Haywood County to honor volunteers
According to Haywood County Mayor Franklin Smith,
nominations for the First Annual Governor’s Volunteer
Stars Awards are now being accepted in Haywood County.
The awards will celebrate the efforts of volunteers
who strive to improve their communities through
service.
One
youth and one adult volunteer will be selected in
Haywood County to receive this prestigious award.
Nominees will be judged based on the community’s need
of the volunteer service performed, initiatives taken
to perform the service, creativity used to solve a
community problem and impact of the volunteer service
on the community.
Nomination forms may be picked up at the courthouse in
the Haywood County Mayor’s office. Applications must
be returned to the office by July 31, 2008.
Recipients of the Volunteer Awards will be honored at
the Governor’s Volunteer Stars Ceremony in Nashville
in October. They will also be honored at the local
Chamber of Commerce Banquet and during the Hatchie
Fall Fest in October.
For
more information about nominations, call 772-1432 and
ask for Gloria Hayes, your Volunteer Star’s County
Coordinator.
City
election: Simmons retains seat, voters look forward
It’s
status-quo at city hall in Brownsville. John Simmons
was reelected to his Ward 3 seat on the city board in
the city election on June 17. Simmons received 478
votes; challenger Walter Battle received 96. Aldermen
Leon King and Carolyn Flagg were reelected. Neither
had challengers.
County election
The
Haywood County General Election and State Primary will
be will August 7. Early voting for this election will
be held from July 18 through August 2.
There’s only one countywide office on the ballot.
Assessor of Property Dare Simpson is running for
reelection, and former County Commissioner James
Morgan is challenging her.
There
are two important school board races. Neither longtime
chairman Patricia Gruenewald nor Joe Barden IV are
running for reelection.
In
Districts 2 and 6 the school board race is between
Daniel Thornton, Freddie Burnette and Bruce Steele. In
School Board Districts 4 and 10, Allen Currie and
Maggie Stewart are on the ballot.
State
Primary
There
are three Republicans looking for the nomination for
the senate seat being vacated by the retiring John
Wilder. Republicans Dolores Gresham, Tim Linder and
Bob Shutt’s names will appear on the ballot. Randy
Camp is the apparent Democratic nominee as he is
running unopposed.
County Commission discusses routine agenda
The
county’s budget committee has begun regular sessions
to discuss county government’s new budget, but the new
budget wasn’t discussed when the county commission met
on June 16.
The
meeting, which lasted less than an hour, focused on
routine business, including the appointment of a tax
attorney and the adoption of Three Star Community
resolutions.
Commissioners adopted an Economic Development
Strategic Plan for the governor’s Three Star Program.
The lengthy essay outlines economic and livability
goals for Haywood County that the Chamber of Commerce,
governments and involved citizens, developed. Among
the highlights of the program are plans to develop
more infrastructure at I-40 exits, increased technical
training for prospective members of the workforce,
development of the downtown area and support for the
hospital.
County Commissioners passed a resolution authorizing
the issuance of Industrial Capital Outlay Notes. The
resolution allows the county to properly fund the
purchase of the tract planned as the new industrial
park at Windrow Road and the bypass. County Mayor
Franklin Smith says the property has already been
purchased and paid for, but the funding must be in
compliance with various state laws. He says though
commissioners authorized the issuance of bonds, it is
more likely the county will borrow the money from its
own savings account.
County Commissioners reappointed Pat Mann as the
county’s tax attorney. Mann will serve for two years.
The
county commission will meet again June 30 to tend to
year-end budget matters. Commissioners agreed to
extend the current budget until they can act on
2008/2009 budget recommendations that they expect the
budget committee to make in July.
Schedule of Upcoming County Committee Meetings
(All at the Haywood County Courthouse)
Monday, June 23, 5 p.m., Budget Committee
Monday, June 30, 5 p.m., Budget Committee
Monday, June 30, 7 p.m., County Commission Meeting
Monday, July 7, 5 p.m., Budget Committee
Tuesday, July 8, 5 p.m., Budget Committee
Wednesday, July 9, 5 p.m., Budget Committee
City
Board votes in package beer sales
It is
rare when the city board disagrees on an issue, but
whether to legalize package beer sales in Brownsville
was a split decision with Brownsville’s four city
aldermen – leaving the tie-breaking vote up to
Brownsville Mayor Webb Banks.
Tuesday night, June 10, Mayor Banks broke that tie
making the sale of package beer legal. Aldermen John
Simmons and Leon King opposed it on both readings.
Aldermen Carolyn Flagg and Joe Taylor voted for it.
Nine
people spoke during the public hearing; seven spoke
against — two in favor. Those opposed were concerned
about increased crime and drunk driving. They also
disputed the predicted economic impact. Those for
worried that the little guy was shut out of selling
beer and said making beer more available won’t
increase consumption.
