Blount Co. Commission will be voting on the new budget in June. Commissioner Walker recently asked for input at his blog regarding the top five areas where you'd like to see increased spending and the top five areas you'd like to see decreased or eliminated.

Everybody likes to gripe about taxes, and lots of folks, especially in Blount County, want lower taxes and less government. When you actually look at the budget, though, it's easy to see lots of areas where it would be nice to spend more and hard to find areas to cut.

It's even harder looking at it from 50,000 feet without knowing the details on some of these programs. It's a tough job to figure all this out every year (maybe a two-year budget cycle would be good?), regardless of your politics. I don't envy our elected officials and department heads.

Anyway, off the top of my head here are my priorities, better late than never...

A report in the Daily Times today on last nights budget meeting states that the sheriff needs more money to replace the School Resource Officers he transferred to other positions over a year ago.

Link

Request for SRO funds

"As Blount County Budget Committee ponders the shape of the proposed 2008-2009 fiscal year budget, Sheriff James Berrong is asking for more than $2 million extra to make deputy and correction officer pay more competitive and fund 13 new school resource officer positions.

Berrong is asking for about $400,00 in additional funds to hire new SROs. In the 2006-2007 budget, the sheriff's office had 22 people assigned to the SRO program on the books, but the number of SROs declined as they were transferred to other duties. In August 2007, there were about 10 or 11 officers in the schools.

Berrong said he moved the SRO officers to the patrol division to keep up with the demand for services caused by a growing population.

"That was a very unpopular decision," Berrong said.

"If you get this money, will there be a least one SRO in each school?" Commission Vice Chairman Steve Samples asked.

"Yes," Berrong said.

The SRO positions were "transferred" to the Patrol Division in order to cover VACANT, EMPTY, NOT FILLED positions.

That then left VACANT, EMPTY, NOT FILLED positions in the SRO Division.

Now he wants to fund these again?

Where did the previous funding go? Those positions were transferred and funded with existing vacancies.

At least that is how it works in the accountable institutions I have been around.

The sheriffs department has maintained ~25 vacancies for the last 3 years. Positions never filled. That equals ~$1,000,000 in salary and benefits.

Why, if they are not filled, do we keep allocating funds for them over and over and over?

How much were we looking for to fund Highway improvements?

A Wheel Tax is needed?

David Ballard
Blount County Commissioner

The BC Education Committee meets on Sept 11

From Link...

Now what are your concerns and comments on the agenda? What do you want to know?

I would like to know what if anything is being done about those SROs that are no longer in all the schools.

AGENDA

EducationCommittee
Tuesday,September11,2007-12:00noon

Blount County Schools Central Office
Members: Chairman JohnKeeble, Gerald Kirby, Joe McCulley, Kenneth Melton,Bob Proffitt, Wendy Pitts Reeves, and Steve Hargis.
1. Approval of minutes of August7,2007.
2. Public Input on Items on the Agenda.
3. Reports:
A. Maintenance/Construction Report.
B. Reports regarding Carpenters Athletic Fields,New Union Grove and Townsend
Schools Construction.
C. Financial Report.
4. Old Business:
A. Discussion Regarding New School property on north end of BlountCounty.
5. New Business:
A. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Report to Full Commission Concerning
Each County School’s Core Capacity and Current Enrollment.
B. Discussion Regarding Report Concerning Student Testing and No Child Left
Behind.
C. Other.