Maury County financial board forwards $380 million, 10-year capital plan; directs nonprofit grant-reporting policy and recommends $5,000 raise for finance chief

The Maury County Financial Management Board on an unspecified date voted to forward a roughly $380 million, 10-year capital plan that covers county and school projects to the budget committee for funding consideration, directed staff to draft a local nonprofit reporting policy intended to list grants applied for and received, and recommended a $5,000 salary increase for the county finance director.

The actions were taken during the board's regular meeting after the Office of Financial Management presented the capital plan and current nonprofit reporting practices. Doug Laconan, identified in the meeting as the county finance director and also serving as the school board finance director, described the capital plan and related materials as available in accompanying reports and spreadsheets and said the prior year's plan was about $450,000,000 while the current plan totals about $380,000,000 over 10 years. "Short and sweet, and happy to answer any questions about our department," Laconan said after presenting the materials.

Why it matters: forwarding the capital program sends project priorities to the budget committee but does not commit funding. The proposed nonprofit reporting policy would impose an additional local reporting requirement on organizations that seek county funding; the pay recommendation, if approved by the budget committee and included in the county budget, would raise the finance director's compensation by $5,000 for the coming year.

Capital plan. The board voted to forward the 10-year capital proposal, which Laconan said concentrates the bulk of work and cost in the first five years, to the budget committee. Board members noted the board's duty under a "private act" referenced in the meeting to approve the long-term plan for the Maury County Board of Education and Maury County Public Schools but stressed that this body is not the funding authority. The motion to forward the plan was approved and will be considered by the budget committee for funding decisions; no itemized funding commitments were made at the meeting.

Nonprofit reporting policy. The Office of Financial Management presented the county's current nonprofit monitoring process, which the presenter said largely follows state law and comptroller guidance and accepts audited financial statements or, when audits are not available, a state reporting form. Commissioner Grodi (first reference as Commissioner Grodi) urged adding a local requirement that nonprofits provide a detailed list of grants they applied for and grants they received, so the county can show whether organizations receiving county funds are also obtaining outside grants. Several commissioners expressed concern about additional administrative burden and whether the request would be duplicative of forms already required under state law; Commissioner Howard questioned whether the extra paperwork was worth the cost for smaller organizations and noted some nonprofits receive modest county awards.

Board members directed staff to draft a local policy adding the requested grant-listing requirement in addition to the state law requirements. According to staff, the proposed policy could be made effective July 1 and would be enforced through the county's quarterly disbursement schedule (staff said payments are not released unless reporting requirements are met and that the first payment typically occurs before Aug. 31). The board voted unanimously to have staff prepare the policy for consideration at the next meeting.

Pay recommendation for finance director. During new business a member proposed recommending a $5,000 raise for Doug Laconan, citing recruitment and retention concerns and the difficulty of hiring for the combined county and school finance responsibilities Laconan holds. Multiple members said they supported the recommendation to show the county's commitment to retaining an experienced finance official. The motion to forward the $5,000 bump to the budget committee passed unanimously; it will be considered during the budget committee's review and is not yet an enacted pay change.

Other items. The board approved the meeting agenda and previous meeting minutes and heard a brief Office of Financial Management report describing internal staff changes, including the appointment of a purchasing agent. The meeting closed with routine announcements and an adjournment.

Next steps. The capital program and the $5,000 compensation recommendation will be reviewed by the budget committee; staff will return a draft nonprofit reporting policy to the Financial Management Board at the next meeting for possible adoption and (if adopted) an effective date of July 1 was discussed by members.