Ray: Bedford finances better than state's

Bedford County Mayor Eugene Ray said Tuesday night that the county is not in the same fiscal shape as the State of Tennessee, which is anticipating layoffs or other drastic cost-saving measures, or some other counties which did not budget as conservatively.

Ray said the county is operating within its budget.

"Some of the counties are laying off," he said.

Tuesday night's meeting of Bedford County Board of Commissioners included annual reports from various county departments.

School Superintendent Ed Gray repeated his defense of the school system's decision not to give classified employees the same $400 bonus received by other county employees. Gray said that the school system has only a $416,000 fund balance, and it would take nearly all of that amount to give bonuses, leaving only $16,000 in cushion on a $50 million budget.

The school system has two types of employees: classified and certified. Certified employees are teachers and administrators; the rest, such as cafeteria workers, maintenance staff and office staff, are classified employees. Most of the county's teachers received automatic "step" raises this year which were required by the county's labor contract with Bedford County Education Assocation.

Gray said that the school system is required by the state to put money into Basic Education Program reserve and into a fund which can only be used for one-time expenses repaid within a year. He also said that some of the school system's technology programs have been paid for through grant funds, and those grant funds are limited and must be used for the programs or projects specified by the granting authority. Gray also noted that the school system opened and staffed two new facilities this year without any increase in property tax rate.

Gray said that if final audit figures put more money into the fund balance, the school board can go back and review whether or not it can afford to give a bonus to classified employees.

Other highlights of Tuesday's quarterly reports:

* Administrator of Elections Summer Leverette said the state will reimburse the county the $17,000 cost of the special primary and general elections to fill the 62nd District state house seat.

Leverette said the political parties have until mid-May to decide whether to have party primaries for next year's local elections, and which offices will be included in any party primary.

* Communications Center Director Cathy Mathis said the Emergency Communications District (E-911) board has voted to assume maintenance for all five radio tower sites used by local emergency agencies. The contracts for this are now in the hands of the E-911 and county attorneys. Maintenance costs on the towers are estimated at $65,000 to $70,000 per year.

* Bedford County Emergency Medical Services has received a $14,950 grant for the medical first responder program. The money will be used for training and equipping first responders.

* Codes Enforcer Kay Demonbreum said building permits are running behind previous years' levels but are still steady. Demonbreum also said the same developer who recently got approval for a Dollar General Store in Deason also plans to put one in Unionville.

* Deputy Trustee Cindy Ray said that the county's policy of allowing partial payments of property tax bills, so long as the bill is completely paid by the deadline, has been helpful to taxpayers. Ray said the Trustee's office may ask commissioners to approve a one-time exception, considering the bad economy, which would allow delinquent 2008 property taxes to be paid in payments.

* Jason Lewis of Bedford County Health Department said the department has only limited doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine available locally and is giving them to "target populations" such as those under 25, pregnant women, senior citizens, or adults with specific health concerns.