Tennessee Department of General Services outlines FY27 requests: 7 academy staff, $50,000 drone and three reductions

Commissioner Andy Kidd of the Tennessee Department of General Services told the Finance Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 23 that the department’s FY27 request would add seven operational positions to the Multi‑Agency Law Enforcement Training Academy and seek a $50,000 nonrecurring purchase for a security‑compliant drone used by the state’s Document Solutions photographic services unit.

Kidd said construction of the training campus is underway and “we plan on having a ribbon cutting by the end of this calendar year,” with parts of the campus opening in December and some operations beginning in the spring. Michael Winston, fiscal officer for General Services, said the seven positions requested in FY27 are intended as operational staff to handle scheduling, firing range time, dining, housing and other day‑to‑day functions; he added the department expects full operations around FY28.

Winston also outlined three spending reductions the department proposed for committee review: a $1,500,000 reduction for the Megasite Authority of West Tennessee that reflects a funding swap as user fees now cover water and wastewater services; a $478,800 savings tied to operational efficiencies in printing, mailing, software licensing and storage; and a $1,088,100 FY27 spending reduction plan that would limit new fleet additions while preserving replacement of existing assets.

On the drone request, Winston told the committee the device will support the state photography unit that covers legislative and gubernatorial events and official state activities. He said a prior drone was retired for security reasons and the department worked with central procurement to identify a model that meets security standards; the remaining portion of the $50,000 estimate covers support equipment, storage and data handling.

Members pressed the department on several property and capital matters. Deputy Commissioner John Hall said Citizens Plaza was marketed and sold to the highest bid received; Hall described the building as Class B office space requiring major renovation and said bidders planned repurposing rather than office use. Representative Crawford questioned a reduced FY27 capital estimate for the French Landing renovations (from an earlier $45 million figure to $29.3 million), and the department said the scope was narrowed to interior office renovations to expedite tenant moves.

Committee members also asked about deferred maintenance and facilities finance. Winston said a proposed $1‑per‑square‑foot increase in the Facilities Revolving Fund (FERF) rate is intended to maintain buildings and avoid falling behind on repairs. The department estimated roughly 320 state leases statewide and reported FY25 contract rent of about $52,000,000.

The committee did not take a vote on any of the department’s requests at the hearing. The chair closed the session after a later presentation by the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation. Budget hearings continue the following day.