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From the Desk of the Commish
While we're still waiting for the leaves to change colors, I hope you have had time to get out and enjoy the beautiful fall weather. Be sure to take time to visit a local pumpkin patch, take in a Friday night football game or attend a local fall festival. There are so many events going on in our communities, don't let those opportunities pass you by.
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This month has been an active one for the Commission, so please be sure to read through some of the items of interest as I continue to work with the full commission to find creative ways to pay for the things we need and avoid any increase in the tax burden to property owners and debt burden to future generations.
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This month, there will be two bond resolutions totaling $105,544,601 come to the Commission for the following amounts:
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9-22-3 Page High School – Phase 4
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7-23-2 Maintenance & Technology
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5-23-2 Safety and Security
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5-23-3 Asphalt, Roof, HVAC Maint
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County General/Solid Waste Proj
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Triple JJJ Project (23/24)
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5-23-3 Asphalt, Roof, HVAC Maint
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7-23-2 Maintenance & Technology
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If both bond resolutions are passed, this will take the County Debt to:
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Net Direct Debt(excluding Self-Supporting)
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Total Direct Debt + Interest
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Net Direct Debt Per Family of 4
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As I stated when I ran for office, I want to find ways to support our growth without creating a greater tax burden and or debt burden on the taxpayer. As such, I will not be supporting either of these bond issuances for some of the following reasons:
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- Our debt is growing faster than inflation, our population and the assessed values of taxpayer owned real estate. We must put some guardrails in place to ensure we have a path forward to keeping our debt manageable, especially given the current state of the economy which includes rising interest rates and inflation.
- We need to review the services we provide and look for ways to either save money or raise revenues outside of levying taxes. This would include taking a deeper dive into our school budget, which currently takes approximately 74% of the budget overall if you include debt service and possibly finding ways to make non-essential services self-supporting.
- We must find ways to pay for operational expenses other than through bonds. If the useful life of an asset (furnishings, vehicles, HVAC, etc.) is less than 20 years (lifetime of the bond), these items need to be part of short-term planning, otherwise, we will continue to leverage debt to pay for items that are no longer in service.
- We must scrutinize our capital projects more closely; this includes the new Triple JJJ project. Is there an opportunity to use existing schools/buildings to save money on needed infrastructure and land? Are we overbuilding? For instance, the size of our elementary schools continues to grow but the number of students they service is close to the same. Are there ways to save on construction costs and ultimately debt service by reducing the footprint of these projects?
It is imperative that we focus on creating a strategic plan for our growth, not only to ensure we can provide the highest level of service expected by the taxpayer but also to be able to provide better pay and benefits to the people we rely on to take care of the people who live here.
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Planning Commission & Infrastructure
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- Septic Codes Update - In 2022, the County Commission passed a resolution to complete a study on how to improve the throughput of septic permit requests with the county. This study has been completed and the new codes have been published. If you are continuing to run into delays with your project, please reach out to me so I can assist. The new code regulations can be found here.
- 5G Cell Phone Towers – As some of you may have noticed, there are continuing to be more 5G cell towers popping up across the county. This has been great news for folks who are in the remote areas of our county, however, the placement and location of these towers has some of our families concerned. Recently, it was discovered that a tower was going up within 600 ft of Trinity Elementary School in Trinity Park. I firmly believe there is a way to ensure county residents get the access they need, and families feel safe in their homes and community. Resolution 10-23-24 will be coming before the commission at the October meeting to discuss an easement for this tower. Stay tuned for more on this topic.
At the September 2022 County Commission meeting, Resolution 9-23-46 was introduced to create a process that would allow County Commissioners to engage with the public on matters of particular interest in what would be classified as “townhall meetings”. After much discussion on this resolution, it was decided that there were still too many concerns that we could end up (1) making it more difficult to engage with the public and (2) that the burden of the cost would fall on Commissioners if there were not a way to utilize taxpayer funded resources. As such, this resolution was tabled. The next steps are to withdraw this resolution at the October meeting in order to allow for more time to consider what the best method is for ensuring Commissioners can freely engage with their constituents without incurring exorbitant costs and ensure we are compliant with the Open Meetings Acts(aka Sunshine Laws).
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DID YOU KNOW? Our County Convenience Centers have collected over 14,000 tons of household waste just this year.
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This past Friday, I had the opportunity to visit the Williamson County Solid Waste Department. I took the opportunity to learn more about this department and the impressive and important service they provide for our county. If you happen to go by one of our convenience centers on a regular basis, be sure to take time to thank the folks who work there. They are an extremely important part of our county community of workers.
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REDUCE-REUSE-RECYCLE…There is a new way to recycle mattresses in Williamson County and to save them from going into the landfill. As of last week, we have had 181 mattresses donated to the center to support Spring Back Mattress Recycling. Click here for more details.
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The next two meetings will be October 9th and November 13th at 7:00pm at the County Administrative Building. If you are unable to attend in person, you can always view virtually by going to the WC-TV website.
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Don’t forget, the public is now invited to give input at any County Committee Meeting. Click here to see the full list of Committees and when the meet.
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You can find the most up to date public notices including County Commission, Planning Committee and Election Committee meetings here.
