County budget passes amid amendments

Quick changes and bigger bonuses for law enforcement highlights budget approval

Adam Delahoussaye news-herald.net

LOUDON, Tenn. — The Loudon County Clerk’s Office was probably the most well-guarded building in the area on the evening of June 30.

Dozens of county law enforcement officials, including Sheriff Jimmy Davis, swarmed the bottom floor of the building to protest and persuade commissioners to amend the across-the-board $3,000 bonus given to all county employees. When the initial request of $4,500 for all officers and $3,000 for other county workers seemed to be approved before it hit the Budget Committee, some officers felt like their employers’ fed them a false promise.

County officials initially sympathized with a want for fairness. Rather than treat some departments as above or ahead of the rest, a blanket bonus was thought to satisfy across the board regardless of job title or requirements.

Ultimately, that sentiment backfired when a large segment of the employee base felt slighted by the move. While a number of officers got up to urge commissioners to amend the budget before its approval, they

all seemed to say the same thing in unison: Their work and subsequent compensation should be handled separately.

And that work, according to Deputy Chief Operations Chris Hutchens, is only getting more volatile. Hutchens said in his comments that Loudon County has seen more violent crime in the past two years than they did in the past five years combined.

“Let me be clear,” Hutchens said. “Loudon County is not a small, quiet county anymore. Not in call volume, and not in crime.”

Hutchens said that the initial bonus proposal served two purposes. Firstly, to transition officers to an 86-hour pay schedule that reduces the burden of mandatory overtime, allowing employees to receive more take-home pay. The second was simply equity.

Hutchens stated that in evaluating peer counties and agencies, the increase was needed to keep Loudon County in line with other agencies on equal footing financially.

The other large swath of funds originally denied were to be used for new vehicles. The initial request was for LCSO to receive 10 additional vehicles to help aid an aging fleet. The request Commission met then which had the vehicle total brought down to four.

SHERIFF TAKES BACK PRAISE

Sheriff Jimmy Davis, who initially came forward at the June 16 workshop to commend Commission, stepped forward to the podium rescinding his praise.

“After that meeting I had some moments with myself and talking to the men and women that came down last time,” Davis said. “I’ll be honest with you, I was embarrassed.

“I felt like a complete failure and that I didn’t stand for my people. I worried about self preservation more than I did the men and women that I was elected to lead.”

With back-to-back budget meetings and hearings before the official session Commission, community leaders had ample time to sound off on the decision before ultimately coming to a new ruling.

“I think it was a misstep by the Budget Committee to recommend the $4,500 and then go back on it,” said Commissioner Chase Randolph. “I would have a pretty big issue if my boss called into the office and said, ‘You’re getting this raise, okay now you’re not.’” After over an hour of deliberation, the Commission ultimately decided to amend the budget on a buzzer-beater addendum to award a $4,500 raise to all Sheriff’s Office employees, excluding Sheriff Davis. The additional cost to the county budget is set to be $224,523, taken from the county general fund.

The motion for an increase in the bonus was made by Commissioner Rosemary Quillen, passing on a 9-1 vote with Commissioner Van Shaver being the only dissenting vote. The amendment for an increase in vehicles was motioned by William Jenkins, passing in an 8-2 decision. Van Shaver and Commissioner Bill Satterfield were the only two “no” votes.

As a reaction to the higher expected cost, Commissioner Adam Waller made an attempt to land a few last-minute budget cuts to no avail. Both a proposal to suspend the use of the Eagle View land surveying system as well as reduce Commission’s Chamber of Commerce contribution failed and were discarded.

The minutes-old new draft of the county budget was passed unanimously, with the tax rate of $1.76 per every $100 of assessed property value remaining unchanged from the previous fiscal year.

Both Rosemary Quillen and William Jenkins voted no against the tax levy, expressing wishes of lowering the rate rather than raising it.

In other news, Loudon County Commission:

• Approved five rezones throughout the county recommended unanimously by the Planning Commission, most of which reverted land back to agricultural-based districts. One parcel located on El Camino Lane is slated to become a general commercial district.

• Approved a proclamation for July 14 to be recognized as a Day of Prayer, with an event hosted by Pray4TN scheduled to commemorate the day with a prayer service at 1:30 p.m. at the Loudon County Courthouse.

• Gave a two-year notice letter choosing to withdraw from the Economic Development Agency, beginning in 2027.

• Approved a move of $600,000 from the county general fund to education capital projects fund.

• Accepted a grant from the TN Senior Center, ranging anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000.

• Approved an increase of $8,385 in the county general fund to repair the Career Center HVAC system, and a $5,000 check from general capital projects to education capital projects for soil testing at Greenback School.

The Loudon County Commission will reconvene on Monday, July 21, at the Courthouse Annex.