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In his presentation to the Hamblen County Commission’s Finance Committee, County Mayor Bill Brittain discussed elected officals salariers and decreases in their budgets.

Brittain explained the state mandated increase in several elected officials’ salaries including the Property Assessor.

“There is an increase of $10,696 and part of that is the state mandated raise for the elected officials,” he said. “The other part is an adjustment that the property assessor wants to make to his longest standing employees of 30 years and make them the deputy assessor.”

He discussed the Reappraisal Program’s budget which falls under the property assessor.

“You will see a transition out because a couple years ago the assessor asked for a person, for part of the year, to train someone after a staff member retired and now that person is going out and the budget is $23,000 less than the previous year.”

The Trustee’s Office saw a small increase in its budget, caused by a deferred payment.

“We have a $351 increase in this budget,” Brittain said. “In this budget a state mandated salary increase is included, medical insurance increase.”

“However, there is a decrease in the premiums on corporate surety bonds of $9,500 where we purchased a bond for the Trustee for his entire term last year. We made one premium payment and we won’t have to make another until his term is over, which will be in four years.”

The County Clerk’s office also saw a decrease, but because of eliminating unfilled positions.

“You have another increase for the elected official,” Brittain said. “The County Clerk made an evaluation on her department and eliminated two positions that were not filled and that made a decrease of $84,000, which is a majority of the decrease.”

The General Sessions Court I saw a decrease in budget, and General Sessions Court II saw an increase.

“You have a state increase of the General Sessions Court I Judge Doug Collins’ pay and then he has a reduction in medical insurance, so his budget is decreased by $4,159,” Brittain explained.

“For General Sessions Court II, Judge Blake Sempkowski took office in September which was in the middle of the year and in this budget his state mandated increase in pay is included and then there was an increase in medical by $14,934.”

Juvenile Court’s budget had a $52,175 decrease after eliminating positions within its office.

“We pay an adjustment for the No. 2 person in the office to become a deputy director of that office and make a chain of command,” Brittain said. “There is a $40,950 decrease in a social work position that was funded by the school system and the revenue is not in the budget and we are taking that expenses out.”

“The attendants who man the temporary facility have been reduced by $15,000. In the past we staffed it around the clock and then it got expensive and now we just do it on call bases. It’s getting hard to find people to serve in that capacity.”

Mental Health Court was included in the budget for the first time, totaling $150,000.

“On the revenue side we have $150,000 for the mental health court and then we have that same amount for the expense side,” Brittain said. “We split the director’s salary in half between the two budgets and included in this one is half of the director’s salary, one case worker and three months for a second case worker.”

“The next largest amount is the medical insurance and the third highest is the drug and mental health treatment.”

Brittain went into detail explaining what is included in its budget and how it is paid for.

“The work release program has minute increases in the personal line,” he said. “The other contracted services are where we pay for the jail to work program and you also have Stepping Out Ministries that holds classes for domestic violence and some folks are sentenced to take those courses.”

“The way the jail to work has been funded for the past three years is the county has put in either $90,000 or $100,000, then the McNabb Center has raised money within the community to put in $100,000 and McNabb has also used grant money to put in an additional $100,000. It costs about $300,000 a year to run the jail to work program.”

“What we are doing in this budget is the county’s contribution will be $100,000 and then we have the opioid settlement money that is earmarked for this type of expense of $100,000, and then McNabb will use grant money they received to fund $100,000.”