Commissioners say 2016 county budget looks OK at first blush

The Hamilton County Commission
The Hamilton County Commission

So far, Hamilton County commissioners have no public gripes about the proposed $644.4 million 2016 budget.

It's balanced, includes no tax increase and is pretty straightforward, they say.

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photo Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger speaks to Robert Nodes at the conclusion of the annual Mayors Business Breakfast at the Chattanooga Convention Center on Jan. 14, 2015.

"I think it was very well presented. It explains where the money's coming, where the money's going and you can't get much better than that," County Commission Chairman Jim Fields said after a budget workshop Tuesday.

But Mayor Jim Coppinger's proposed budget doesn't include a combined $900,000 in so-called discretionary funding the county's nine commissioners split up and use for special projects. Commissioners had asked that the funds be returned to the general fund, which would have reduced restrictions on the money imposed this year.

But commissioners didn't mentioned the absence of the funds Tuesday.

Commissioner Joe Graham, who leads the commission's finance committee, said after the meeting he was pleased with the budget at first blush.

"All in all, from what I've seen today it looks like a really good budget," Graham said.

Chester Bankston and Marty Haynes had similar views.

"We got a balanced budget. That's what we asked for. That's good enough for me," Bankston said.

Overall, the proposed budget is $21 million larger than this year's, which represents a 3.3 percent increase.

But Coppinger cautioned that county revenues or expenses haven't skyrocketed. Most of the increases are because of the addition of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and the Juvenile Court Clerk's office into the general fund, unexpected boosts in state funding to the county school system and grant funds brought in to the county. The sheriff and juvenile clerk offices were included to make accounting more efficient, Coppinger said.

The total budget includes $405.7 million for the county school system, an increase of 6.5 million, or 1.6 percent, over the current budget.

Originally, schools Superintendent Rick Smith had asked for a $34 million increase, which could have required a 40-cent property tax hike.

Such an increase would have cost the owner of a $150,000 home an extra $150 annually. But Coppinger said Tuesday homeowners wouldn't have been the ones paying big. Small businesses would foot the bulk of the bill.

photo Commissioner Joe Graham speaks during a Hamilton County Commission meeting at the courthouse to vote on school construction proposals.

"Small businesses -- some of them have property values in excess of $3 million to $4 million," Coppinger said. "It's not just the homeowners, it's a tremendous impact on these small businesses."

Commercial property is typically more expensive than residential. And business properties are assessed at 40 percent of value, while homes are assessed at 25 percent.

At Coppinger's request, school board members voted Monday on the slimmed-down $405.7 million budget at their regular meeting.

Overall, commissioners were pleased that the budget included raises for employees, too. The plan includes a 1.5 percent raise for all county employees, with a minimum raise of $750.

But Graham expressed concern about the raises, because he doesn't want one for commissioners.

"Does this leave us out of it? Can it?" Graham asked.

Coppinger said no. That's because he's included in the pay increase.

State law ties increases to Hamilton County commissioners' pay to the mayor's salary by percentage.

According to Coppinger's presentation, the average pay for county employees is $41,569. The median pay is $37,164. Coppinger will see roughly $2,321 more, bringing his salary to $157,102 and commissioners would get an equal percentage increase, bringing their pay from $21,902 to $22,230.

Graham was also pleased that Coppinger agreed to fully fund a request by the Humane Educational Society.

Society officials had asked the county for an additional $226,000 -- on top of their $395,000 allocation -- to make emergency repairs to their 70-year-old facility and hire new staff members.

Coppinger will make a public presentation at the commission's regular meeting today. Commissioners will vote up or down on the budget June 17.

Contact staff writer Louie Brogdon at lbrogdon@timesfreepress.com, @glbrogdoniv on Twitter or at 423-757-6481.

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