BUDGET MEETING MINUTES
6 FEBRUARY 2026
Chair Commissioner Evan Baddour opened the meeting noting another item would be added to the agenda i.e., Cost Sharing for Water Study, and asked if the public had any comments on the agenda. There being none, the Chair asked for a motion on any unapproved minutes with Commissioner Terry Jones moving the minutes be approved, and with Commissioner Matthew Hopkins providing the second, the minutes were approved unanimously.
Budget Amendments. The school budget amendments were discussed in previous same day meeting and a motion to approve was made by Commissioner Matthew Hopkins, seconded by Commissioner Terry Jones. After the chair asked if there were any public comments, the motion was approved unanimously. The County General Fund was moved for approval of the first four-line items – Health Department ARP Additional Grant Award, Sheriff Recruitment Training, Sheriff THSO, and Sheriff Hiring Recruitment Retention Grant. Motion by Commissioner Terry Jones, seconded by Commissioner Matthew Hopkins, to approve and was approved unanimously. County General Fund Animal Control line items – Cost of architectural/engineering approval for construction plans of the new animal shelter building is $52K which includes a $7K donation for application against that cost meaning $45K is needed to initiate this project. Financial Manager (FM) Beth Moore-Sumners on being asked the balance from hotel/motel revenue (to be used for county buildings) quoted $1.1M but also noted some was set aside for archives repair. Motion to approve was made with the animal shelter building with funding from the county being $45K. Commissioner Matthew Hopkins asked about ownership of the proposed location, i.e., county, city or joint ownership, where the county owns the current shelter location. He suggested the city should be asked to pay a portion of the costs. Commissioner Brad Butler asked the FM if the city already pays an annual amount with her answering yes, $50K of the amount we spend which is at least $100K. Commissioner Gayle Jones referenced a TCA ordinance which Commissioner Evan Baddour read to all. Commissioner Matt Rubelsky mentioned the current hold up on OHM the engineering firm for the courthouse renovations design and a 10% fee with the fee for the animal shelter being 17% fee. The FM noted some other county fees such as for the school being 15%, and noted the county received drawings at no cost. Commissioner Caleb Savage said his motion would be to have the city pay a partial amount of the cost referencing $25K. Commissioner Gayle Jones said since the city possibly receives more of this service, they should pay a partial amount and the architect should also give “us” a break. Commissioner Erin Curry noted the differences between using a drawing and having a certified architect provide drawings for construction. Commissioner Matthew Hopkins asked Commissioner Terry Jones if after this discussion he would modify his motion. An Amended motion by Commissioner Terry Jones, seconded by Commissioner James Lathrop to approve $25K from the county and asking the city to provide $20K for the animal shelter and send that to the full legislative body. Animal Shelter Director Jaclyn Payne spoke to the urgency of approving in total this amendment due to the inclusion of the $7K donation. She noted the possibility that a delay could result in the donor pulling those funds since there are quite a few other counties that could immediately step in to use those funds for their county. Another motion by Commissioner Terry Jones, seconded by Commissioner James Lathrop, was made to approve the full $45K and take action on asking the city to contribute a share. Commissioner Matt Rubelsky again noted that the commissioners are agreeable to approving a 17% fee for animals and not approving a 10% fee for humans. Commissioner Curry asked has the city approved the locations with Director Payne saying they had approved another location a while back. Commissioner Wamble said this still needs to happen even if the city doesn’t provide additional funds. Public member Susanna Derryberry spoke to damaging any relationship to the donor as being very harmful. Member of the public VanDeVeer asked if the architect contract would be bid with School Board President Knox Vanderpool providing information on how engineering service contracts are chosen, i.e., RFQ for qualification then decide who best meets and that contract can be revisited. Vote call resulted in approval with a 4 -3 vote and Commissioners Matt Rubelsky, Matthew Hopkins, and David Adams voting no.
Giles County Fire and Rescue (GCFR) budget amendment. Motion to approve made by Commissioner Matthew Hopkins, seconded by Commissioner James Lathrop, and funding of $9.6K from hotel/motel revenue. The FM noted this is a non-profit located in a county building and should be treated as any other county building. Commissioner Gayle Jones asked if there were any quotes obtained with the FM saying they looked internally to determine if could use what experiences the county already has with particular contractors. In addition, under $15K the county ordinances do not require multiple bids but if they do not know the vendors they check. She noted her office still would do due diligence. Commissioner David Wamble asked if the county could use the school’s purchasing process with Director of Schools Vickie Beard said that raises the question of who would install the heating unit and she would have to check if legal for the school to do. Motion approved.
