Two vehicular accidents involving county vehicles and the resulting insurance payments prompted budgetary amendments during Wednesday's meeting of the Greene County Budget & Finance Committee.

The committee met at the Courthouse Annex to address a full agenda of items, including numerous amendments to the Sheriff's Department budget, mid-year adjustments for the Greene County School System, and discussion of repairs to the roof at the Greene County Detention Center. (Please see related article on Page A-1.)

Greene County-Greeneville Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Director Robert Sayne explained that an EMS supervisor was recently in Washington County to pick up a mechanic who had dropped off an ambulance for repairs when a third party pulled out in front of the supervisor's vehicle, totaling the EMS's 2005 Jeep Liberty.

The third party's insurance company agreed to reimburse the county $11,019 for the vehicle.

Sayne said he was "plumb pleased" with the amount and had already been able to pull additional funds from equipment to replace the vehicle with a truck costing $21,000.

County Mayor Alan Broyles also described a separate incident in which a Solid Waste three-quarter-ton service truck was at the Landfill Transfer Station to address a problem with a front-loader when another piece of machinery backed into the service truck.

The third party's insurance paid $2,445 for repairing the damage, the mayor noted.

The committee approved budgeting both insurance recovery proceeds, in addition to amending the budget to include the following items:

* mid-year adjustments to the Greene County School System's General Fund Budget to account for just over $75,000 in increased revenue received from the state, and $10,600 required by the state to be spent from the school system's reserves to cover a shortage in the estimated 2011-2012 tax revenues;

* a $52,500 contract-signing bonus for a new, one-year contract with the Greene County Detention Center's telephone service, to be used toward the cost of the Sheriff's Department's law enforcement equipment;

* the 2013 Appalachian High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Grant of $15,000, to be used toward covering the cost of the Sheriff's Department's overtime hours;

* $9,365 in carryover funds from the 2012 Appalachian High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Grant, to be used toward covering the cost of the Sheriff's Department's overtime hours;

* a $13,129 Edward Burn Memorial Justice Grant toward the Sheriff's Department's law enforcement equipment;

* $1,980 from automation reserves revenue from data entry fees collected by Circuit Court Clerk Pam Venerable, to be used for her office's maintenance and repair services;

* $1,500 from the state Farmers Market Promotion and Retail Grant as a contribution to the Rural Resources Mobile Farmers Market of Greene County;

* $1,485 in payments for handgun background checks, to be used toward the cost of the Sheriff's Department's law enforcement equipment;

* a $100 donation from the Greeneville Woman's Club to the Sheriff's Department, to be used toward covering the cost of educational programs;

* $87 from the sale of recyclable materials to be used toward covering the cost of law enforcement equipment; and,

* a $25 contribution by the First Presbyterian Church to be used for the Greene County Health Department's Home Visitation Program's supplies.