Franklin County finance committee approves minutes, budget amendments, grants and cooperative purchasing

The Franklin County Finance Committee on May 5, 2025, approved the May meeting minutes, accepted the sales-tax report and passed a series of routine resolutions covering highway budget amendments, county general fund amendments, a Tennessee Economic Development fast-track grant and a cooperative purchasing agreement.

The actions affect county finances and school operations and forward several items to the full county commission. Committee members also discussed how federal ARPA funds were recorded in the county financial statements and reviewed an insurance option for expanded cybersecurity coverage, but they did not adopt a change to the county’s coverage during the meeting.

Most votes were routine and carried without recorded roll-call tallies. Committee members moved and seconded motions for each agenda item in turn; the clerk called for voices and recorded the motions as approved. A participant summarized an accounting issue involving an $8,100,000 federal award that the auditor had shown in a different fiscal year than county staff expected, saying the timing affected only opening and ending balances and “there’s nothing you should be concerned about with the fund balances.” The committee accepted that explanation and approved the related resolutions.

On cybersecurity insurance, a staff member described an expanded coverage option and provided an example: a $2,000,000 limit would cost $11,805, with roughly $2,000 added for each additional $1 million of coverage. Committee members discussed the offer and indicated they were comfortable remaining with current coverage for now; no motion to change the county’s insurance was recorded.

The committee also discussed employee merit increases raised by planning and zoning: staff recalled a request for a 5% merit increase for two employees while the finance committee had approved a 3.5% increase generally; commissioners asked staff to confirm the intended rates before the items move to the full commission. The tax levy resolution and budget documents were noted and forwarded to the full commission for final action.

During the public-comment portion of the meeting staff reported that a virtual program enrollment was reopened and that six people had expressed interest and completed applications to date.

Votes at a glance - Item 1: Approval of May minutes — approved (moved by Mr. Lyden; second not specified). Page 4. - Item 2: Sales tax report for 05/05/2025 — received and filed (mover/second not specified). Page 5. - Item 3: Trustee interviews for May — motion to receive and file approved (moved by Mr. Curry; second Mr. Shull). Page 6. - Item 4: Financial record report (April 25) — approved (mover not specified). Pages 7–11. - Item 5: Highway resolution / budget amendment — approved (mover not specified). Pages 12–13. - Item 6: Additional highway budget amendment — approved (moved by Mr. Curry; second Mr. Fuels). Page 14. - Item 7: County general fund and other amendments — approved (mover/second not specified). Pages 16–19. - Item 8: (Discussion of $8,100,000 accounting and ARPA timing) — discussion accepted; related resolutions approved later in the packet. - Item 9: Resolution regarding meeting fund balance for the BOE — approved (moved by Commissioner White; second Mr. Curry). Page reference not specified. - Item 10: Resolution for cooperative purchasing agreement (dated 02/03/2025) for cafeteria purchasing — approved (mover/second not specified). Page reference not specified. - Item 11: Resolution to accept Tennessee Economic Development Fast-Track grant for free education — approved (moved by Mr. Schulz; second Mr. Wazeman). Pages 26–27. - Item 12: Resolution for contract regarding the panel control building contribution — approved (mover not specified; second Mr. Wiseman). Pages 28–30. - Item 13: Resolution to amend the school GP cafeteria budget for BOE — approved (moved and seconded by Smith; details on pages 31–32). - Item 14: Financial records and other business — discussion and actions as recorded in meeting packet; motions carried where noted.

Several routine motions were moved, seconded and carried by voice vote; the meeting transcript records no formal roll-call tallies. Items that require further confirmation (for example, the planning and zoning merit increases and the tax levy resolution) were forwarded to the full commission. Staff was asked to confirm the intended merit increase rates and to provide any outstanding paperwork requested by the rating agency.

The committee’s discussion about the auditor’s presentation of the $8.1 million award clarified timing differences in the county accounts; committee members were told the presentation changed the opening and ending balances but did not indicate a cash shortfall. The cybersecurity insurance proposal was described in approximate cost terms by a staff member; no contract or coverage change was approved at the meeting.

The packet contained page references for each item; several motions specifically referenced pages 4, 5, 6, 12–14, 16–19, 26–32 and 94. Items approved at the committee level will move to the full county commission for final action where statutorily required.