It appears the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office could force the county to raise its property taxes as a way to guarantee the bonds to pay for the construction of the Claiborne County Jail expansion.
According to county attorney James Estep III, the commission must pledge property tax revenues as a ‘good faith show’ to fund the repayment of the bonds.
The matter was discussed Monday evening during the regular monthly meeting of the Claiborne Commission.
County resident Joe Brooks, who continues to express his unhappiness with the expansion project, says the comptroller’s office told him the next fiscal year budget will not be approved if money is not in place to guarantee the pay back of the bond issue.
According to the state comptroller, the county will need to prove one of three things in order to have its 2016-17 budget approved. The first two alternatives are a three-year proven track record or a federal prisoner contract – both which Brooks says is not in place.
The third alternative, Brooks said, is to either reduce costs or increase taxes.
The comptroller said the housing of federal inmates as a way to pay for the expansion “is not going to fly,” according to Brooks.
County taxpayers, he said, have generated some $23 million since 2006 to fund the jail.
The initial wheel tax in place to repay the notes for the original Claiborne Justice Center has generated well over $8.6 million, Brooks said.
Since 2006, the Sheriff’s Office has generated about $12 million in workhouse revenues, he added.
During the opening moments of the discussion, commissioner Charlton Vass requested the two bond resolutions be amended so that the public may vote on the matter during the August elections.
“There’s a mechanism provided in the resolution for a referendum already in place. So, I don’t think it’s a proper amendment, at this point,” said Estep, adding it was his opinion the state statutes already provide for a referendum vote by the public whenever a county adopts a bond resolution.
Commission chairman David Mundy agreed with Estep, saying he had spoken about the issue with Carolyn O’Dell of the Claiborne Election Commission.
There is currently a push to acquire some 1,600 signatures for a petition to take the jail expansion project and the corresponding bond issue to a public vote. Those names will go through a stringent county and state certification process to determine if they are “actively registered” county voters. The Claiborne commissioners are expected to decide on the adoption of the referendum resolution during the regular April meeting.
The bond issue resolution will be null and void if the commissioners fail to adopt the referendum resolution, according to Brooks and Mundy.
It could cost the county taxpayers up to $80,000 to hold a special election. Otherwise, it should cost nothing if the referendum vote goes on the ballot of one of the regularly scheduled elections in August or November.
The bond resolutions were adopted by a vote of 12 to nine. Those voting in favor of the resolutions were commissioners Mundy, Zachary Bunch, Juanita Honeycutt, Mike Campbell, Ann Bowling, Dennis Estes, Joan Cosby, Shawn Peters, James Hatmaker, Steve Mason, William Jessie and Dan Longworth.
Those voting against the resolutions were commissioners Vass, Whitt Shuford, Bill Keck, Gary Poore, Anthony Rowe, Nicholas Epperson, Mitchell Cosby, Bill Johnson and Aimee Upton.
The Claiborne Progress will have more on this subject in upcoming issues and on its website.
Reach Jan Runions at 423-254-5588 or on Twitter @scribeCP.
