Brownsville Radio News Archives
Where to go next? County budget fails
August 30, 2011
Months and months of work by the county commission’s budget committee went down the drain last night when county commissioners failed two main parts of the proposed 2011/2012 budget.
The Haywood County Commission met in called session Tuesday night in an attempt to pass three main resolutions: 1) budget appropriations, or spending, for various county general departments; 2) a tax rate representing a 13% increase to pay for that spending; and 3) a nearly quarter of a million dollar spending measure for nonprofit organizations.
Nineteen of twenty commissioners were present last night with only Charles Wills absent. By law, a simple majority of the total number of commissioners, or 11 of 20, is required to pass any of the resolutions.
Ten commissioners voted no to the appropriations (spending) resolution — nine voted yes. So the measure passed due to lack of simple majority Even though the spending measure failed, commissioners went forward with their agenda, voting on the tax rate and the appropriations to nonprofit charitable organizations.
The proposed $2.70 tax rate almost passed. The vote was ten yes and nine no. Commissioner Becky Booth, a member of the budget committee defected on the spending measure, voting no, but joined fellow budget committee members in voting yes for the $2.70 tax rate.
Commissioners passed 11 to 8 to the charitable giving measure, which provides $245, 216 to various charitable and non-profit organizations.
What does it take to pass?
There are twenty members of the county commission and passage of any of the measures required a simple majority or 11 votes. Commissioner Charles Wills was absent so 19 commissioners cast their votes Tuesday night.
Under lots of pressure
Budget makers have been pressured by the requirements forced by the new $15 million debt and rising costs associated with operating the justice complex.
A last minute deal crafted last Thursday chopped the proposed tax rate from $2.90 to $2.70, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy the majority of commissioners or the crowd that packed the county courtroom during last week’s public hearing or last night’s county commission meeting.
The commission suffered stinging criticism from the county’s largest taxpayer and employer, Haywood Company, during last week’s public hearing.
What’s next?
The county’s budget committee will have to meet and decide what to do to satisfy their fellow county commissioners. Lowering the tax rate and reducing spending will certainly be the topics.
But just what to cut?
Stay tuned.
Failed budget to cause cash crunch
August 30, 2011
County leaders say the county is likely to run out of money because tax bills will be delayed thanks to the failed budget.
Mayor Franklin Smith and Trustee Sonny Howse said tax bills probably can’t be sent by the end of October and the resulting delay in property tax receipts will cause cash flow problems. Howse said Tuesday night that the county wouldn’t have enough money to pay its bills.
How much cash will be required and just when the tax bills can be sent won’t be known until the commission finally adopts a budget. Leaders will also have to figure out where to borrow the money.
Bad day for government — budget failed and they got sued
August 30, 2011
Brownsville Radio learned late Thursday night that Brownsville, Stanton and Haywood County leaders are the subjects of a lawsuit filed in Chancery Court.
Mayor Franklin Smith was served with the suit just prior to Thursday night’s tension filled county commission meeting.
Brownsville Radio has not obtained a copy of the suit but sources told us that community advocate Nick Crafton filed the complaint asking that government and the committee overseeing the urban growth boundary reconsiders their work.
How they voted
On the appropriations (spending)
Yes — Kathy Chapman, Janice King, Allen King, Robert Green, Jerry Smith, Leonard Jones, Robert Earl Thornton, Marjorie Vaulx and Joe Stephens (9)
No — Bob Hooper, Teddy Waldrop, Samuel Mathes, Richard Jameson John Gorman, Chris Lea, Becky Booth, Larry Gene Stanley, Jefferey Richmond and Wally Eubanks (10)
On the tax rate (raising rate from $2.38 to $2.70)
Yes— Kathy Chapman, Janice King, Allen King, Robert Green, Jerry Smith, Leonard Jones, Robert Earl Thornton, Marjorie Vaulx, Joe Stephens and Becky Booth. (10)
No — Bob Hooper, Teddy Waldrop, Samuel Mathes, John Gorman, Chris Lea, Larry Gene Stanley, Jeffery Richmond and Wally Eubanks and Richard Jameson (9)
On the non-profit contribution
Yes — Kathy Chapman, Janice King, Allen King, Robert Green, Jerry Smith, Leonard Jones, Robert Earl Thornton, Marjorie Vaulx, Joe Stephens, Becky Booth and Jefferey Richmond. (11)
No — Bob Hooper, Teddy Waldrop, Samuel Mathes, John Gorman, Chris Lea, Larry Gene Stanley, Walley Eubanks and Richard
Jameson (8)
Citizens committee to meet Thursday
August 30, 2011
Former Brownsville Mayoral candidate and outspoken budget critic Larry Fitts says he is convening a citizens group this Thursday night. The group will meet at the Coffee Pot on East Main.
