John Coffelt, Editor

The Coffee County Budget and Finance Committee approved a budget proposal that will go before the full commission on June 24 that includes a $1.9 million deficit, increases in employee salaries and no increases in property taxes. 

At the beginning of the meeting, County Commissioner Benton Brown, who does not serve on the committee, addressed Budget and Finance during public comment section. He said he wasn’t for a 10 property tax increase, but said hearing that members of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department have to have three to four jobs to help make ends meet hit home with him, as he serves on the Manchester Police Department. He added after doing the math and talking to others, he figured that the sheriff’s department needed a 20% raise in order to make them comparable what Manchester and Tullahoma police officers make.

“That would make them competitive with Manchester and Tullahoma,” Brown said.

He said nobody wanted a property tax increase, so his proposal to Budget and Finance was to implement a five year wheel tax for $20 per car, with a limit of four cars per household. He added that according to the Tennessee Department of Revenue, Coffee County has 55,000 registered cars in this county.

“At $20 a car, that generates $1.1 million,” Brown said. “That gives the sheriff the raises he needs and any other county employee that is behind the times.”

He said if the county does a wheel tax and put a time limit on it, it will sustain the raises plus garner extra money until the commission can find a revenue stream to take its place.

It was clarified for the wheel tax to be approved, it must get a two-thirds vote from the commission in two meetings. After Brown’s comment, the committee looked over the numbers and different options for the fiscal budget with and without a property tax increase, a wheel tax and employee raises.

Budget and Finance Chairman Tim Morris called his “budget freeze” proposal a temporary measure in hopes that revenues improve over the coming year.

 “If this doesn’t work, next year we’re going to have to raise property taxes,” Morris said. “At least we’ve show the citizenship that we’ve tried to do it and find (funds).”

 The proposal includes a 5% raise for employees to be applied by department heads following evaluations, plus a roughly $400,000 plan to increase sheriff department pay by about $3 per hour to get starting pay on par with Manchester and Tullahoma police departments. To cover part of these costs $755,000 will be pulled from the Debt Service account.

 Commissioner Roger Chambers presented the debt service option to reduce the deficit to a more acceptable level. Not all commissioners agreed on waiting until next year for the property tax increase.

 Commissioner Terry Hershman said “next year it will be twice as hard to raise taxes. The deficit is going to compound if we don’t.” 

 Hershman, however, seconded the motion to approve the budget freeze proposal.

 Coffee County Mayor Dennis Hunt called the tax increase minuscule.

 “I think everybody is aware of the 20-cent tax increase that Tullahoma has proposed,” Hunt said offering sympathy to Tullahoma residents who would have seen a 30-cent tax increase had both been approved.

 He voiced caution of the deficit spending, “If you want to keep eating that fund balance, go ahead and eat it up.” 

 Hunt said he felt that there likely would have been enough commissioner votes to pass a 10-cent tax increase. 

 The 2024-25 budget that included an 8.5% employee increase was passed last year with a $2.1 million deficit, but is looking to come in roughly $500,000 in the red. 

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.