Proposed spending freeze rejected

A spending freeze that was proposed for the city of Shelbyville last week was voted down Thursday evening.

In a vote of 4-2, the council rejected the freeze, which was requested last week by councilman Lee Roy Cunningham.

Council member Kay Rose began the discussion on the proposal by commending the city's department heads for "putting a big chill on spending"

Rose said if she has any questions about expenditures, she speaks to the department heads instead of bringing them up at the council's study sessions and saying there has been frivolous spending.

"It is not always necessarily so," Rose said.

Rose said that the two examples that Cunningham brought up last week, $142 for "donuts" and $198 for lunch at the Bell Buckle Café, were legitimate expenditures.

The $142 figure was not for donuts, but was spent on snacks and bottled water during in-service training for 31 police officers.

Mayor Wallace Cartwright told the council that holding the training in-house actually saved the city $17,776, since the training would have cost $250 for each officer, not including overtime and travel time for the two days of the out-of-town school.

"This was an embarrassment to the safety officers," Rose said.

The $198 spent was for lunch with the heads of all the county's emergency management agencies, and Cartwright said that of the eight organizations participating in the meeting, it was Shelbyville's turn to pay for the lunch.

Rose also said she had been checking throughout the year on the state of the budget with city recorder Betty Lamb and former city manager Ed Craig.

"I have been assured repeatedly by both that we're not in such dire circumstances as some have implied," she said.

Cunningham said he was not accusing anyone of misspending money, but stated that the city "got into this problem back in the '90s of spending" and wanted to make sure it did not happen again.

"I'm looking out for the taxpayers of the city of Shelbyville," he said. "If I'm wrong, then I'm wrong."

Cunningham and councilman Al Stephenson voted for the freeze while Rose and council members Jo Ann Holland, Thomas Landers and Jean Pruitt voted no.

Cunningham said last week that he had tried to get the council to vote on the matter "two or three times" but it was never voted on.

"We're going to be in a lot of trouble next year trying to come up with the money to pay these bills," Cunningham said at last week's study session.

City recorder Betty Lamb asked Cunningham what he meant by a spending freeze and Stephenson replied "just on anything other than the normal day-to-day operations."

The council did approve a request to allow the city's Industrial Development Board to form a committee to identify industrial development sites and other related issues.

Walt Wood of the Chamber of Commerce asked the council last week to follow the advice recently given by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) representatives on how to attract industry and jobs to the region.

The council also voted to appeal a ruling to the Tennessee Supreme Court involving a change in zoning laws.

The city lost an appeal last month with Norma and Tommy Wright, Wright Paving Co. Inc. and Custom Stone LLC, who claimed the city did not give adequate notice of a change in zoning laws in 2004 they say impacted their property.

Summary judgment was granted in December 2008 in favor of Shelbyville by Judge Lee Russell, who found that the ordinance in question complied with all public notice requirements.

But a decision filed by the Tennessee Court of Appeals at Nashville ruled that the city's published notice in regards to the 2004 zoning change "failed to provide reasonable notice to landowners that their property may be affected." The court found the notice to be insufficient and the ordinance was declared invalid.

The ordinance in question would have created an I-3 zone for industrial use. At the time, Shelbyville only possessed two industrial zones -- I-1 and I-2. Mining and quarrying activity was allowed as a conditional use in the I-2 zone.

Cunningham voted no on the motion.

Other items voted on Thursday:

* The council also approved the purchase of two portable basketball backboard adapters for Central Memorial Gym, which are to be paid for with donated funds.

* A 25 percent discount on full membership at the Shelbyville Recreation Center for January was also approved

* A motion was passed to allow the public works department to install a drainage tile in Bird Street provided that an easement from the property owner can be obtained. The cost of the project is not to exceed $2,200.

* Also approved was a budget amendment for the police department for a $600 expenditure for a licensing fee for new radio tower equipment.

* A resolution was also passed that removed former city manager Ed Craig as trustee on the city's 401K plan.

* Mayor Cartwright also appointed Mark Clanton to the Interlocal Solid Waste Authority to replace Craig, who served on the board.

* The council also approved an expenditure of $750 for a new deep freeze for the Animal Control Department for storing the remains of dogs that have been put down. The old freezer stopped working this week and the new unit will be purchased from Kincaid Service Co.