GILES COUNTY WORK SESSION MINUTES
For 2025-2026 Budget
3 JULY 2025
County Executive (CE) Graham Stowe opened the work session asking Commissioner Roger Reedy to offer a prayer and lead the pledge. The CE then gave an outline of how the session would be conducted noting the goal would be to identify ideas, applicable to county department budgets, where cuts might be made. He said he and the Financial Manager (FM) Beth Moore-Sumners would facilitate discussion on those potential cuts and would assess whether there was majority support for those ideas. He explained this was necessary to ensure a budget could move forward to the full commission with a high probability of majority approval. As a work session, no motions would be required and no official vote would be taken. However, a “straw vote” from commissioners attending would be taken to acknowledge their support for the various suggestions. Further the Budget Committee would meet after this session where a formal vote would take place. The CE gave some preliminary instructions, i.e., differences in roles/responsibilities of department heads (preparing budgets, documenting needs, and executing approved budgets) vs the commissioners (who are given specific statutory authority to appropriate funds and/or make cuts.). The CE read the TN statute stating that the Commission has sole responsibility for appropriating funds and setting the tax rate – and that is not a responsibility shared with department heads. The CE asked that the commissioners not dwell on individual budget lines, and also to consider tradeoffs – e.g. there are future needs still to be considered such as courthouse upgrades. He said there has been no balanced budget for a long time, that we’ve been conditioned to absorb “emergency” recurring items out of fund balance, a detrimental practice. He highlighted this FY’s “unused funding” at this year-end being considerably less than previous years. All these factors, resulting in the earlier proposed 28% tax increase, along with the $5M+ shortfall in FY recurring needs, needed Commission attention. The CE stated that several commissioners were adamantly against any tax increase, and then laid the responsibility on them to specifically identify $5.25M in cuts. He finished by saying, “Let’s get this done today.” (Noted 4 commissioners were absent, and during a somewhat long day, several commissioners with other duties had to leave. For the Budget Committee meeting all seven districts were represented with one member each.)
The FM asked that the following be included in the minutes, due partially to some of the misinformation being posted/provided in Giles County. She stated without an approved budget, the county would operate with a continuing budget meaning no raises can be done at this time, and after approving the raises will be done, individually, by retro action with associated increased work load, no financing obligations will be issued until the budget is approved. If not approved by 1 Oct, then the state will withhold funds. She discussed how we got here (i.e. habitually using Fund Balance for recurring expenses) and she mentioned the public’s involvement as a good thing. She did however mention the misinformation and called out some of the specifics. She said she had invited two people to sit down with her, without a public request, and so far, no one has done that. She mentioned how hurtful the misinformation is to county employees as well as the integrity of the budget process. She mentioned 2021 as starting where the expenses out ran the revenue and she mentioned conservatively budgeting vs trying to budget for unexpected occurrences. She also mentioned rising costs for all departments and gave an invitation to her office if anyone has questions.
