at about 2.3053 (roughly a 16.1% increase overall from the current rate), with a commonly-discussed path to a 17.5% scenario if the commission finalizes a few outstanding funding decisions.

The work session was led by the commission’s facilitators and department heads, who sketched numbers on a whiteboard and sought majority support before sending recommendations to the budget committee. Commissioners repeatedly emphasized they wanted ideas that would hold together when the full 21-member commission votes. “Let’s get our ideas down on a whiteboard, maybe department by department,” said the session chair, who opened the meeting by urging commissioners to test whether at least 11 or 12 would support each idea before taking it forward.

Why it matters: County leaders said the budget gap is driven by recurring costs that were added into this year’s request rather than shifted to future years, by higher wage and benefit costs, and by lower-than-expected year-end rollbacks from several departments. Without new revenue, they warned, the county would continue to use fund balance as a relief valve — a practice several speakers said is unsustainable.

What commissioners approved in the session - Highway department: Commissioners agreed on targeted cuts to operations and to move a large share of highway equipment purchases to capital account 171 rather than the recurring operating budget. The highway committee’s reductions included a $500,000 cut in operating requests and a $450,000 equipment line to be paid from capital funds. Highway superintendent Gene Barnack, who presented the department’s need for vehicles and road work, told commissioners the work is necessary to maintain service: “We got a job to do and I wanna do everything I can.” - EMS: Willow Chavez, EMS chief, told the commission she had already trimmed capital and discretionary lines and proposed $433,105 in reductions (about 9% of her proposed budget) while warning that overtime remains high because the service is not yet fully staffed. Commissioners agreed to lower the EMS overtime line (various straw polls put that number between $600,000–$700,000) and accepted Chavez’s cuts and postponements of several capital items. Chavez said her training push had improved clinical metrics: “When I started, our first-time intubation success rate was 55 percent… we did some extra training, and now our intubation rates are 95 percent plus.” - Sheriff and public safety: The commission voted to fund $300,000 of sheriff vehicles from capital funds (account 171) rather than recurring operating revenues and declined, after discussion, to remove one of two proposed training-officer positions. Sheriff leadership said training reduces long-term liabilities and operational risks. - Nonprofit and volunteer support: The county agreed to leave funding for the volunteer rescue squad at last year’s level — $289,000 — and authorized funding for that amount to be handled from fund balance in the 2025-26 budget process so the organization would receive payments while the county’s budget is finalized. - Schools and overcollection: The school superintendent and board representatives asked that the county not reclaim the schools’ “overcollection” (extra local sales-tax-derived funds) that the school system has been using for capital work. Commissioners considered, but did not approve, a motion to take $500,000 back from school overcollection; the commission instead left school budget requests as proposed, noting the school system’s capital program is timed to bonds and ongoing projects. - Libraries and small grants: Commissioners restored modest funding removed earlier in the process for smaller libraries after a request from local trustees; the commission also agreed the county should continue to apply for state convenience-center grants (TDEC) that require a local match but reimburse most costs. - Raises: The commission voted to set a 2% countywide general employee pay increase in the proposed 2025-26 budget, excluding certain negotiated or separately handled raises (some public-safety and custodial adjustments were handled separately in committee). Commissioners directed staff to calculate and publish the precise budgetary effect and to include final numbers when the commission posts the proposed budget and notices the public hearing.

Votes at a glance (work-session decisions sent to budget committee) - Highway department reductions and shift of $450,000 in equipment to capital fund account 171: approved in work session and recommended to budget committee. - EMS cuts and postponement of select capital items (reductions ~ $433,106) plus lowering overtime line: approved in work session and recommended to budget committee. - Sheriff motor-vehicle purchases ($300,000) moved to capital account 171: approved by the work session. - Rescue squad: funding set at prior-year level ($289,000) with payment to be handled from fund balance while the final budget is approved: approved by the work session. - Libraries: modest restorations of earlier cuts (Miner Hill, Campbellsville and others) approved in the work session. - County employee raises: work session directed a 2% countywide general raise to be used in the proposed budget (some positions excluded); committee asked staff to finalize the payroll and fringe cost updates for publication.

What commissioners and department heads emphasized - “We cannot continue to use fund balance as our relief valve,” the county administrator said, summarizing the fiscal problem. Department heads urged restraint on one-off fixes and warned that shifting recurring costs into fund balance only postpones the problem. - Workforce and service impacts: Highway superintendent Gene Barnack and EMS chief Willow Chavez both warned that cuts or deferred equipment purchases would reduce service capacity (miles of paving, ambulance reliability) and make recruiting and retention harder. - Social media and morale: Chavez and others described a recent wave of social-media criticism that local first responders say has damaged morale. “Words are powerful,” Chavez said, noting an increase in threatening content that county staff have had to respond to and saying it had real safety implications for personnel.

What happens next The budget committee will recombine the work-session directives into a formal proposed budget summary and post a proposed tax rate and hearing notice as required under state law. Commissioners said they wanted to send a proposal to the full commission that had clear majority support before it was publicly noticed. The county’s finance director will finalize payroll, benefit and fringe-cost calculations for the board’s next public hearing packet.

Ending note: commissioners said the choices reflect trade-offs among infrastructure, public safety, and employee pay in a county with limited new revenue options. Several commissioners urged a public conversation about the scale of services residents expect and how the county should pay for them.