Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners approve budget amendments after hearing concerns about detention center overrun and foster care costs
Summary
Rutherford County commissioners approved multiple budget amendments to cover items from HVAC repairs to foster care reimbursements and juvenile detention costs, while pressing staff about a detention center security system overrun that raised restitution questions.
Rutherford County commissioners on the evening agenda approved a package of budget amendments covering library HVAC work, sheriff’s reimbursements and donations including funds for a drug dog, youth detention costs, senior center donations for a pickleball court and meals, library digital materials and multiple DSS program adjustments.
Deputy County Manager and Finance Director Kamala Roach presented the amendments and walked the board through June estimates. Roach told commissioners the detention center has incurred a significant cost overrun tied to a recently installed security/lock system: “So this $300,000 system is now at 700,000,” the chair said when describing the county’s internal discussion. Roach confirmed the vendor’s installation and subsequent recalls contributed to moving inmates out of the facility and the county plans to examine documentation and work with legal counsel about possible restitution.
Roach also detailed Social Services program pressures. She said there are about 200 children in foster care custody and only 26 active foster families in Rutherford County, which has driven a local cost of about $200,000 the county is being asked to cover. Roach said foster care and kinship programs require adjustments because of changing reimbursement rates and that the county is doing outreach, including billboards and other recruiting efforts.
Commissioners probed recruitment methods and asked staff to produce a packet explaining the foster parent recruitment process. The board approved the amendments by roll call.
The meeting record shows commissioners requested follow‑up on the detention center vendor issues and indicated interest in pursuing reimbursement from the vendor if the county’s documentation supports it. Staff said they planned to coordinate with the sheriff’s office and county legal counsel and to brief the board on next steps.
