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Benton County Commission approves multiple budget moves, grant application and service agreements
Summary
At its June 16 meeting the Benton County Commission approved a slate of budget appropriations and transfers, authorized a U.S. Department of Justice COPS grant application, and approved a three-year EMS agreement amendment and several contracts and appointments.
Benton County commissioners voted June 16 to approve a package of budget adjustments, contractual authorizations and personnel actions during a regularly scheduled meeting at the Benton County Courthouse.
The commission authorized Mayor Mark Ward to apply for the U.S. Department of Justice 2025 COPS Hiring Program, which would provide up to $125,000 per officer over five years with a 25% local match if awarded; the resolution passed on a roll-call vote, 14 Ayes, 1 No (Commissioner Kenneth Miller). The commission also approved Amendment 8 to the county’s EMS service agreement with Jackson‑Madison County General Hospital, a three‑year contract effective July 1, 2025, that passed 14 Ayes, 0 No, 1 Abstain (Commissioner Keith Arnold).
Several appropriations and transfers were approved to cover projected shortfalls and recurring obligations: a $50,000 transfer for jail medical claims; $12,850 for coroner/medical examiner payroll and benefits; an amended $10,000 allocation for autopsy expenses; a $47,000 allocation to cover Tennessee River Resort District obligations; and smaller transfers totaling $1,348.84 for payroll and benefit line items. The commission also approved a $700 increase (amended from $500) to fund County Commissioners’ payroll for additional meetings. All of those budget items passed on roll-call votes with majorities or unanimous support as recorded.
Other business approved included a $248.92 supplemental appropriation for archival boxes for the Benton County Archives, renewal of a Konica Minolta contract for the Clerk & Master’s Office, and appointment of two notaries (Angela Denise Bannister and Melissa Louise Clendennin). Motions to approve minutes and the Report of Public Utilities also passed unanimously.
The meeting followed standard procedure: invocation and pledge, roll call (15 present, 3 absent), and a brief Citizens Forum in which John Latting spoke for Benton County Volunteers. A resolution to permit federal Health and Human Services employees to use county office space was presented but failed on a roll-call vote, 1 Aye, 14 No. A separate resolution proposing a temporary relocation of the driver’s license kiosk was pulled and not acted on during the meeting. The meeting adjourned after final approval and the county clerk certified the minutes.
The commission’s approval of the COPS grant application authorizes staff to proceed with application steps and, if the county is awarded funds, to finalize related contracts and local-match budgeting as required. Several appropriations will be reflected in the county’s financial records as transfers from unassigned fund balances or specific reserve lines as described in the approved resolutions.
