The Sumner County budget committee voted unanimously to publish the fiscal year 2026 budget as amended after a half-day session reviewing revenue assumptions, department requests and capital proposals.

Finance director Mister Long told the committee the draft budget had been reworked to align revenues and grant-related expenditures by expected receipt dates and to avoid misleading swings in the reported fund balance. He recommended conservative sales-tax and property-tax estimates that include a 2.5% allowance for uncollectible taxes and noted that grant timing and encumbrances caused much of the apparent volatility in draft figures.

Committee members debated several department requests. Sheriff Craig and the sheriff’s office requested personnel changes, including restoring step increases, a correctional-sergeant position in exchange for two proposed clerical hires and a small parity adjustment for captains. The sheriff also asked that building improvements for sheriff operations be returned to the capital plan; commissioners directed staff to seek bids and said they would consider capital funding once costs were firm.

EMS and the 9-1-1 emergency communications center (ECC) explained rapid call-volume growth and asked the committee to restore several positions cut from the draft budget and to prioritize step increases to retain qualified staff. ECC leadership said call volumes rose roughly 13% in the last six months compared with the prior year and described difficulty holding telecommunications staff. Committee members agreed additional money was warranted but opted not to finalize personnel increases in this meeting. Instead the commission formed an ad hoc committee to draft a countywide approach to COLA and step-pay policy; that committee was asked to deliver recommendations by October.

Volunteer fire departments presented a coordinated request for increased recurring operating support and a one-time capital allocation. Chiefs asked for several allocation scenarios; commissioners asked staff to model a per-station base amount plus a department allocation and to send a proposal to the legislative committee for review. Commissioners also asked legislative staff to research whether a county fire tax or sales-tax allocation would be an appropriate ballot question for voters.

The elections director requested $394,896 to establish “convenience” vote centers across the county and said precinct shortages in several districts left no practical precinct sites under current district lines. The request prompted extended debate among commissioners about the costs, staffing and statutory constraints for county elections. The committee did not approve the full amount at this meeting and asked staff and the election office to return with maps, staffing estimates and a reimbursement timeline for the May state reimbursement noted by elections staff.

After more than five hours of discussion the committee voted to publish the FY26 budget packet as amended and authorized the county finance office to make non-substantive clerical adjustments before publication. Commissioners directed staff to place a placeholder of $500,000 in the general fund as a temporary miscellaneous appropriation to cover early-stage personnel-step adjustments and to track the amounts specifically assigned to sheriff and EMS in follow-up meetings. The committee also asked finance to produce updated revenue projections in mid-year so the group can consider a mid-year amendment to implement a final personnel policy once the ad hoc committee reports.

The committee scheduled focused follow-up work for July and a workshop series in September–October to finalize a county personnel-step policy, to review election office follow-ups and to consider capital bids for the sheriff’s office improvements.

Ending: The committee’s publication vote starts the 10-calendar-day public notice period required under state law; commissioners said they will revisit outstanding personnel and capital items after updated revenue reports and the ad hoc committee recommendations.