Budget committee still wrangling over tax rate

On July 2, the White County Budget Committee continued their meeting from the prior week to get a new property tax rate settled to send to the full commission.

The committee recessed once again by the end of the evening, planning to meet on July 7, which members said would be the last they will meet before the full court meeting, which will be July 21. During the meeting, a general consensus among commissioners was to remove the full-time emergency management agency director position that had been previously submitted and get the tax rate around the $1.44 range, though some still plan to try and wiggle that lower.

White County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson met with each commissioner before the July 2 meeting. The meetings were intended to give Robinson insight into a consensus among the commissioners, so he could present that data and plans to the committee. He listed some of the feelings shared among most of those he met.

“The EMA director full-time is not in the budget,” he began. “I pulled my office assistant out - that wasn’t even on the table. Four positions at EMS [emergency medical service] to add another truck for the day shifts, so no other help there at EMS. We took out the two new deputy positions for the sheriff’s department. And I will mention since the sheriff is here: nobody did that out of any kind of ill will. It was kind of like - they’re not fully staffed now. If the pay raise helps them get fully staffed, they will revisit those two new positions. Adding one mechanic to Central Maintenance. I think those were all the big questions on everybody’s mind.”

A majority, if not all, of the positions and topics Executive Robinson mentioned were points of contention among commissioners, audience members, and committee members throughout the many budget meetings the past few months.

Executive Robinson then said the average tax rate between all the commissioners was put at $1.44. This is a 13-cent decrease from the previous $1.57, which was shot down by the committee, and it is an even larger decrease from the $1.71 with which the committee began. The budget committee then discussed the budget to see how feasible it is.

Budget Chairman Kyle Goff also wanted to clarify a few other things in the proposal from Robinson. He asked if the budget included the parks and recreation director that used the 2 cents already placed with parks and recreation, which the budget did include. He also asked if this included the three new deputy cars for the sheriff’s office, which Executive Robinson also confirmed. While the EMA director was not full-time, there is a raise for the part-time director to go to $25,000 a year.

One of the most notable facts about the proposal as well: an 8% raise for county employees. This is nearly half of the 15% raise that was initially proposed with both prior budgets that failed, but most commissioners still believe that 8% is a large raise.

“It brings convenience center workers up to $10.50,” Executive Robinson said. “That was going to be our bottom pay. I really want to try and get them to $12, but for now that brings them up to $10.50.”

Commissioner T.K. Austin asked if this flat 8% raise included adjustments for various departments, such as the mechanics. Robinson read the list to clarify the targeted salary adjustments for departments that had concern at prior meetings. Some of the targeted adjustments included maintenance, library positions, and a few adjustments with the sheriff’s office and jail.

Executive Robinson also emphasized, “I don’t think that there’s anybody on my list in the notes that I took that gets everything they wanted.”

He stressed this to assure that all commissioners felt the proposal was fair to all parties involved.

Various commissioners not on the budget committee then spoke to share their opinions about the proposal. Commissioner Roger Mason mentioned how he knows he will not run for another term on the commission, so he really hopes they can make a proper tier system before this commission ends their term. He used the school system as an example for how the system could work.

“If you hire me as a teacher aide with the school system, no matter what the schoolboard does, I know what I’m going to make next year,” he said. “I know I’m going to get a bump next year, and the next year, but the uncertainty I think a lot of these guys feel is that we give them 8% now. Then we turn over to the next commissioners, they fear they may not get another raise because there’s no system.”

Commissioner Derek Hutchings mentioned how last meeting that was a topic floated by with some of his own adjustments to the tier system, and that those adjustments could float them in a similar $1.44 range.

There was also a discussion about the longevity pay that was in the budget proposal, but department heads present, as well as Hutchings, said the general consensus they have heard is that most would prefer higher pay to a longevity payment.

One concern Commissioner Austin had with the longevity pay is that it will be a compounding debt. If a county employee stays for 10 years, that becomes a $1,000 dollar longevity payment that year instead of $100. In other words, if every county employee stays with the county every year, the cost of the longevity pay goes higher and higher.

Commissioner Austin is fine with that, but he is concerned about future commissioners’ willingness to commit to that. He does not want, 10 years down the line, some other committee to simply cut out the longevity pay now that it costs more.

The EMA full-time position and payment of emergency services was stressed once again during the meeting because of the tragic fire that occurred June 30. An audience member mentioned that one of those injured in the fire laid on the ground outside awaiting assistance for more than 20 minutes. Commissioner David Cranford thanked the member of the audience, and he cited it as an example of why he still believes decreasing the raises for county employees is not something he approves.

Matt McBride, a full-time firefighter for Sparta Fire Department and part-time director of White County Office of Emergency Management, also stepped up to speak and address the audience. The budget committee allowed him to speak for the issues regarding EMS with the budget, and McBride gave a very impassioned speech in support for his fellow emergency services employees.

After a bit more deliberation, the committee opened to public remarks. While there were plenty of individuals who spoke about their own property taxes, as has been the case at every meeting, there were more individuals, on June 30, who spoke up in support of the raises, particularly for EMS and the sheriff’s department. It was the first meeting where many of the audience speakers supported the raises instead of sharing their complaints about the tax.