A request for funds to pay for architectural fees as part of a long-time project to improve security at the Carter County Courthouse was referred to the Budget Committee following a trio of votes during Monday evening’s meeting of the Carter County Commission.

Carter County Mayor Leon Humphrey presented a request for the Commission to allocate $8,000 from the county’s reserve fund balance to pay for design services by Reedy & Sykes Architecture and Design.

Humphrey said the project has been in works for several months, but designs are needed at this time to allow the project to move forward with planning.

The project will upgrade security at the courthouse by creating a single entry point for public access, installing electronic security doors in the building, and updating the camera surveillance system.

“Do I know what the final cost on the project will be? No,” Humphrey said, adding the designs must be completed before a final cost can be estimated.

Humphrey said he did not have sufficient funds in the buildings and grounds budget to pay for the designs to be drafted and that is why he approached the Commission about taking the money out of the fund balance.

Commissioner Brad Johnson took issue with the fact Humphrey brought his request directly to the Commission rather than following procedure by presenting it to the proper committees. Johnson said the funding request to pay for designs had not been approved by the Courthouse Security Committee, the Buildings and Grounds Committee, or the Budget Committee.

Under the commission’s rules, funding requests must first be presented to the Budget Committee for review. If the committee approves the request, it is then presented to the full Commission for final approval. The rules do provide exceptions for emergency situations that arise.

“It is not classified as an emergency matter,” Johnson said of the request by Humphrey.

Johnson made a motion to send the request back to the Courthouse Security Committee, Buildings and Grounds Committee, and the Budget Committee for consideration. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Danny Ward, who noted that the project has been under discussion and planning for over a year and no one approached the county about allocating funds during the budget process earlier this year.

Humphrey said he understood the concerns with following procedures, but he felt the need justified an exception to the rules. The designs are needed for the project to move forward, Humphrey said, adding he didn’t see a reason to delay the matter.

When the vote was taken on Johnson’s motion, it failed by a margin of 12-9, with 13 being the minimum number needed to pass. Those voting in favor of sending the funding request back to the committees were: Commissioners Willie Campbell, Buford Peters, Dr. Robert Acuff, Nancy Brown, Mike Hill, Al Meehan, Johnson, L.C. Tester, Ward, Bobbie Gouge-Dietz, Sonja Culler, and Kelly Collins. Those opposing the motion were: Commissioners Charles VonCannon, Isaiah Grindstaff, Ross Garland, Timothy Holdren, Randall Jenkins, John Lewis, Scott Simerly, Robert Carroll, and Cody McQueen. Commissioners Ronnie Trivett, Larry “Doc” Miller, and Ray Lyons were absent.

After that motion failed, Lewis moved to allocate $8,000 from the county’s fund balance to pay for the design work. His motion was seconded by Jenkins but also failed on a vote by a margin of 12-9.

Those voting in favor of Lewis’ motion were: Acuff, Brown, Johnson, VonCannon, Grindstaff, Garland, Holdren, Jenkins, Lewis, Simerly, Carroll, and McQueen. Those opposing allocating the money from fund balance were: Campbell, Peters, Hill, Meehan, Tester, Ward, Gouge-Dietz, Culler, and Collins.

Members of the Commission moved on to other business but later in the meeting returned to the matter of funding for the design work at the request of Culler, who serves as Chairwoman of the Budget Committee.

Tester made a motion to refer the funding request directly to the Budget Committee without also sending it back to the other committees. Ward seconded that motion, which ultimately passed by a margin of 19-2, with only Carroll and Lewis opposing.