Commissioners

Get Close Look

At Agencies That

Requested Funds

By TOM YANCEY

Staff Writer

Members of the Greene County Commission's Budget Committee visited two non-profit agencies Thursday that are seeking county government funding in the coming fiscal year -- the Boys & Girls Club and the Nathanael Greene Museum.

After the tours, Commissioner Hilton Seay said, "We saw two impressive things today," adding that both are "so worthwhile, and need everything they're asking for."

No decisions have been made as yet about what level of funding the county government will be able to give to non-profit agencies.
Commissioner John Cox, who had suggested the site visits, as well as others made in recent weeks, said that a short overview presentation cannot hope to convey as much information as the visits showed. Other commissioners agreed.

Boys And Girls Club

Scott Bullington, director of the Boys and Girls Club, gave the committee a tour of the club. The county donated $12,500 to the club in the current fiscal year, and the club is seeking $20,000 next year.

Bullington said the club has 18 part-time staff members for its summer program. At noon on Thursday, 120 children were present, but about 150 were expected by the end of the day.

He said about one-third of the children swim at Hardin Park while one-third go to free movies, and another third take part in activities at the club's facility on Church Street, the groups rotating through the day.

Children receive free dental and eye checkups during the program, and free tooth sealant is provided if needed.

The club's programs start at 7:30 a.m., Bullington said, but children and parents are usually waiting long before that. Most of the children were between the ages of five years and "about 12," he said.

"We try to make sure their time here is positive," Bullington said. Children receive a lunch prepared by volunteers Barbara Barner and Frances Taylor.

He noted that Cathy Osborne, the club's assistant director, earned her master's degree in public health last month. On Thursday, Osborne was talking to a group of older girls about abstaining from sexual activity before marriage.

The club has a computer laboratory and a game room that includes pool tables and some video games that use large muscles, "no thumb games," he said.

In the arts and crafts room, Bullington showed the committee birdhouses and other craft projects that students have made this summer.

Bullington said schools focus on education and any number of good programs focus on athletics, but "We put more emphasis on life skills, character education and giving back."

One recent "life skill" that the club has offered is classes in manners. He called one young boy over who introduced himself and shook hands, saying he had learned the importance of doing so in the manners class.

One example of "giving back" is the club's exemplary participation in litter pickup efforts coordinated by Keep Greene Clean. Bullington said that once the children learned that litter volunteers sometimes get ice cream rewards, participation soared.

Bullington said he noticed one small boy stop several times and bend down, between his parents' car and the front door of the club. When he asked why, the boy said, "Somebody's been littering in front of my club."

Most of the club's financial support comes from a golf tournament, a dinner (that this year will feature UT basketball coach Bruce Pearl) and an auction, Bullington said. Those three events generate about $170,000 annually. The club also receives $42,000 from the United Way, and gets its building, inside maintenance and mowing at no cost, from the city.

The club also seeks various grants, and this year its budget was $439,000. "God's helped us and everything's worked out," Bullington said.

This year, he said, the club "served 1,900 kids, with no duplication," Bullington said, and fed 25,000 meals. He predicted the number of meals will rise above 27,000 next year.

Nathanael Greene Museum

The committee also toured the Nathanael Greene Museum, being given a tour by director Earl Fletcher and volunteer Billie Roberts.

Fletcher said admission to the museum is free, and a great deal of interest has been shown from people in the region and out of state in connection to the 200th anniversary of the birth of President Andrew Johnson.

The museum has a great deal of Johnson material in its "Presidents Gallery," which spills into the hallway as well.

Much of this material was donated by Margaret Johnson Patterson Bartlett, a Johnson granddaughter, who ran the president's homestead and tailor shop as private museums "until the National Park Service took over" in the 1950s.

Commitee members spent time looking at military uniforms and equipment donated by Greene Countians who served in the nation's wars, including a pair of Civil War cavalry boots.

Several members of the committee noted that the museum has more to see than they remembered from visits a few years ago.

The museum received $7,000 from the county government this year, and is seeking $8,000 in the new budget.

Fletcher told the committee, "I know things are tough, but if you can help us, I'd appreciate it."

Volunteer Center

At the end of the meeting, the committee heard a brief report from Mary Fitzpatrick of the Volunteer Center.

