Lenoir City OKs budget first rea

Lenoir City Council approved Monday the first reading of its upcoming budget, which includes a 2 percent raise for city employees and no property tax increase.

Revenue totals about $11.3 million, with a general fund balance of about $4.3 million. City officials had to take about $94,000 out of reserves to make the budget work.

Councilmen Eddie Simpson and Jim Shields motioned and seconded, respectively, to pass the proposal 4-0. Jennifer Wampler and Bobby Johnson Sr. were absent.

“That’s two years in a row that we’ve actually had to pull from the reserve to be able to balance the budget, but $95,000 is not bad,” Simpson said. “... I think all and all with all the stuff that we have going on I think that it was a good budget year. We cut everything to the bone. We gave nobody in no departments anything.”

Lenoir City Mayor Tony Aikens considered this a “very tight year.”

“Obviously, we trimmed our budget,” Aikens said. “We started at $586,000 in the red and went from 586 to roughly $94,000 and, of course, we took the 94 out of the fund balance. I think as always Lenoir City Council and I ... watch the dollars that are spent.”

Before the vote, Aikens and Simpson voiced opposition to a current proposal by Loudon County Commission to move pennies out of the rural debt fund.

“They plan on moving — I was originally told it was 4 cents and Tracy Blair their finance director informed me that it’s going to be 6 cents moving out of the county rural debt,” Aikens said. “They’re going to move 6 cents out of rural debt into the general fund, which will create a property tax increase only for the Lenoir City residents, and I think that is very sad to think that Lenoir City is being penalized.”

Simpson said Lenoir City’s growth has helped the county avoid a “flat” budget.

“We operate a school system that probably 80 percent of the students in that school system are county students and Loudon County Commission, they haven’t done it yet to my knowledge, but they intend, to my understanding, move those pennies from one fund to the next, which will create a tax increase for only Lenoir City citizens,” Aikens told council.

A second and final reading will be at the June 24 meeting.

Silence on BOE

Consideration on budget amendments for 2018-19 and the 2019-20 budget from the Lenoir City Board of Education failed for lack of a motion.

Although Aikens was surprised council took no action, he considered it a message to school board members to tighten their budget.

“You had a school board member and another school board member I think that was a little hesitant,” Aikens said. “I wasn’t at the school board budget meetings but with talking to Jeanie Mowery (city schools business manager) and listening to the budget that was passed by the school board Friday, they were $820,000 in the red going into the 19-20 budget cycle — $820,000. They were $400,000 in the red in the 18-19 budget cycle. So I think city council is telling the school system that’s unacceptable. We trimmed ours; we want you to trim yours.”

Simpson made a recommendation to accept the 2019-20 budget proposal and the 2018-19 budget amendments.

“I thought we needed to continue to move forward and support them and I don’t know what their reasons were, I have no idea,” he said. “It’s none of my concern what their business was, but I do know the fund balance is substantial in the school budget and I’m sure they’re looking at that as well because their fund balance is substantially more than ours, twice as much as ours probably in the city, and I just felt like that we have to allow them to move forward.”

Shields wants the BOE to take a hard look at its budget before coming back before city council.

“Every agency now is having to look at their budgets and see where they can cut and where they can’t cut, where they need to increase, and I think we need to look at it a little closer and see if we can come up with some money for other things,” Shields said. “... We just need to go line item by line item and see if there’s money available. If there’s not, well there’s not. Of course, we’ll let Ms. (Jeanne) Barker and them look at it and see and get back with us.”

Aikens believes council could approve the BOE’s budget on first reading at its next meeting and then hold a special called meeting for the second reading.

In other news, Lenoir City Council:

• Tabled rezoning property at 121 Ashe Ave., from R-1 Low Density Residential District to R-3 High Density Residential District.

• Passed the second and final reading to adopt an ordinance providing a plan of services for property proposed for annexation. The property is .54 acres at 208 Highway 70 West and is located within the Lenoir City Urban Growth Boundary. Council also adopted a resolution annexing the property.

• Passed the first reading adopting an ordinance to provide revenue for the municipality of Lenoir City for the property tax year 2019 at $0.9955.

• Renewed health insurance with Cigna Healthcare with a 3 percent increase that’s expected to go into effect July 1.

• Authorized the purchasing committee’s recommendation to buy self-contained breathing apparatus air bottles to use in the fire department for $64,990. The item was also budgeted.

• Granted full-time employment of Trevor Ezell in the public works department.

• Approved the July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019, contract with Brown Jake & McDaniel PC to audit accounts for Lenoir City. Council also approved Brown Jake & McDaniel PC to audit the city’s retirement income plan for city employees.