Blount County budget committee approves a slate of grant appropriations, equipment and road-paving funds

The Blount County Budget Committee on an unspecified date voted to forward a package of budget increases, grant appropriations and administrative actions covering emergency management, courthouse and building upgrades, county clerk equipment and staffing, juvenile court grants, highway paving, sheriff's office opioid funds and election equipment.

Committee members moved and approved each item unanimously (four yes votes recorded on each roll call). Most items were described as appropriations of grant or reserve funds, or as requests to reallocate or reappropriate previously received funds; two items were forwarded to the commission workshop for further consideration.

Why it matters: The measures allocate federal and state grant dollars and county reserves for public safety, infrastructure, court services and elections, and include one personnel increase in the county clerk's office that committee members discussed in detail.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of January minutes: motion by Commissioner Bridal, seconded by Commissioner Anderson; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-001 (civil defense): accept and appropriate additional Emergency Management Performance Grant funds from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency; mover: Commissioner Anderson; seconder: Commissioner Bridal; amount: not specified in the record; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-002 (civil defense): accept and appropriate $2,562.50 for a Homeland Security program grant from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency; mover: Commissioner Anderson; seconder: Miss Hannam; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-003 (general services): appropriate $127,972.40 to upgrade county security cameras and access control systems; mover: Commissioner Bridal; seconder: Commissioner Anderson; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-004 (general services): appropriate $79,600 from the Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) for purchase and installation of three HVAC units; mover: Commissioner Anderson; seconder: Commissioner Bridal; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-005 (general services): appropriate $36,762 for painting stairways and stairwells in the county courthouse; mover: Miss Hannam; seconder: Commissioner Anderson; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-006 (general services): appropriate $19,324 to modernize the building automation system that controls HVAC units in county buildings; mover: Commissioner Bridal; seconder: Miss Hannam; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-007 (county clerk): appropriate $62,001 from fund balance to fund an additional counter clerk position to support increased customer transactions; mover: Commissioner Bridal; seconder: Commissioner Anderson; outcome: approved, yes 4. (See separate item for discussion on staffing and training.) - Resolution 25-02-008 (county clerk): appropriate $20,840 from other state revenue vehicle reserve to update credit card machines, barcode scanners and signature pads; mover: Commissioner Anderson; seconder: Commissioner Bridal; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-009 (county clerk): appropriate $4,830 from electronic insurance verification revenue reserve to create two new workstations and purchase license-plate cabinets; mover: Miss Hannam; seconder: Commissioner Bright; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-010 (juvenile court): reappropriate $220,000 in opiate abatement grant funds to continue services with Helen Ross McNabb in support of Journey Court for at-risk children; mover: Commissioner Anderson; seconder: Miss Hannam; committee recorded that this is a three-year grant with no local match; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-012 (juvenile court): accept and appropriate $100,000 from the Safe Baby Court yearly grant to support a coordinator position and salary supplements for the juvenile court services director; mover: Commissioner Anderson; seconder: Miss Hannam; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-013 (highway): appropriate $1,500,000 for asphalt hot mix to allow the highway department to pave additional county roads; mover: Commissioner Anderson; seconder: Commissioner Bridal; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-014 (Blount County Sheriff's Office): appropriate $687,141 in federal opiate funds for fiscal years 2025-2027 for eligible sheriff's office expenses (amount stated in the record as "687000 a hundred and 41 dollars"); mover: Commissioner Anderson; seconder: Commissioner Bright; finance director stated the money has already been received and the request was to appropriate it; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-015 (Blount County Sheriff's Office): decrease budgeted local revenue sources by $229,047 related to use of federal opiate funds; mover: Commissioner Bridal; seconder: Commissioner Anderson; outcome: approved, yes 4. This item was described in the record as being forwarded to the commission workshop. - Resolution 25-02-016 (animal center): appropriate $14,000 from reserve fund balance to help cover expected operational costs at the animal center; mover: Commissioner Bridal; seconder: Commissioner Anderson; outcome: approved, yes 4. - Resolution 25-02-017 (elections): appropriate $110,000 to support convenience voting centers due to an increase in registered voters; mover: Commissioner Anderson; seconder: Commissioner Bryant; committee recorded the motion to forward this item to the commission workshop; outcome: approved, yes 4. - F-1 (grant application): Blount County Sheriff's Office applied to the Bureau of Justice Assistance for a $200,000 grant to purchase a virtual training simulator (no local match required); mover: Commissioner Bridal; seconder: Miss Hannam; outcome: application approved to be submitted, yes 4. - F-2 (administration): consideration and approval of a draft Blount County government finance department policies and procedures; mover: Commissioner Anderson; seconder: Miss Hannam; outcome: approved to send on, yes 4.

Several items were described in the record as appropriations of already received grant funds; for example, the finance director stated opioid funds for the sheriff's office had already been received and were being appropriated. Most motions were routine and carried unanimously on recorded roll calls of four yes votes.

What happens next: Where committee language referred items to the full commission or to a commission workshop, those items will appear on the commission agenda or workshop agenda as the next procedural step. The policy draft was approved by the committee for forwarding.