Blount County commissioners approve 16 budget and grant items, including sheriff opioid funding

The Blount County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 20 adopted a slate of 16 budget and grant items spanning law enforcement grants, county building upgrades and highway paving.

The measures were approved largely without extended debate; commissioners voted 18-0 on each item where a roll call was recorded. The package included acceptance of federal grants, reappropriation of opioid abatement funds for sheriff's-office use, facility upgrades funded from designated reserves, and a $1.5 million appropriation for additional asphalt hot mix for county road paving.

Why it matters: the approvals move federal and reserve funds into county programs and make budget changes that affect operations across several departments, including the sheriff’s office, highway department, county clerk and juvenile court. One public commenter questioned the implications of federal opioid funding on local budgeting and law-enforcement practices.

Key items adopted included:

- BCSO grant application (Item 1): approval to apply for a $200,000 Bureau of Justice Assistance grant to purchase a virtual training simulator for the sheriff’s office (no local match required). Motion carried 18-0.

- Civil defense grants (Items 2–3): two small budget increases to accept and appropriate additional emergency-management and Homeland Security grant funds from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Motion carried 18-0.

- County facilities and efficiency projects (Items 4–7): appropriations totaling roughly $244,659 for security-camera and access-control upgrades, three HVAC units through an Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, courthouse stairwell painting, and modernization of building automation for HVAC control. Motion carried 18-0.

- County clerk upgrades (Items 8–10): appropriations using fund balance and reserves for an additional counter clerk (prorated salary), updated payment hardware and two new workstations and license plate cabinets to support customer transactions. Motion carried 18-0.

- Juvenile court and related grants (Items 11–12): reappropriation of opioid abatement grant funds to continue services with Helen Ross McNabb supporting Journey Court ($220,000), and acceptance of a $100,000 Safe Baby Court grant to support a coordinator position and a salary supplement for juvenile court oversight. Motion carried 18-0.

- Highway paving (Item 13): $1.5 million appropriation for hot-mix asphalt to allow additional county road paving. Motion carried 18-0.

- Federal opioid funds for the sheriff’s office (Item 14): appropriation of $687,141 of federal opioid funds for eligible Blount County Sheriff’s Office expenses for FY25–27. Motion carried 18-0.

- BCSO local budget decrease (Item 15): $229,047 decrease of funds originally budgeted with local revenue sources now eligible for federal opioid fund use. Motion carried 18-0.

- SMACF reserve appropriation (Item 16): $14,000 to help cover expected operational costs for a county program using SMACF reserve fund balance. Motion carried 18-0.

Public comment and context: during the meeting public commenter Harry Grothjohn asked the commission to explain how incoming federal funds—specifically opioid-related funds, and other grants totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars—would change county funding priorities and local law-enforcement practices. The commission did not make any additional budget changes on the record beyond the items before it; several resolutions accepted or reallocated federal funds or reserve balances and did not authorize additional local tax spending.

Votes at a glance: each listed resolution or grant application was moved, seconded, and recorded as approved by an 18-0 vote where a roll call was announced. Where motions combined multiple items for efficiency (as directed by the commission at the meeting), the record shows the combined motion and a single vote that applied to the grouped items.

What’s next: the adopted appropriations and grant acceptances will be implemented by the relevant departments (sheriff’s office, highway, county clerk, juvenile court and general services) according to the conditions of each grant or reserve. Several commissioners noted they expect budget committee oversight and future requests if additional local spending is needed.