Mayor
Banks believes beer tax will provide city coffers with
between $250,000 and $300,000 in new income annually.
The
new ordinance is restrictive, allowing beer in only
the largest food selling stores in Brownsville and
making exterior signage illegal. The ordinance also
provides that no beer retailer may be within 300 feet
of a school or church.
The
ordinance makes the city board the beer board and the
mayor the chairman. But aldermen passed the first
reading of a revision that will create an independent
three-person beer board.
Alcohol in Brownsville is not new. Last August voters
overwhelmingly passed liquor by the drink ordinance,
although package liquor stores are still not legal
here.
City
Clerk Jerry Taylor has researched the records, but
can’t find the date when package beer sales were made
illegal in Brownsville, but most think it was probably
by act of the city board sometime in the early 1950s.
Taylor found evidence of an earlier legalization of
beer by the city board in 1933.
City
finances tight
Aldermen and the mayor have scheduled two work
sessions to discuss the city’s finances. The fiscal
year ends June 30, and in the words of City Clerk
Jerry Taylor, government is “in a bind.”
Taylor blames lower income and increased costs –
especially the expense of fuel. He told aldermen and
the mayor that he is doubling the budget for fuel.
Taylor also said he is predicting revenue filtered
down from state government will be lower, and he
thinks property tax income will increase less than
$5,000.
Mayor
Webb Banks has instituted a city-hiring freeze. He
says the freeze means the police department is two
officers short; the fire department will be down by
one fireman and five positions will remain open at
public works. Banks has also reached an agreement with
the county school system that means schools will fund
the salaries of two police officers assigned to
schools.
For
the first time Mayor Banks and Clerk Taylor hinted
that the budget might not be balanced without a tax
increase. “Every option I’ve looked at I haven’t
liked,” Banks said. The mayor said the budget is
presently “$750,000 to $800,000 out of balance.”
Several new ordinances pass city board
When
the city board met June 10, aldermen breezed through
unanimous final passage of four ordinances.
-
Property at the corner of Windrow Road and the
bypass was rezoned to general commercial. The tract,
owned by Sam Brown, will be used, according to city
officials, for a new barbeque restaurant.
-
Property located on Tennessee 76 South, south of the
Pictsweet warehouses and just north of Curtis Lowery
Road, was rezoned to general commercial. Developer
David Hunt plans to build a Hampton Inn on the
property. Mayor Webb Banks says Hunt also hopes to
lure two restaurants onto his property.
- A
measure changing the term limits of Historic Zoning
Commissioners passed. The resolution extends the
term from four to five years.
- A
change was made to the Municipal Zoning Ordinance
that lowers the elevation requirements for buildings
in certain flood zones.
City
police to be armed with tasers
Brownsville police will soon carry tasers, in addition
to their other weapons. Mayor Webb Banks says 10
tasers have been purchased and police officers are
being trained in their use. Banks hopes the tasers
will help stop some of the “scuffles” that have
recently resulted in the injury of officers. The
tasers cost $1,250 each and are equipped with a
camera.
City
awaits final word from governor about “BEA”
Though a public hearing was held at the city board’s
regular board meeting June 10, no one had comments on
the formation of the Brownsville Energy Authority.
The
city board previously passed a measure asking the
state legislature to pass a private act that will,
mostly, divorce the Brownsville Utility Department
from the city government. The measure has passed the
legislature and Governor Phil Bredesen is expected to
sign it.
The
utility will no longer be owned by the city, but city
government will still wield some power. Though the
mayor will no longer appoint board members, the city
board must approve BEA’s board. The city board can
also protest rate moves by the utility.
Mayor
Webb Banks said that the Brownsville Utility
Department and city government have worked well
together, but “it doesn’t always work that way in
other towns.”
The
new organization also includes new legal benefits for
the city, including elimination of utility department
financial and legal liabilities that could find their
way to taxpayers.
Unemployment down in April
The
unemployment rate for Haywood County is down this
month, falling from 8.2 percent in March to 7.4
percent in April. Neighboring counties followed suit
with a decline in the unemployment rate across the
board.
In
April, Crockett County’s rate dropped to 7.3 percent
from 8.4; Fayette County went from 7.3 to 6.1 percent;
Lauderdale’s rate was 9.2 percent, down from 9.6
percent in March; and Madison County saw a decrease in
April from 6.2 to 5.3 percent. Shelby County’s rate
went from 6.2 percent in March to 5.5 percent in
April, and Tipton County’s rate dropped from 7.3 to
6.5 percent in April.
Tennessee’s unemployment rate at 5.0 percent is below
the national rate of 5.4 percent. All but two counties
across the state saw a decrease in the unemployment
rate.