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Commission rejects one amendment, then approves revised Franklin County school budget after summer votes
Summary
After a contentious July 29 special session in which an amendment to fund raises with $289,000 from the schools' fund balance failed, the county commission approved a revised school budget later that month and filed final appropriation actions in August.
A proposed amendment to the Franklin County School budget that would have accepted the budget with proposed cuts and used $289,000 from the school fund balance to pay raises failed on July 29 by a roll-call vote of 3–12. That amendment had been proposed and voted during a special called session of the county commission and was recorded in the minutes.Members who supported the amendment were outnumbered; the record shows the amendment maker was David Eldridge, and the motion failed after roll-call tallies were read.
Later on July 29, the commission voted to approve the school budget with requested changes. A motion by Greg King, seconded by Johnny Hughes, passed 13–2 on the same call. The July 29 minutes list each commissioner’s vote by name, reflecting a clear division on the earlier amendment but a strong majority for the final package.
Those actions were formalized as part of the county’s appropriations work during August. At the special session on Aug. 19 the commission passed the fiscal-year appropriation resolution (Resolution 8b‑0819SC) and fixed the county tax levy (Resolution 8c‑0819SC); the appropriation resolution passed by roll call 11–3–1 and the tax levy passed by the same margin. The Aug. 19 actions consolidated changes discussed in July and authorized the county’s spending plan for the year beginning July 1, 2019.
The finance director’s quarterly reports filed with those sessions and again at the Sept. 16 regular meeting document the county and school financial position through June 30, 2019, and show the school general fund and capital project accounts movements that underpinned some of the budget decisions. The reports were received and filed by the commission without recorded opposition on Sept. 16.
What’s next: the approved school budget and the county appropriation become the basis for spending and reporting in FY2020; the commission’s minutes show that staff and the finance director will track implementation and report back to committees and the full commission as required.