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Resolution No. 10-23-1, Resolution Authorizing The Williamson County Mayor To Enter Into A Letter Of Agreement With The State Of Tennessee, Department Of Finance And Administration Grant And Appropriating And Amending The 2023-24 General Sessions Budget By $32,725.00 – Commissioner Sanford
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Resolution No. 10-23-2, Resolution Authorizing The Williamson County Mayor To Enter Into A Grant Contract With The State Of Tennessee, Department Of Commerce And Insurance And Appropriating And Amending The 2023-24 Sheriff's Office Budget By $40,000.00 — Revenues To Come From Grant Funds - Commissioner Sanford
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Resolution No. 10-23-3, Resolution Authorizing A Grant Contract Between Williamson County, Tennessee And The State Of Tennessee, Tennessee Corrections Institute On Behalf Of The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office And Amending The 2023-24 Sheriff's Office Budget By $14,992. - Revenues To Come From Grant Funds - Commissioner Sanford
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Resolution No. 10-23-4, Resolution Authorizing A Grant Contract Between Williamson County, Tennessee And The Department Of Health And Human Services On Behalf Of The Williamson County General Sessions Veterans Treatment Court And Amending The 2023-24 Veterans Treatment Court Budget By $372,662 - Revenues To Come From Grant Funds - Commissioner Sanford
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Resolution No. 10-23-5, Resolution Authorizing A Grant Contract Between Williamson County, Tennessee And The Tennessee Department Of Health And Human Services On Behalf Of The Williamson County General Sessions Dui Court And Amending The 2023-24 DUI Court Budget By $395,875 - Revenues To Come From Grant Funds - Commissioner Sanford
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Resolution No. 10-23-6, Resolution Authorizing The Williamson County Mayor To Enter Into A Grant Contract With The State Of Tennessee, Department Of Safety And Homeland Security And Appropriating And Amending The 2023-24 Sheriff's Office Budget By $40,000.00 — Revenues To Come From Grant Funds - Commissioner Sanford
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Resolution No. 10-23-7, Resolution Accepting A $2,000 Donation From Dollar General To Be Used By The Library For Children’s Literacy Learning Kits - Commissioner Webb
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Resolution No. 10-23-8, Resolution Appropriating And Amending The 2023-24 Parks And Recreation Budget By $31,922.50 - Revenues To Come From Donations - Commissioner Webb
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Resolution No. 10-23-9, Resolution Authorizing The Williamson County Mayor To Sign A Contract Amendment With The State Of Tennessee Department Of Transportation For The Hillsboro Road Project - Commissioners Morton, Torres and Williams
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Resolution No. 10-23-10, Resolution Appropriating And Amending The 2023-24 County Clerks Budget By $50,000 — Revenues To Come From Reserve Account - Commissioner Morton
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Resolution No. 10-23-11, Resolution Appropriating And Amending The 2023-24 Animal Control Budget By $3,000 — Revenues To Come From Donations - Commissioner Morton
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Resolution No. 10-23-12, Resolution Authorizing The Issuance, Sale And Payment Of Not To Exceed $92,440,000 Of General Obligation Public Improvement And School Bonds Of Williamson County, Tennessee, And Providing For The Levy Of Taxes For The Payment Of Debt Service On The Bonds — Commissioner Morton
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Resolution No. 10-23-13, Resolution Authorizing The Issuance, Sale And Payment Of Not To Exceed $14,520,000 Of County District School Bonds Of Williamson County, Tennessee, And Providing For The Levy Of Taxes For The Payment Of Debt Service On The Bonds - Commissioner Morton
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LATE FILED Resolution No. 10-23-27, Resolution Authorizing A Grant Contract Between Williamson County, Tennessee And The State Of Tennessee, Tennessee Department Of Health And Human Services On Behalf Of The Williamson County General Sessions DUI Court And Amending The 2023-24 DUI Court Budget By $142,000 - Revenues To Come From Grant Funds — Commissioner Sanford
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Resolution No. 10-23-14, Resolution Accepting A Donation Of Medical Supplies From Davita Healthcare On Behalf Of Williamson County Animal Control — Commissioner Morton
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Resolution No. 10-23-15, Resolution Authorizing The Williamson County Mayor To Enter Into An Interlocal Agreement With The Arrington Volunteer Fire Department, Williamson Rescue Squad, And Williamson Fire Rescue Concerning Reimbursement For The Purchase Of Software Licenses And Related Subscription Fees — Commissioner Sanford
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Resolution No. 10-23-16, Resolution Authorizing The Williamson County Mayor To Execute A Lease Agreement With Starting Point Ministries For Office Space In The County Community Services Building - Commissioner Morton
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Resolution No. 10-23-17, Resolution Authorizing The Williamson County Mayor To Enter Into A Memorandum Of Understanding With The Public Building Authority Of Williamson County, Tennessee - Commissioner Morton
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Resolution No. 10-23-18, Resolution Accepting A Conditional Donation Of Real Property Located At 5441 Carters Creek Pike, Williamson County, Tennessee From The Burwood High School Trustees - Commissioner Morton
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Resolution No. 10-23-19, Resolution Authorizing The Williamson County Mayor To Execute An Agreement To Purchase Real Property Located At Pewitt Road, Franklin, Tennessee — Commissioner Morton
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Resolution No. 10-23-22, Resolution Authorizing The Williamson County Mayor To Execute A Memorandum Of Understanding With The City Of Franklin For The Provision Of Breathalyzer Tests By The Sheriff's Office To City Employees — Commissioner Sanford
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Resolution No. 10-23-23, Resolution To Accept The 2023 County-Wide Parks And Recreation Master Plan For Williamson County, Tennessee - Commissioners Beathard, Morton, Webb and Hester
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Resolution No. 10-23-25, Resolution Amending The Rules, Regulations And Procedures Of The Williamson County Board Of Commissioners Concerning the Consent Agenda Found Under Rule 3.9 — Commissioner Steve Smith
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WE'RE HIRING
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