Collegedale commission approves budget first reading, interim tax ordinance and multiple contract and equipment items

Collegedale, Tenn. ' The Collegedale City Commission on Monday, May 19 approved the city's fiscal 2025-26 budget on first reading, adopted an interim general revenue ordinance while awaiting the county-certified tax rate, and approved several procurement and legal actions, all by unanimous roll call votes.

The commission opened and closed a public hearing on the annual budget ordinance (Ordinance 1158) with no public comment. Commissioners asked that staff run a second advertisement and remind the public that the final vote is scheduled for June 2. The commission voted to approve the budget on first reading; the packet and staff indicated the document follows the format required by the state comptroller's office.

The commission also voted to adopt an interim general revenue ordinance (Ordinance 1159) to hold the city's tax rate in place until Hamilton County issues a certified rate under Tennessee Code Annotated —67-5-1701. Staff told commissioners the county's certified rate is expected late this summer and that the adopted budget assumes no tax increase. The commission will adopt a new ordinance when the certified rate is received.

On litigation, the commission approved a mediated settlement involving Barge Design Solutions and construction defects at Little Debbie Park. City legal staff said the agreement requires a formal settlement document with standard boilerplate clauses; the mayor will sign after city counsel's final review. The settlement was presented as resolving a potentially costly repair related to stone wraps around park columns and assigns responsibility for that work to the construction company.

The commission awarded the College Hill pump station modernization contract to J. Bridal Construction Inc., accepting the engineer's recommendation for the base bid plus alternate 1 totaling $3,247,734. Staff said a portion of the project will be grant-funded and the remainder paid with bond proceeds the city plans to request in coming months.

Other procurement and contract actions approved by unanimous vote included: - Purchase of one Ford F-150 for the public works/waste supervisor at $47,387, with the current mechanic's truck (a 2002 model with about 225,000 miles) to be surplused. - Purchase of a side mower off the state contract (amount reported as just over $60,000) because non-State vendors quoted lead times of nine months or more. - A housekeeping amendment to the state recruitment and retention grant for the police department, updating eligible-officer dates and extending the contract through 2029.

The commission also accepted the April finance report. Staff reported the city is about 83% of the way through the fiscal year and had received 77% of projected revenues; excluding an approximately $2.5 million planned pull from fund balance, revenues would be about 90% of projection. Expenditures were reported at 88%; an amendment ordinance will appear on June agendas to address carryovers and changes.

Minutes for the April 21 commission meeting and workshop minutes (with a spelling correction for a business named "Furry Tales") were approved by roll call earlier in the meeting.

All recorded roll calls in the meeting showed unanimous approval. The recorded vote for each formal action listed the following votes: Commissioner Baker, Commissioner House, Commissioner Johnson, Vice Mayor Sadler and Mayor Lloyd all voting yes on each motion recorded in the transcript.

Several items will return to commission for follow-up: the budget's second reading on June 2; a future ordinance adopting the county-certified tax rate when available; the formal settlement agreement for city counsel's review and mayoral signature; and a bond request to finance the non-grant portion of the pump station project.

No members of the public spoke during the published public hearing on the budget.