TCCA reps talk issues at region meeting

HENRY HORTON STATE PARK -- County commissioners from a number of southern Middle Tennessee counties discussed education, fee offices and the state's new building code program during a regional meeting of Tennessee County Commissioners Association Thursday night.

TCCA, which represents the concerns of the state's county commissioners on Capitol Hill, holds a series of meetings across the state each fall, both to inform commissioners about what is taking place and to solicit their input on state laws and policies which might have an impact on county government.

Thursday night's meeting was held at Henry Horton State Park and drew a healthy turnout of county commissioners from a multi-county region. Commissioners overflowed the section of the park's restaurant which had been reserved for them, and when they moved to a nearby meeting room for the program additional chairs had to be brought in.

Local officials in attendance included Bedford County Mayor Eugene Ray, county commissioners Bobby Fox and John Brown, and State Sen. Jim Tracy. Tracy's colleague State Sen. Bill Ketron also attended, and both legislators were commended for their support of county governments.

TCCA executive director David Connor gave a legislative report.

School update

Schools make up the lion's share of many county budgets, and even though county school boards make the day-to-day decisions about the school system county commissioners are responsible for funding and voters may hold them responsible when things go wrong. Connor reported on state initiatives such as the Diploma Project. Previously, some of Tennessee's students often were not as proficient as their diplomas and transcripts would indicate, and Connor described the Diploma Project as an effort to promote "truth in advertising" by stiffening graduation requirements. But Connor noted that the more stringent requirements might result in individual school systems faring worse on the annual school system report card, and predicted county commissioners would hear from angry parents as a result.

"You need to have an understanding of that," said Connor.

Connor said that in connection with the federal Race To The Top program, the state is trying to make better use of its testing and student performance data and will tie teacher evaluations more directly to student performance.

Connor said a $10 billion federal program will help to preserve education jobs. Tennessee has not been faced with the massive school layoffs seen in other states like California, but it will benefit from the education jobs program. He said the funds must be used for school-level staff, not central office staff. He told county commissioners that school systems will have to determine the best way to allocate the money and may need to shift funds and bring budget amendments to the county commission for approval.

Fee offices

Connor answered several questions about the so-called "fee offices" -- offices such as court clerks which bring in revenue from fees and fines and which, in some counties, set their own salaries and budgets. In some cases, economic hard times have forced counties to hold the line on employee raises, but fee offices have continued to grant generous raises to their employees.

The inequity does not exist in counties like Bedford that have brought the fee offices more directly under the county budget. Officials of fee offices can still petition the courts for relief, however, if they believe the county government is not giving them sufficient funds to operate.

Building codes

Tennessee will begin enforcing building codes for the rural areas which do not have them. Bedford County has already adopted building codes and does its own inspections, so it will not be affected, but some other counties do not enforce building codes. Counties which do not have building codes can choose to opt out of the new state program, but they will have to re-vote on the issue every time a new county commission takes office.

Connor said the state chose to begin enforcing building codes because Tennessee ranks poorly in two statistics: residential fire deaths and residential energy use. Enforcement of building codes is expected to improve fire safety and energy efficiency for newly-constructed homes.

Connor said Tennessee Homebuilders Association supported the program once a requirement for residential sprinkler systems was eliminated, but he said there may still be individual builders who are opposed to it. He said the state's bankers also favor the program, since they want to protect the value of the homes which they finance.

In counties where the state does begin doing building codes enforcement, there will be no cost to the county. The county can agree to serve as an "issuing agent" for state building permits, and if that happens the county will receive a portion of the fee revenue.