Cheatham County budget workshop proposes 16.15¢ property tax increase to fund jail opening, salary adjustments and services

Cheatham County Mayor presented the budget committee's recommended fiscal 2025-26 county budget at a public workshop on Monday, June 16, 2025, proposing a 16.15-cent increase to the county property tax rate to cover contract and personnel costs, the expansion of jail operations and other department needs.

"We are here tonight to bring to the full commission recommendation of the budget committee that has been meeting over the last several weeks," the mayor said during the presentation. The proposal would raise the county's overall property tax rate to about $1.753 per $100 of assessed value when combined with existing levy components; the presenter said the increase would add roughly $167 a year for a homeowner of median value in Cheatham County ($412,500 under the county's figures).

The budget committee framed the increase as necessary to fund several "uncontrollable" costs and multi-year commitments. Those items included longevity pay increases, the second half of a salary-study implementation, and a state-driven increase in employer retirement contributions. The presenter said uncontrollable increases total about $2,216,006.27 and would account for 11.17 cents of the proposed tax change.

Fire tax: the committee recommends leveling contracts

The committee recommended leveling the county's rural fire tax at 17.53 cents per $100 of assessed value for the upcoming four-year contract cycle. The mayor said that option would hold the rural fire tax at a steady rate for four years rather than keeping the current 13.95-cent rate for one year and allowing larger step increases in subsequent years. He noted that the county does not collect the fire tax inside the corporate limits of Pleasant View, Kingston Springs or Ashland City and that commercial and industrial assessments do not generate the same per-penny revenue on the fire levy.

Jail opening and staffing are major cost drivers

A substantial portion of the requested increase is tied to operating the county's new jail and related personnel. The presenter said the budget previously funded 12 jailer positions for two months of the current fiscal year; the committee's recommendation funds those 12 positions for a full year and absorbs the related benefits costs. The county also budgeted a full-year salary for an IT hire that started midyear. Those changes were described as part of the uncontrollable costs adding to the tax request.

The sheriff and jail leadership had requested additional staff: nine additional jailers, a maintenance position and three sergeants. The budget committee did not include the nine jailers or the new maintenance position but agreed that three sergeants could be hired and funded from a dedicated jail reserve if they begin Dec. 1 (or roughly 30 days before the new facility opens, the presenter said). The sheriff and county staff committed that the old jail would remain closed after the new facility opens unless reactivation was clearly needed, a move the presenter said would postpone about a dozen additional staff hires and associated operating costs.

Bonds and debt service

The recommended budget assumes ongoing bond payments for the jail project. The presenter said the jail-related bond payment approaches $3 million annually and extends more than 20 years. The county's debt service and capital schedules were shown as part of the presentation but no final financing decisions were made at the workshop.

Emergency medical services proposal

EMS leadership proposed adding staffing intended to improve coverage in the county's more distant areas. The presenter described a proposal from EMS (identified in the record as "BJ") that would add an eight-person complement to staff a new 24/7 ambulance with a two-person crew working four 12-hour days, with the unit to be based in Henrietta to reduce long response times from central stations. The budget committee did not approve the full eight-person request in the recommended tax-funded portion but included a partial staffing and overtime plan and labeled some Henrietta-related costs as one-time or contingent on stationing decisions. The presenter said the EMS overtime line would be increased proactively to reduce midyear supplemental requests and that vehicle and maintenance costs have risen.

Schools: operating hold, capital requests

School officials (the presenter acknowledged representatives including Dr. Beck and a school board presence) did not request additional operating funds from the county for next year, the mayor said, and the committee commended the school system for avoiding an operating request. The school system did present capital and safety requests: an initial $540,000 request to fund school security measures (described as campus scanners, cameras and entry security), with an estimated $400,000 initial cost and about $150,000 in recurring annual software/maintenance costs that the presenter said the school system would need to fund ongoing.

The school system also asked for $350,000 in planning funds for a proposed maintenance and technology building at the bus garage on Sweet Home Road; the superintendent's presentation to the budget committee forecast a full project cost in the neighborhood of $7 million in a subsequent year. The presenter noted that planning and construction decisions should be taken together.

Grants, recovery court and other program funding

The budget committee recommended continued use of outside funding for drug recovery court operations. The presenter said the county had used about $102,000 from drug settlement funds to start the program the prior year and that the coalition supporting recovery court has agreed to cover most of the expansion cost under a memorandum of understanding; the committee asked for a formal MOU before committing the positions as ongoing county hires and noted the risk that grant or settlement funds may not be renewed.

Other department requests and items

- The county accounting and payroll systems will see one-time implementation and maintenance costs; the presenter described a multi-year software maintenance schedule. - The Kingston Springs Library parking lot, which the presenter said is owned by a church and used by the library, will be the subject of a proposed 10-year lease under which the county would fund half of a resurfacing cost (about $33,000) and take a 10-year lease; the detailed lease was to be presented to the commission later in the month. - The county plans a small increase to the vehicle replacement fund to cover higher vehicle prices for patrol cars and ambulances. - The budget committee recommended no increases to existing county donations and external contributions this year, and it froze proposed increases to several nonprofit donors (for Meals on Wheels, historic groups and others) while preserving current levels.

No formal vote taken; next steps

No formal commission vote was recorded at the workshop. The mayor presented the budget committee recommendation and said the full commission would have the option to amend or adopt the proposal at future meetings; the presenter noted the next public steps would include a regular workshop and a commission meeting on June 30. Several commissioners asked for the slide packet and handouts; the presenter agreed to distribute the presentation to commissioners.

The presentation included multiple department-by-department line items and numeric details; the mayor repeatedly urged commissioners to ask questions and said the committee had already trimmed the initial requests substantially before arriving at the recommended package.

Ending: forward-looking items and public impact

If adopted as presented, the budget would increase the county portion of the property tax by 16.15 cents and, separately, level the rural fire tax at 17.53 cents. Using the county's example figures, a home valued at $412,500 would pay about $167 more per year under the proposed tax change (roughly $13.92 per month). The commission will consider the package and any amendments at its next meetings; no formal adoption occurred at the June 16 workshop.