Bedford County commissioners adopt 2021–22 budget, set tax levy and approve related resolutions

The Bedford County Board of Commissioners on June 29 adopted the county’s fiscal-year 2021–22 budget, approved a uniform tax levy and passed a package of related resolutions in a special-called meeting at Shelbyville Central High School.

Chairman Chad Graham called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.; County Clerk Donna Thomas called the roll and recorded 16 commissioners present with two absent. Commissioners voted by roll call to approve the budget and each of the resolutions presented.

The budget action: The commission voted to adopt the 2021–22 county budget, which the published schedule shows funds for the County General Fund, Drug Control Fund, Highway/Public Works, General Purpose School Fund, Child Nutrition and other listed funds; the Total General Fund amount in the meeting record is $26,256,597. The commission noted that a copy of the full budget and detailed appropriation schedules is on file in the county clerk’s office for public inspection.

Tax levy: Resolution 22-1 was adopted to fix the county’s tax levy for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021. The resolution text presented at the meeting includes a fund-by-fund rate schedule and a published total uniform tax rate entry in the resolution text. The resolution was adopted by roll call; the official resolution copy held by the county clerk is the authoritative record of the exact rate figures.

Appropriations and funds: Resolution 22-2, approving appropriations across a number of county funds and departmental lines, passed on a roll-call vote. The meeting record contains line-item schedules for multiple funds and states that detailed appropriation schedules are on file with the clerk.

Nonprofit grants and requirements: Resolution 22-3 approved appropriations to a set of local nonprofit charitable organizations and requires recipients to file an annual report and comply with applicable provisions of state law. The resolution’s schedule and requirements were adopted unanimously; the clerk’s office retains the complete list and amounts.

Personnel and incentive payments: Resolution 22-4 authorized additional compensation equal to 10% of the base salary for certain court clerks who serve multiple courts, effective July 1, 2021. Resolution 22-5 approved education incentive payments, conditioned on officials’ attainment of the Certified Public Administrator designation and on submission of proof by the specified deadline; the resolution text specifies maximum payment procedures.

Federal grants and highway department authorization: Resolution 22-6 directs that federal education grants conform to applicable federal regulations and budget processes. Resolution 22-7 authorizes the Bedford County Highway Department to perform work for city and county governmental entities within Bedford County and to bill those entities for costs, with proceeds deposited into the county highway fund; that resolution also passed unanimously.

Budget amendments and adjournment: The commission approved School Budget Amendment #4 and County Budget Amendment #5 by voice vote and adjourned at 7:13 p.m. County Clerk Donna Thomas certified that the minutes were completed and delivered to the county mayor’s office.

Votes at a glance: All roll-call votes recorded in the meeting for the 2021–22 budget and Resolutions 22-1 through 22-7 were recorded as 16 Ayes, 0 Noes. The school and county budget amendments were approved by voice vote.

Documents and provenance: The clerk’s office was cited repeatedly during the meeting as holding the full budget, appropriation schedules and resolution texts; those documents should be consulted for line-by-line figures and the official resolution language.