EMA-HSGP Grant – Vehicle Barrier System. EMA chief Josh Young spoke to the growth in large events in Giles County and noted barriers previously used had been damaged. The purchase of this system is modular and comes with a trailer. Motion to approve by Evan Baddour, seconded by Commissioner Matt Rubelsky, to pay up front for the barriers noting that this is a grant totaling $87,050 and the costs will be reimbursed from the grant. This will be going out for bid and per EMA Chief Young he had 3 quotes for $115K – $120K and if the bid comes in higher than the $87,050 there is available funding left from a recent truck purchase that could be applied to the balance. EMS Chief also noted this will be a district asset so other counties could request the use although, per EMA Chief, he would have the final approval of that loan. Vote taken and motion approved.
Raise for Lois Aymett. Motion to approve by Commissioner Matt Rubelsky, seconded by Commissioner Matthew Hopkins, to pay $90K for recording services if any county committee meeting or other meetings with significant county commissioner representation exceed a one-hour meeting time. Commissioner Terry Jones noted the difficulty of attending meetings as commissioners and having to take notes at the same time as well. Commissioner Rickie Carpenter spoke to the total time required for the recordings i.e., the actual finished minutes done separately from the meeting itself. Motion approved.
Budget Calendar – The Chair noted the calendar is required to be approved and asked the FM to describe any changes. The FM said the budget calendar is a statutory requirement and the budget for the next fiscal year is pushed for no later than July of that year. Basically, she said she then takes that date and backs up all the required activities. She referenced doing some of the non-profits by 1 May if they are those organizations included in the county budget due to having maintenance of effort requirements such as the county’s libraries or are considered vital to the overall community such as Fire and Rescue. She also referenced changes to the PoP board timing and moving the other non-profits to after the start of the fiscal year. Motion by Commissioner Evan Baddour to approve the calendar as presented in a handout, seconded by Commissioner Terry Jones, and was approved unanimously.
Adding funding for tourism through the budget. A resolution describing a formula-based General Fund Appropriation to support tourism and the Giles County Chamber of Commerce was provided as a handout. Motion to approve the resolution was made by Commissioner Evan Baddour, seconded by Commissioner Shelly Goolsby, initiating the following discussion: Executive Director of the Chamber Jessie Parker discussed building the revenue from tourism, e.g., hotel/motel tax revenue, through investment in tourism. The proposed resolution per Ms. Parker would also provide more control over where the tourism funding of the Chamber is used. She noted if the tourism dollars go down and thus revenue, then the Chamber funding would also go down, and vice versa with the formula limited at this time to 10% of the total hotel/motel tax revenue collected by or remitted to Giles County during the preceding fiscal year. At this time given previous year revenue the Chamber would receive less than previously. Also mentioned was keeping the private act that addresses county offices rather than amending the code to reflect the current requirements which are more restrictive for counties. Commissioner Terry Jones asked if the Chamber would be moving given the current organization realignment with the EDC, with Ms. Parker saying no, given the physical room available, although she said the EDC Director would be using some of their space on an irregular basis. Commissioner David Wamble asked about putting this in as a recurring expense with the FM saying she would put it in the budget. Questions on when would be revisited with the Chair saying could be reviewed every year. Commissioner Caleb Savage said he failed to see any negative connotations to the resolution since this would be a revenue producing effort. Questions were also raised on when the payment would be made with the Chair saying re looking at previous years would be paid in September. Ms. Parker noted the Chamber fiscal year is the same as the calendar year. Commissioner Matthew Hopkins said the resolution appears to be trying to find a way around his ability as to where county spends county funds, with the Chair saying it does add accountability and can always be changed. School Board President Knox Vanderpool said, as a citizen, he was worried about increased tax and this proposed resolution shows a significant increase for dollar spent to dollars received – this produces revenue he said. He referenced Lawrenceburg who have spent more on tourism and have had a large return on that investment. Vote was called and motion passed 4 – 3 with Commissioners Matthew Hopkins, David Adams, and Terry Jones voting no.