Click here to see Appropriations to Nonprofit Charitable Organizations
Looking at Haywood County political boundaries — group appointed
August 30, 2011
Will county commissioner boundary lines — the districts as they are commonly called — change? They could. Thursday night seven people were appointed to the county’s reapportionment committee. The group will study the 2010 Haywood County census to see if there are population shifts that should also shift lines of political representation.
Mayor Franklin Smith appointed Wally Eubanks, Marjorie Vaulx, Robert Green, Teddy Waldrop, Becky Booth, John Duckworth and himself to the committee.
Wreck on Mercer Road
August 30, 2011
It sounded bad and it was an ugly scene but fortunately no one was seriously hurt in a wreck on Mercer Road Tuesday. EMS made the scene where one of the two cars flipped.
Home invasion and men with guns keep police on high alert
August 30, 2011
Two particularly scary incidents Tuesday have police investigators busy.
At 301 Poplar a woman woke up in the night to hear noises in her home. She confronted a man that had kicked in her back door and was inside her home. Police say she retreated to her bedroom, locked the door and called police. Officers say the burglar had fled by the time they arrived.
At Jo’s Coin Op two men confronted the business owner — demanding money at gunpoint. Police say Jerry Cozart was outside the North Washington Street washerette when two men came from behind the building. At least one man pointed a gun and told Cozart to give him money. Cozart went back into the store and called police — the two men fled.
They are described as two black males — likely teenagers. One was skinny and shirtless and hid his face with a white bandanna. The other man was stocky and wore a brown short and a hat.
Lakendrick Deberry in jail — no bond
August 30, 2011
The man witnesses say shot and killed a man last week and seriously wounded his teenage son managed to stay on the loose for several days — but was jailed yesterday. Lakendrick Deberry, 19, was taken into custody by Lauderdale County authorities where he turned himself in.
Deberry faces first-degree murder charges in the death of Cedric Persons. Marquise Person, 16, was badly injured in the incident and remains in the hospital.
According to court documents and published reports, the younger Deberry argued with friends before the shooting broke out. Deberry is accused of shooting the young man and his dad, Cedric, in the back. Deberry is alleged to have used a handgun. Cedric Deberry, 36 was pronounced dead at Haywood Park Hospital while the teenager was flown to a Memphis hospital.
The shooting occurred on Lark Street not far from where the Persons lived.
Deberry was arraigned in Haywood County General Sessions Court yesterday and was ordered held without bond.
Sheriff Melvin Bond said Deberry is being held in a protective custody cellblock at the new county jail. “He won’t come in contact with other prisoners. His only contact will be with staff,” the sheriff said.
County commission poised to vote
August 30, 2011
Haywood County Commissioners will be asked to vote tonight on the long-awaited 2011/2012 county government budget. The county’s budget committee has worked for months on the spending and income plan that has roiled many taxpayers.
Shaken by plans to raise the rate 22% the courthouse was packed last Thursday night during a public hearing with taxpayers protesting the rate increase.
At Thursday’s meeting the budget planners announced a last-minute change that lowered the proposed tax rate to $2.70, a 13% increase. The county’s tax rate is presently $2.38.
Budget makers have tried to balance the budget by requiring more income without changing county services. The lower proposed rate introduced last week reduced county employee benefits and took away a proposal for a one-time worker bonus payment. Still, many say that’s not enough.
Passage of the budget requires a simple majority — or 11 votes. The budget committee is made up of six county commissioners — all of whom have voted to recommend the current budget.
Police say no new information about last week’s drive-by
August 30, 2011
Authorities say there were definitely other people involved in last Monday night’s drive-by shooting that slightly injured one man, but so far they’ve made no arrests.
Hunter Freels, 19, was allegedly driving the Cadillac Escalade from which the shots were fired. The incident occurred on Bradford Street. A bullet that, according to investigators, did not require medical care grazed one man.
In their original report police said they believed gunfire came from two shooters riding in the SUV but so far they have not identified the suspects.
Brownsville’s Planning Board manages building issues
August 29, 2011
A badly damaged downtown building has been sold and is likely headed for renovation. The building, located just a couple of doors east of the courthouse at 24 East Main, has been sold by Tommy Timbes to Johnny Burton.
The transaction was discussed last week at the Brownsville Planning Board meeting. Planners had given Timbes a limited time to fix or raze the structure. And, you may recall, the office building used over the course of years for everything from an insurance office to a computer store has a severely damaged roof.
Burton has cooperated with city building inspector Jerry McClinton in having the premises examined by a structural engineer. The new owner plans to do extensive repairs and renovations to the building and was provided 45 days by the planning commission to present a plan and to request a permit to perform the work. When asked about his plans for the building, Mr. Burton said he was in the process of deciding — but that a church he pastors in Covington may be allowed to use the building for bible studies and meetings.
