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Clarksville council narrows budget cuts but rejects several Lovato amendments in second reading
Summary
On second reading of the FY 2026–27 budget ordinance, the council adopted a $50,000 cut to HR but rejected Lovato’s broader package that would have deferred sidewalks and added police vehicles; several tax‑rate rollback amendments also failed.
The Clarksville City Council on second reading debated and divided an omnibus amendment to the city’s fiscal 2026–27 operating and capital budget before approving only a portion of the changes.
Councilman Lovato offered a combined amendment that he said would reduce the general fund by $725,061 and lower the tax rate by one cent by removing two positions from department budgets, deferring sidewalk projects and vehicle replacements in the street department, and reassigning funds to buy five police Impalas. “Overall, it reduces the general fund by $725,061 and reduces the tax rate by a penny,” Councilman Lovato said.
The council divided Lovato’s proposal into three questions—HR, streets and police—and first took up the HR portion. After extended questioning of HR Director Miss Luntz about centralizing two department‑level HR coordinators into HR and about two noncontract line items (a pay study and Solutions 21 training), the council approved an amendment to keep a $50,000 reduction to HR while retaining the two FTEs that Lovato had proposed to remove. Miss Luntz had warned that an additional $50,000 cut “significantly reduces our operating and our ability to operate” and could force elimination of noncontract training.
On the streets question, Street Director Mr Smith explained that the sidewalk matrix had been closed and consolidated and that two school‑focused sidewalk projects would be completed in‑house before school resumed. Council members debated whether school sidewalks are a “luxury” or a public‑safety priority; an effort to restore $300,000 for sidewalks failed and the broader street‑department reductions did not pass.
On the police portion, council members debated adding $287,765 to the vehicle replacement fund to purchase five Impalas and whether to add a dedicated HR coordinator for the police department. A motion to remove adding a new HR position to the police portion passed in one procedural vote, but the substantive vehicle‑fund increase ultimately failed and a subsequent motion to reconsider also failed.
Councilman Smith proposed amendments to revert the property tax rate to 92 cents and a separate 3‑cent reduction. Members challenged those motions for offering broad revenue cuts without line‑item offsets; both tax‑rate amendments failed.
Mayor Pitts framed the centralization as an efficiency and fairness measure: moving existing department HR coordinators into a corporate HR function “creates a level playing field for employees to feel comfortable going to those functions.” But several council members expressed concern about operational impacts on departments that rely heavily on part‑time onboarding work or specialized benefits and certifications, particularly police and parks and recreation.
Next steps: the council moved through further amendments and at the meeting’s end voted to go into an attorney‑client privileged closed session to discuss pending litigation related to a parks facility. The ordinance remained subject to the outcomes of the remaining votes and the council’s final adoption process.
Vote outcomes (selected): the council adopted an amendment keeping a $50,000 HR reduction while not removing the two FTEs; multiple amendments to restore sidewalk or vehicle funds, to add police vehicle funding and to revert the tax rate failed on recorded votes.