Road Superintendent Gene Barnickle also spoke to the misinformation and gave examples. He mentioned other areas that have had to raise prices, e.g. gas, water, and discussed some of his cost, e.g. purchase of rock increasing 3-fold. He said some of the commissioners have encouraged him to stick to his guns on proposed budget increases, but on the other hand those same commissioners were against raising the necessary revenue. When asked about staff, he said he has 38 employees counting himself with 35 of those working in the field. Commissioner James Lathrop noted Superintendent Barnickle had done a good job presenting the problem, and asked any suggestions to help us solve the shortfall. Superintendent Barnickle said if he had to cut, it would probably be rock, but would do what needed to be done based on the commissioners’ decisions. He further said he understood Department Heads need funds, but there are some totally against a wheel tax or a property tax. Commissioner Joyce Woodard in discussing roads to be paved, said last year you did 33 miles, and this year the budget is for 70. Perhaps, she said you could add 15 more miles to last year’s accomplishment. Superintendent said he can do whatever the Commission decides in its budget. But he also mentioned there have been years when Highway did 100 miles, and he discussed the differences in plans of chip and tar, vs hot mix roads. He said in the past it cost around $18K a mile and now it is $50K a mile and in another county, theirs is $65K to $200K+ a mile. Commissioner David Wamble said the commissioners understand there are more needs than resources. Further he said Facebook is not helpful for political debate. He suggested rolling back $350K, especially given the wet spring (which adversely impacted road work). He also said the state may be able to help with funding. The Road Superintendent said there will be no help coming from state funding, not to rely on it, that the east Tennessee counties took most of the state dollars due to weather events. Commissioner Wamble in noting the highway MoE is based on the average over the last five years, suggested putting some of the highway budget, for recurring equipment, be removed from that budget and put into 171. The FM cautioned doing this, as it is a recurring cost for the highway department, so they would be back next year (and future years) for similar needs. Commissioner Gayle Jones asked how much would the highway’s MoE be raised with the proposed budget increase, with the FM noting the proposed one-year cost would be $2.3M but again the MoE is over a five-year average. Commissioner Matthew Hopkins discussed his idea of being in favor of increasing partially, e.g., do 50 instead of 70 miles and what would that cost reduction be. Superintendent Barnickle said approximately $600K – $800K. Based on that answer, Commissioner Hopkins suggested reducing $500K from the highway budget. Commissioner Judy Pruett said we all want to do what we need, but a common-sense approach might be to do a goal of 50 miles and maybe same next year. She said a compromise is required and she would be willing to support Commissioner Hopkins’ idea. The FM said looking at the budget line item 131 shows an increase of $950,739 from last year and historically she said for last 3 years the county has used approximately $800K each year out of fund balance. Commissioner Roger Reedy commented that he didn’t think the highway budget could stand to lose that much, with Superintendent Barnickle saying it could work if you leave the $350K from unspent 2024-2025 budget in next year’s budget. Commissioner Erin Curry commented on the above said there have been some tough decisions then and now, and she sees the pressing need for more revenue. Commissioner Terry Jones noted in comparing Giles to Lawrence County said the 3% raise is in the ball park. The CE asked for a straw poll on removing $500K from the highway budget and leveraging $450K out of 171 Line Item (considered the rollover of $350K). Six Commissioners voted in favor. A second vote on removing $500K out of budget only and leave equipment in the budget garnered 10 people in support. Superintendent Barnickle, addressing Commissioner Terry Jones’ comment on raises, said in his raises some will get the 3% raise but some will get more. He based that on several criteria, e.g., ones starting with a low amount, and comparing to other counties such as Maury and Lincoln where one employee actually receives $31 per hour.
The CE then projected a spreadsheet with various budgetary scenarios and shortfalls, and “pennies” required to fund those, with a 0-tax increase involving a total shortfall of $5.265M, elevating to a 28% tax increase that erased the shortfall. He explained that as cuts are identified, the tax increase would incrementally come down. Again he emphasized that those who were against tax increases had a responsibility to specifically identify $5.265M in cuts.
