Budget committee approves school spending, cafeteria amendment and $125,000 juvenile detention software; forwards tax and tourism changes for public review

The Rutherford County Budget, Finance and Investment Committee on May 27 voted to approve several budget amendments and grant requests, read its proposed property tax rate for publication and added a one-time $125,000 technology expense for the juvenile detention center.

The committee approved a central cafeteria fund amendment to move $2,000,000 from a restricted fund balance into an indirect-cost reimbursement line, a measure finance staff said is needed to reimburse fund 141 for indirect costs tied to the school food service program. "Indirect cost rates are calculated annually by TDOE and the FY25/26 unrestricted indirect cost rate for RCS is 11.19%," finance staff said during the meeting. The amendment passed following a roll call in which Commissioner Irvin voted no and other members voted yes.

Why it matters: the amendment adjusts how school food-service overhead is budgeted and keeps county and school accounts aligned for accounting and federal reimbursement purposes. It does not change meal pricing; scope for lowering student lunch costs was described by school officials as an operational decision left to the school board.

The committee also approved the Rutherford County Schools general purpose fund for FY26–27 as presented in the school board’s submission. School leaders told commissioners that average daily membership (ADM) is declining and that the district typically offsets reductions in state TISA funding by adjusting salaries and benefits. School staff also said that over recent years the district has drawn about $40 million from its fund balance to help finance capital projects and avoid bond issues, leaving approximately $90 million earmarked as three months’ payroll to preserve cash flow in July and August.

In other budget votes, the committee: - Approved the centralized cafeteria fund appropriation and the educational capital projects fund (177) with estimated revenues and appropriations of $19,354,969. - Approved a one-time $125,000 addition to the juvenile detention budget (data-processing equipment) after IT and detention staff reported the current visitation software no longer has vendor support.

Nonprofit grants: The committee approved several local funding requests, including $25,000 for the Salvation Army (utility/rent/shelter support), $35,000 for the Smyrna Senior Activity Center capital campaign, $26,000 to the Children’s Discovery Center (including a $3,500 security supplement), $25,000 for Barnabas, and $10,000 in $2,500 stipends for four rural community centers. Committee members said standard application and audit documents are required for payments to 501(c)(3) organizations.

Tax rate and next steps: Finance proposed a combined property tax rate of 1.8762 (no overall increase compared with last year) for publication and public hearing; the committee approved that rate for publication and set the public hearing calendar. Staff cautioned the posted numbers are subject to change when certified assessed values are provided; the published rate is the required step before the public hearing.

What comes next: the committee forwarded a handful of resolutions and the published budget to the full commission for final votes in June, and planned additional material and presentations on pension options ahead of a July commission meeting. The juvenile detention software allocation was added to the FY26–27 budget line item 54240-709 (data processing equipment).