E911, Isaiah House 117 asks for increases in county funding

Published 11:49 pm Thursday, April 21, 2022

Five outside agencies appeared before the Carter County Budget committee on Thursday with requests for the new fiscal year.

Isaiah House 117 requested $7,500 for fiscal year 2022-2023 . Director of Finance Bryan white said in the last four months the Elizabethton house has had 49 guests staying a total of 66 days. Carter County is the flagship home with houses now in six states and soon to be eight. The home is visited by other state representatives to see how the program is ran and ask questions about starting a home in other locations.

Carter County 911 Emergency District said that calls for service have increased 25 % in the last two years and have had to add additional dispatchers.

Representatives of the Carter County 911 Emergency District asked the committee for $44,732. The agency has increased calls by 25 percent in the last two years and hired additional dispatchers. In addition, maintenance costs. In six months, the center will be the only accredited center with priority dispatch in the region.

Carter County/Elizabethton Chamber of Commerce came with no request for funds but to only provide an update. Luke Freeman shared the economic impact of the chamber for the county.

“The 2020 snapshot is the most recent with a new one coming in December,” said Freeman. “That report shows that there has been a $37.76 million economic impact which is a 3% increase over 2019. Carter County is one of only 15 counties in Tennessee that showed actual positive growth during the pandemic. There was an 8.5% increase in 2019-20 and 22% for 20-21. We are seeing more and more people come here.”

The UT Extension office in Carter County presented a budget of $128,387 for the new fiscal year which covers five of six employees while one employee is federally funded. The money represents 37% of the overall budget with the University of Tennessee covering 63%. The request is only about $300 more than fiscal year 2021-2022.

Carter County Health Department, which has not asked for an increase in 10 years, requested an additional $3,000 for a cleaning contract to go along with a yearly request of $172,000. That total is 10% of the annual operating budget with the remainder coming from the state and other revenue.

Planning Director Chris Schuettler said there has been a tremendous increase in construction during the year with 900 acres being subdivided for subdivisions in the next year. Schuettler said that he was down one employee but didn’t request any extra funding for planning or flood control.

The Circuit Court did not ask for an increase as they once again requested $5,000.

The Carter County Sheriff’s Office was expected to present a revised budget, but Finance Director Carolyn Watson said department representatives contacted her on Wednesday informing her they wouldn’t be at the meeting.

The next budget hearing will be at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 25.