Next Department addressed – Ambulance. EMS Chief Willow Chavez discussed the negative effect the misinformation has on the EMS employees, mentioning one in particular that she considered unethical and some of the foul language used personally to some of the employees. Two particular criticisms of EMS, i.e., too much training and an overseas training trip, were addressed by Chief Chavez. Re the training she gave statistical evidence of the importance of training, i.e., at the start of her tenure, there was a 55% correct intubation (Intubation occurs when a tube is inserted into your trachea to help you breathe) and after training during her tenure there is now a 95% success rate for 1st time intubations. Re the overseas training she noted the county was honorarily selected to be participate on an international stage – a great accomplishment that further served EMS readiness – but had instead been weaponized against EMS. She further said she had reduced her budget by postponing equipment buys but she still had concerns such as lead time on remounts being 18 months. And several of the ambulances have over 200K miles. Commissioner Roger Reedy asked if the state has a limit on how many miles ambulances should have before retiring and Chief Chavez said they do not, but after certain mileage the state does an investigation, with a fee, every 30K mile. Commissioner Roger Reedy said re all the misinformation on Facebook causes employees to “get off track.” The CE stepped in to state both he and Chief Chavez were military veterans, and most important attribute of veterans was uncompromisable integrity, so he understands how Chief Chavez feels undermined by spurious charges of waste/fraud/abuse. The CE then listed each of Chief’s Chavez voluntary budget reductions by line item. Commissioner Matthew Hopkins started the discussion about overtime vs being fully staffed, and the balance thereof. Commissioner Judy Pruett said re projected reductions, every year we have made the budgets work because of the funds from the hospital sell, and our tax rate has been low, but now we have to compromise. Commissioner Gayle Jones asked about staffing levels with Chief Chavez saying they current are short five and she also said in comparing salaries, that for the last 20 years there have only been 12 years with raises and those were limited. Commissioner Matthew Hopkins said he would like to take a further cut of $200K out of overtime and once fully staffed, have a cap on overtime. Commissioner Matt Rubelsky said of the last four lines (equipment purchases) only take out $360, and put $180K in BLI 171. The FM mentioned that the current jail budget was proposed in part knowing we weren’t fully staffed but remember those spaces were authorized, and a similar case is in the ambulance budget. The CE did a straw vote on dropping the overtime down to$600K with six saying would support. The CE did a straw vote on dropping the overtime down to $700K and seven people said they would support. The CE said this showed at least 13 people would support a reduction to the overtime, and he suggested $650K. The CE did a recap of $460,544 plus $150K reduction of OT for $610,544 equates to a 6.49 penny (including highway cuts). Commissioner David Wamble said talk to your constituents and explain these cuts.
Next Department – Schools. Commissioner Matthew Hopkins mentioned the overcollection from sales tax, currently going to the school system and suggested that be revisited. School Board Chairman Knox Vanderpool said we have used that overcollection to meet both recurring expenses and capital projects. We have increased pay raises to phase in meeting the state’s 2026 mandate of required pay for teachers, and asked that the commissioners allow them to use their expertise and education for the schools. Commissioner Hopkins said the commissioners are trying to keep the lights on in other departments. Mr. Vanderpool said that removal of the overcollection requirement would circle the schools back, and why rob one department for another; and he said we are not talking about property tax, since that is a result of sales tax. The CE took a straw poll to move the overcollection back to the county and that failed with only three people saying they would support. A question about the new Tennessee law on vouchers was asked and how that will impact the Giles County public schools, with School Superintendent saying the county gets $7295 per student which would follow any choosing vouchers. She further said there is no accountability for students or if it is known how many are already doing private schools.
Next Department – Trustee, Commissioner Joyce Woodard asked why do you need another person. Trustee Tony Risner said this is a part-time employment for the tax season. He mentioned some of the increased workload such as verifying financial information for totally disabled veterans (485 registered but others unknown) and/or seniors. In addition, he has one full-time employee who has stated she will retire shortly and this part-time employee can also have additional training. He also mentioned how his office generates fees which more than pays for his office’s budget and more than half of those fees go back into general fund.
At this time Commissioner Erin Curry mentioned that the Fire & Rescue (considered in this budget as non-profit) insurance payment and loan payment needs to be paid in July. If they do not get county funds, their equipment and individuals will not have coverage and a potential default on the bond. A straw poll on funding F&R received 8 people supporting, and per Commissioner David Wamble take those funds from the fund balance received 7 people supporting.