The center received $2,500 this year and is seeking the same amount next year, she said.

The Volunteer Center serves as a clearinghouse for volunteers seeking jobs to do. Fitzpatrick suggested that some county offices may have jobs that volunteers could fill, helping ease the crunch on the budget.

She asked Mayor Alan Broyles to send job descriptions if such opportunities can be found, and the center will try to find volunteers that match. Broyles said that is a good idea.

He added, "We know that you do a good job."

In response to a question, Fitzpatrick said the center's budget is $50,000. She added, "I work full time, but I volunteer half time."

Bob Windham, the center's current board chairman and treasurer, said that if volunteer agencies did not exist in Greene County, the county's budget "would be several million dollars higher."

Robert Sayne, director of Greene County/Greeneville Emergency Medical Services, said that would be true if only volunteer firefighters are considered.

Slate Of Resolutions

In addition to the tours, the budget committee also worked through a slate of resolutions that will come before the county commission at its meeting on June 16.

Mayor Broyles said the committee had reviewed requests from non-profit agencies and visited those the committee wanted to see.

Cox asked what the committee needs to do next. Broyles said, "I think what we need to do is start on salaries next time."
The committee is working with a draft budget document that currently proposes 3.2 percent raises for all non-school county employees. The committee is seeking ways to trim other costs and preserve raises.

The budget committee agreed to meet again on June 19, after department heads have had a chance to resubmit budgets to bring them as close to current levels as possible, except for increases related to state or federal mandates, or directly related to increases in the cost of fuel or electricity.

Continuing Resolution

The committee formally voted to recommend a continuing budget resolution that will allow county government to continue to operate in the new fiscal year that starts July 1, even though a new budget will not be ready by that time.

No capital expenditures are allowed under a continuing resolution, except for emergencies, Budget Director David Lawing noted, but the county government can continue to receive and spend money for regular operations. Departments can continue to operate by spending one-twelfth of last year's total operating budget each month.

Broyles said the continuing resolution can be used through the month of September without incurring penalties. He said many other counties in the state are in similar circumstances, because of questions about state funding cuts to counties were not resolved until the legislature adjourned late in May.

Greene County's goverment has also been hampered by the fact that the county is in the fifth year of a five-year property reappraisal cycle, which will result in state officials setting a new certified property tax rate.

New Tax Rate Coming

Mayor Broyles said the new rate should be known "in about a week and a half." The rate will not be final until the county's Board of Equalization completes hearings on June 19.

The Greene County Commission will then have to enact a new property tax rate. Budget Director Lawing said state law requires that the appropriations budget be approved by the county commission at the same time the new tax rate is approved.

Cox asked if the budget committee can begin making decisions about appropriations without the new rate.

Broyles replied, "I think we can make decisions here" in the committee, since the law requires that the new certified rate bring in the same amount of money that the current rate brings in.

Property tax revenue typically rises somewhat every year, even if the rate stays the same. Revenues increases or "grows" primarily from new construction.

Lawing said he has prepared the current draft budget using the average amount of revenue "growth" for the past five years.

The budget committee also approved a separate resolution to let the school system receive and use $3,500 in Milk Settlement funds in the current budget, for the same purpose as school health-fund grants.

Another resolution would adjust health insurance revenues upward by a total of $8,348 due to changes that occurred during the open enrollment period.

Yet another resolution would adjust the trustee's commission upward by $7,500, to correct an earlier oversight.

A $5,000 Community Enhancement Scholastic Clay Target grant can be used for supplies for the trap-shooting teams at West Greene, South Greene and Chuckey-Doak high schools, if approved by the commission.

Mayor Broyles said a trap-shooting range has been constructed at the law enforcement shooting range on Hal Henard Road. He said the county government applied for the grant, which he said probably will be distributed to the participating schools for purchasing shotgun shells and targets.

A resolution to amend the tire disposal fund because of increases in the cost of fuel needed to transport used tires was approved. The resolution increases the fund by $1,424.

The county Health Department would be allowed to receive $2,589, part of it a reimbursement for drugs purchased, and the rest for data disks sold by the GIS system, if a resolution to that effect is approved by the full commission.