Wheel Tax Resolution. Motion by Commissioner Matt Rubelsky to approve the resolution with a change of $50 to $60 per eligible vehicle, and Commissioner Matthew Hopkins providing the second. Commissioner David Wamble said no fairer way then to put on the ballot and allow the public to decide, noting a lot of citizens believe wheel tax is fairer. Commissioner Matthew Hopkins said many citizens have expressed concerns that once implemented each year would see that fee increased but that can only happen after going back to the public. He recommended doing a better job explaining that to the citizens. The Chair explained that this proposed resolution is just putting out for the public to vote noting last year it was too late to do that. Given that timing to hold a special election by putting the wheel tax on the ballot would cost the county $45K. Commissioner Roger Reedy commented that if the public passes a wheel tax, that would then have to come back to the full commission for ratification, with the Chair saying not my understanding. Commissioner Gayle Jones said she would not vote for this resolution, noting it should come after the democratic/republican primaries which would have more voter turnout. For that reason, she said, she did not like May. The Chair was asked to clarify the process which he said, to raise, would be the same difficult statutory process as the original implementation. Commissioner Matt Rubelsky gave information on using a $60 fee per vehicle, there being 30K vehicles resulting in $1.8M revenue which could be used for future needs. Commissioner Rickie Carpenter asked if the exemption clause, e.g., disabled veterans, was complete or just gave examples with Commissioner Matt Rubelsky saying with the county’s concern for increased revenue, the exemptions would be limited to the ones listed in the proposed resolution. Potential cuts to Department Head proposed budgets was discussed with several commissioners noting the attention given to the current budget by line items and with the Chair saying department heads are now on notice to not bring any increase in their upcoming budgets. . Member of the public commented set a time limit and noted that 37 of TN counties do not have a wheel tax. Vote was taken to discontinue discussion and call for the vote on the above motion. Vote was 4 – 3 with commissioners Terry Jones, Shelly Goolsby and Evan Baddour voting no and with vote requiring a 2/3 majority vote failed. Discussion again on why not move to August (doesn’t fix shortfall this year), lower turnout without both party primaries, implication there wouldn’t be a property tax increase, a previous committee vote for a wheel tax never taken to full commission, per County Executive (CE) Graham Stowe regarding property tax which many consider an unfair tax, if could get rid of property tax would require a $700 wheel tax Per public comment on EDC getting more businesses in the county as revenue producers the CE pointed out that most commercial property is within city limits not county, public comment on “county broke” but finding money for projects such as the TACN radio network. Roll call on the original motion including the $60 fee was approved 6 – 1 with Commissioner Terry Jones voting no.
Cost Sharing Water Study – After the Chair gave a quick recap of the county’s part with the Water Alliance, he noted State Representative Clay Doggett’s support in trying to help with funding a county-wide water assessment and population growth study which the Water Alliance now agrees is necessary for any TVA permit for adding a new water source and for prioritizing upgrades to our water infrastructure. The Chair noted it was voted last year that the county would fund 10% of that cost. Commissioner Erin Curry, Chair of the Water Alliance, said she had been in contact with state representative and he will know in March if he can help instead fund the study with state funds. Motion by Commissioner Matthew Hopkins, seconded by Commissioner Matt Rubelsky, was made to postpone any decision until word is received from the state representative. Commissioner Erin Curry noted the Water Alliance meeting will be 26 Mar at the OEM building. She said the private water utilities agree a study is needed and that a secondary water source is required to be self-sustaining. She also said by the end of March the decision should be available from Representative Doggett. Commissioner Tracy Wilburn asked where the estimate of $500K for the study came from with mention of a previous one done by Limestone County, Al costing in that neighborhood. Commissioner Curry also said TVA requires a population growth study prior to any permits being approved. Commissioner Tracy Wilburn said he had met with the South Giles Utility district and they are absolutely broke and “can’t do” (contribute to a study); that they can do meters now. Also, in talking to Mayor JJ Brindley the Pulaski Utilities has been significantly upgraded and they are still running at only 43% of their permits. Grants were mentioned for water storage plants. Re water losses Commissioner Curry said South Giles is now down to 13% on losses. The Chair he would pull this agenda item until hear from Representative Doggett.
No old business or new business. Motion to adjourn by Commissioner Matt Rubelsky, seconded by Commissioner Matthew Hopkins, and was approved unanimously.
ATTENDANCE: Members of the Committee – Chair Commissioner Evan Baddour, James Lathrop, Terry Jones, David Adams, Matthew Hopkins, Matt Rubelsky, Shelly Goolsby Other commissioners attending – David Wamble, Roger Reedy, Erin Curry, Rickie Carpenter, Annelle Guthrie, Gayle Jones, Carman Brown, Joyce Woodard, Tracy Wilburn, Judy Pruett, Caleb Savage Others in attendance County Executive Graham Stowe, Joseph Purvis, Sheriff, Josh Young – EMA Chief, Knox Vanderpool – School Board Chair, and members of the public