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Roane County Commission approves rezoning, committee appointments, opioid settlement participation and updates to employee health coverage
Summary
The commission approved a public-heard rezoning, confirmed appointments, authorized lawsuits on listed properties, approved grant and budget amendments, and revised employee health-insurance contributions including a $1,000 HSA county contribution for CDHP participants.
At its regular meeting the Roane County Commission approved a slate of resolutions and motions spanning governance, land use, litigation authority, grants and employee benefits.
On the zoning item that opened the meeting, commissioners voted to approve Resolution 09-25-01-Zulu to rezone map 094.027.03 from A-2 to R-1, following a planning commission recommendation and public comment that reported no formal opposition. "I'll go with the planning commission's recommendation," Commissioner Duff said; the chair recorded "Motion carries 15."
The commission confirmed several governance actions: it accepted committee boards and correspondence, elected Shannon Hester as commission chair and Ben Gann as chair pro tem, and appointed Sharon Shatwick to the Roane County Public Utility Board after a motion and voice vote.
The commission authorized the county attorney to file lawsuits on properties listed in attached case request forms (two separate resolutions were approved) and approved a multi-year inmate-communications agreement with the county’s incumbent vendor (CTC). Budget and grant-related votes included amendments to reflect the Tennessee law enforcement hiring/training grant, a local health service grant for FY25/26, a General Capital Projects Fund adjustment, and wastewater-fund updates.
On public-health and safety financing, commissioners approved resolutions to reflect opioid settlement fund expenditures for FY25/26 and to participate in the national opioid settlement with manufacturers.
A notable personnel/benefits action revised employee and county contribution percentages for Roane County’s health-insurance plans. Commissioners discussed a 7.7% premium increase this year and approved a shift from fixed-dollar caps to percentage-based contribution caps. Staff outlined plan options (Premier, Standard, Limited, CDHP) and said the county will contribute $1,000 to an employee’s HSA if they choose the CDHP plan; Commissioner Dutt praised work by staff, saying Jennifer Suter "put in" substantial effort to design the changes.
Where the meeting recorded vote outcomes, the clerk noted "Motion carries" or similar voice-vote tallies (for multiple items the transcript records 'Motion carries 15'). The commission did not record roll-call tallies by name for every vote in the audio transcript provided.