Next Department Sheriff – Sheriff Joe Purvis said the county has one of the best departments in the state, and discussed a recent activity involving the deputies. Commissioner Matthew Hopkins suggested cutting the two requested training officers down to one and Commissioner David Wamble asked if one of the vehicles proposed was for a training officer. The Sheriff said he will absorb the car for the time being and the training officer is much more than just training. Those officers will also function as deputies; it’s basically manpower he said. As for the training the training and standards policy addresses the enormous liability in injuries. Commissioner Erin Curry said she supports the two training officers. Commissioner Joseph asked about state laws on cars, with the Sheriff responding we usually change with 180K miles since the cars sustain hard use. Commissioner Gayle Jones asked about staffing with Sheriff Purvis saying they are fully staffed with one vacancy already having a replacement and in the jail one opening with people being interview the same day. As there was not majority support for reducing the 2 positions, the CE did a recap of all changes and said there that still left a 23% tax increase.
Next Department Convenience Centers. Questions addressed grants being submitted with matching county funds required. All grants require funding for match to show in budget. Revenues are listed in the budget, offsetting expenditures.
Next Department – General Fund Employee Benefits – The FM said $24K is for those individuals with 30 years and the last 15 years with county to have help paying their health insurance. Only 3 people supported removing this. Commissioner David Wamble recommended reducing the county wide raise of 3% (not including EMS, Highway, or custodian) to a 2% raise which should be approximately $100K reduction. 9 people supported. The FM Said the custodian raise is to raise those positions to a comparable salary with school custodians. Re former Emergency Services Director salary, Commissioner Terry Jones asked for clarification on how those funds were budgeted, specifically to Josh Young and to clerical/admin. Mention was made of EMS Chief Willow Chavez and EMA Chief Young picking up Department Head duties, and mention was made, by Josh Young, of the part-time planner for hazardous mitigation. Commissioner David Wamble asked if anybody is currently paid from other budgets that support the ambulance department. Commissioner Gayle Jones discussed historical cost and suggested that the budget go back to actual for 2024-2025, which was $391,889. She further asked if the vehicles are used to drive home, with Young answering yes since they are on duty 24/7. Commissioner Terry Jones asked about an update on the TACN, with the CE saying there would be an update on 15 July. Commissioner Joyce Woodard asked about furniture /fixtures, and suggested a maximum of $500 be for each department, giving a reduction of $5800. Those cuts with a quorum were evaluated; the budge then stood at 16.06 pennies reduced which yielded a 20% tax increase. Commissioner Judy Pruett said she would be for a tax increase, but knows there has to be a compromise and that she would like to see that reduced to a 17.5%, which would not be popular but would also not cause the county to fall too far behind. Commissioner Erin Curry said we are not growing because we don’t invest in our county. We have been so proud of being debt fee and not investing in our schools, so we have truly been going backwards. Commissioner Matthew Hopkins suggested don’t fund the library, since most people don’t go the library, and kill the animal control effort as that’s not statutory. That would save approximately $300K. Commissioner Joseph Sutton countered with funding the library with the CE noting that the state would pull their funding with out county support. Commissioner David Wamble recommended adding back the reduction to the Minor Hill Library and one other library that had previously been refused funding. A question was asked on getting from a 20% increase down to a 17.5% increase; the CE stated that being around a $400K difference. Commissioner Matt Rubelsky said we falter every time when identifying necessary resources and then we put efforts off until the next year and we wind up in the same place. We want to move forward. The CE assessed support for a 20% tax increase and there was not broad support. He suggested pulling $450K in Highway equipment from 171 Fund which would reduce the tax increase to 17.5% increase, and there was broader support for that. He made one more request for any further cuts with commissioners making no further suggestions. The CE said, while nobody liked the potential increase, let’s try to get a budget passed. Further we need the commissioners to start good conversations over the year about services and/or resources needed, or further cuts to be made.
The meeting adjourned and with some commissioners having left due to other duties, Commissioner Matt Rubelsky called for the Budget Committee to meet with substitutions for district absences. For the work session all commissioners were present with the exception of Commissioners Caleb Savage, Shelly Goolsby, Tracy Wilburn, and Evan Baddour. Department heads were in attendance for the discussion of their departments.