Rutherford County committee accepts most of mayor's budget recommendations; election correction and debt service approved

The Rutherford County Budget, Finance and Investment Committee met May 12 and accepted the mayor's proposed budget for most departments after several clerical and modest numeric corrections, while approving a separate motion to increase the election commission's workers line and voting to adopt the debt service fund budget.

The committee chair opened the meeting by asking commissioners to treat the mayor's recommendation as the baseline for publication and to request roll-call votes only on items they wanted changed. Finance Director Michael Smith then read five corrections to the mayor's draft, including a communications line-item correction (5192307) that should be $1,500 rather than $15,000, an Emergency Management (EMA) part-time personnel addition of $75,000, a fire department supplies increase (line 5432499) from $72,800 to $83,000, and a reappraisal total of $4,111,003.80. Smith said the net increase from those edits was about $103,696 to the general fund but expected much of that to be offset as revenue was finalized.

"We added the delta was an increase of 103,696 to the entire in total to the budget," Finance Director Michael Smith said as he read the adjustments.

Human Resources Director Sonya Stevenson outlined HR costs tied to safety-sensitive…