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By Robert Sorrell

Star Correspondent

The Carter County Commission on Monday evening approved the 2024-2025 fiscal budget without raising taxes.

With a 19-4 vote, the property tax rate will remain the same as it was last year, which was set at $2.18 per $100 of assessed value.

Commissioners Danny Deal, Aaron Frazier, Ginger Holdren and Angie Odom voted against the budget.

Last year, the commission approved a 15-cent tax increase, raising the rate from $2.03 to $2.18. The tax increase helped cover the cost of $5 pay raises at the Carter County Sheriff’s Office.

The county’s budget is divided into the general fund, debt service, Carter County Schools, Elizabethton City Schools and the Carter County Highway Department.

With a 13-10 vote, the commission stopped plans to move forward with the purchase of the Dashiell Lodge Masonic Temple, which the county had proposed to transition into an archives building.

Commissioner Danny Deal made the motion to not move forward after the county discovered concerns following an inspection.

Deal and others have suggested moving the archives to the former Herman Robinson campus of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology on Arney Street. The county recently acquired the property from the state and currently uses it for maintenance and other departments.

County Historian Lisa Germaine, who serves on the records committee and has been involved with locating a place for the archives, spoke during the public comment period.

Germaine said the county has been looking for space for nine years and said she was aware renovations would be required wherever the archives go to meet required standards.

Currently, Germaine said about 5,000 to 6,000 square feet of space is needed to store the county’s records, but that number will increase. The lodge building provides about 10,000 square feet and “would be adequate for now,” Germaine said.

She added there would be issues at any location.

The county currently has a $900,000 budget for archive expenses. The fund can only be used for the archives.

Commissioners also approved a motion to allow the Carter County Sheriff’s Office to apply for a grant for funds to pay for body cameras.