OUR COUNTY
D. GARY DAVIS

County Mayor

 

Yesterday, the final version of the county’s fiscal year 2006/2007 budget was adopted by the Bradley County Commission.  I always take pride in preparing and presenting a budget that does not require a tax increase and the subsequent final adoption of the budget by the County Commission.  Bradley County has a wonderful quality of life and I believe a low tax rate is a major quality of life indicator. 

 

Bradley County has been fortunate that our growth has allowed us to continue to move forward without increasing taxes.   The other side of development is the increase in the number of children in our schools and traffic on our roads.  Schools are the top priority in this budget with a one million dollar increase in local funding and a four million increase overall.  The Road Department was also a priority with an increase of almost one million dollars. 

 

The budget I proposed included a plan to begin an Education Capital Improvement Fund for the Schools and a similar capital fund for the Road Department. Unfortunately, the Finance Committee removed the Education Capital Improvement Fund from the budget because of a request from school officials.

 

Without the Education Capital Improvement Fund, if the County Commission approves funding for a new school (three have been informally requested by the school board in the next 5 years), a tax increase next year will be necessary to fund the new school construction.

 

The next phase of hiring for the Bradley County Fire Department was also delayed by the Finance Committee.  Three new positions were to begin in January.  The additional firefighters will continue to be discussed over the next several months.

 

On July 3rd, the County Commission approved a property tax rate of $2.02 per $100 of assessed value, which was unchanged from last year.  Additionally, the fire tax rate for those living in the five-mile fringe area around the City of Cleveland will remain unchanged at $.46 per $100 of assessed value, while the rural fire tax rate will remain unchanged at $.12 per $100 of assessed value. 

 

The budget of the entire county is over one hundred million dollars, which includes the general fund, pike road fund, school funds, fire fund, and various special funds.   

 

The property tax rate is allocated as follows:  General Purpose School Fund including school debt, 58 percent; County General Fund, 25 percent;  Pike Road Fund, 7 percent; General Debt Service, 3 percent; and the Public Library Fund, 2 percent.

 

The fiscal year 2006/2007 General Fund projected fund balance also remains strong with an estimated balance at June 30, 2007 of $3,064,651. 

 

The $28 million General Fund Budget for fiscal year 2006/2007 will be spent as follows:  The Sheriff’s Department and Justice Center, 41 percent; Quality of Life Services, 13 percent; Emergency Medical Services , 13 percent; Courts/ Administration of Justice,  8 percent; and Juvenile Court/Services, 7 percent.

 

Although there are always areas of contention when developing the county’s budget, overall the County Commission adopted a good budget that will continue to move our county forward.  I appreciate the efforts of our county commissioners, elected officials and department heads in the development of this budget. 

 

The full budget document will be available after August 1st on the Accounting Page of the county’s website (www.bradleyco.net).  If you have any questions about the county budget or the budget process, please contact Lynn Burns, County Accountant at 728-7144.