Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Robert Sorrell

Star Correspondent

Local organizations and county departments have begun sharing updates with the Carter County Budget Committee as they consider requests for the next fiscal year.

The Budget Committee of the Carter County Commission is currently reviewing various requests from county departments and local non-profit organizations. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, several nonprofit leaders appeared before the committee to request funding and provide information about services.

Brittany Shell, executive director of the Elizabethton Senior Center, thanked commissioners on Thursday for providing funding over the years.

“We have been here for more than 50 years,” Shell said.

The center is requesting $26,500 from the county, which is the same as it received the previous fiscal year. Shell said she is asking for the same amount of funding, but various costs have increased, particularly supplies and utilities.

Shell said she is raising 23% of the center’s budget through grants and donations. She said she understands a tight budget, which Budget Committee members have said they are dealing with this year.

Funding from the county is not just a monetary donation, Shell said, “it’s a lifeline.”

Taking away funding from the senior center would create a ripple effect in the community, she said. The center provides a wide array of services.

If the center did not receive money from the county, Shell said the Meals on Wheels program would be greatly affected. The program provides food for the county’s elderly population.

Another group, Keep Carter County Beautiful, is requesting $5,000 this year from the county. The nonprofit organization has provided services in the county for nine years, said Director Don Hlavaty. Every member of Keep Carter County Beautiful is a volunteer, he added.

“No one gets a dime,” he said.

The organization received $5,000 from the county. Hlavaty said funding went toward cleanup projects around the county, including Roan Mountain and the Watauga River.

In addition, the group picks up trash at Watauga Lake, along Milligan Highway and in the city. This past February, the group conducted a cleanup at Watauga Lake, where tires, washing machines, televisions and a stove were removed.

Hlavaty said the organization also plants trees. They have recently only tried to plant mature trees, because saplings are more difficult to maintain. Mature trees, however, are more expensive, he told the committee.

Executive Director Shelly Parham shared an update on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Elizabethton/ Carter County and its program for teenagers.

“The club, to me, is an essential part of the county,” said Parham, who added that the organization supports the future of the community’s children.

The teen program at the club, which is funded with money from the club, has doubled in size, she said. The program helps children who are at the greatest risk of becoming “at risk,” and helps teenagers graduate from school, gain employment and employment experience. Some teenagers are given a job at the club, she said.

The Budget Committee also heard from the county’s volunteer fire departments and the highway department.

Michael Walsh, representing the county’s volunteer firefighters, said the departments are requesting $75,000 for each department, an increase from last year. There are currently seven volunteer departments in the county.

Shannon Burchett, the county’s road superintendent, said he is requesting an increase in funding for asphalt, gravel, salt and vehicles.

Carter County’s communications officer, Mark Riding, who has been working on improving the county’s radio communications system, said his proposed budget is basically the same as last year’s request.

Riding said he is asking for an increase in the maintenance and repairs service to cover radio repairs. He said some radios are broken and need new parts. He said they can be fixed rather than purchasing new radios.

Riding also said he needs extra funding for shipping. He said his test equipment needs to be calibrated and he must ship it out.

Other organizations asking for funding include the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center, Carter Compassion Center and the Assistance & Resource Ministries.

The Budget Committee will continue to hold hearings as it prepares the 2024-2025 budget for Carter County.

Last year, the commission passed the county’s budget on June 30. The county is required to pass a new budget prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, according to the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office.