Planners defer decision on church
The Family Life Fellowship Church is planning to construct a 14,000 sq. ft. church building on an eleven-acre site near the intersection of East Jefferson Street and Anderson Avenue. Because the land is in a residential zoned area, the church will have to obtain a special use permit from the Board of Zoning Appeals prior to proceeding with the building plans.
Condemnation caught up in debt issues
At its last meeting the planners indicated intentions to commence condemnation proceedings for a dilapidated house owned by Lynn Kirkpatrick on North Lafayette. The house is between Key Corner and North Cherry. However, the city will have to wait because county government recently obtained a judgment against Kirkpatrick for unpaid property taxes and now has a judgment lien against the property. According to codes enforcement officer Rene Hendrix, Kirkpatrick has not paid county taxes on the property since 2000, or City taxes since 2003 and owes thousands of dollars in back property taxes.
Brownsville’s Downtown program formulating work
August 29, 2011
City of Brownsville Planning Consultant Sharon
Hayes told the Brownsville Planning Board that the local steering group for the Tennessee Downtown Program sponsored by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development has established five goals for its work in Brownsville over the next year.
Those are
(1) to address development of vacant lots
(2) providing Wi - Fi access for the downtown area
(3) making proposals for customer driven retail businesses
(4) to establish recommendations for way-finding and commercial signage
(5) to address the structural integrity of downtown buildings.
There will be a regional meeting of the Tennessee Downtown Program in Jackson on September 27. Contact Ms. Hayes at City Hall for more information on the Downtown Program.
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Haywood Sheriff and Brownsville Police working lots of theft investigations
August 29, 2011
There’s a good bit of crime news to talk about this morning —
Lets go to rural Haywood County first —
• Patrick Kelley called deputies when he found his back door kicked in at 8104 Stanton/Koko Road. Missing is a washer and dryer, computer, air conditioner and lawn mower.
• David Landreth at 36 Post Road called investigators when he discovered about $1500 worth of tools missing from his shed.
Brownsville Police have a number of new incidents to investigate
• Carolyn Cryer at 405 North Park is missing a couple of televisions.
• Burglars damaged a door but didn’t take anything when they tried to break into Cash Express — that business located at East Main near Park Ave.
• Somebody went into Bianca Adams’ home at 110 Church. An ipod is missing.
• And about 1 this morning police were called to 1021 North Mclemore. Eominque Parker told police somebody had broken in and stolen an Xbox.
Graffiti disappearing in Brownsville
August 29, 2011
The City of Brownsville, and the youth, serving community service hours for Juvenile Court, worked together this past weekend to clean up graffiti throughout the city. The young people who are under the supervision of the Court are painting over graffiti found around town on businesses and streets. City officials say the program will continue during the year in a coordinated with the Haywood County Juvenile Court.
Week of violent crimes extends to new incident in Stanton
August 26, 2011
Sheriff Melvin Bond said a Stanton man was robbed at gunpoint during a home invasion. Deputies arrived on the scene at 4 Wilkerson Street about 1:30 Thursday afternoon.
Tyler Evans told investigators that he answered a knock on his door and was greeted by a man with a gun who forced him back inside his house.
The gunman made Evans walk through the home apparently making sure nobody else was there. The robber demanded Evans give him a bag. He used the bag to haul off a video game.
The man hit Evans with the gun — knocking him to the floor. He took items from Evans including his billfold.
Sheriff Bond said the bandit did not wear a mask and Evans doesn’t know him. He described the gunman as a stocky built black make, 6’ to 6’2” — green shirt — light colored jeans— braided hair with beads.
Budget planners trim proposed new tax
Courthouse filled with unhappy taxpayers
August 26, 2011
A lively session Thursday night at the county’s public hearing on a budget plan that was changed during a last-minute meeting of the county’s budget committee Thursday afternoon.
Budget committee members were called together sometime Thursday and most, including this media, were surprised by the news of the meeting that decided major changes in the committee’s budget recommendation.
The proposed tax rate will be lower, but it will come primarily at the expense of county workers.
The county courthouse was packed with the crowd spilling from every doorway.
Apparently, leaders had conducted an informal survey of county commissioners and concluded that the proposed 52-cent increase had little hope of passage. Mayor Franklin Smith and the budget committee said they’d met for two hours earlier Thursday — prior to the 7pm public hearing. Mayor Smith reported that the group made new cuts in the budget and also amended their anticipated income.
The mayor said the committee is now recommending a 32-cent increase, raising the property tax from $2.38 to $2.70. (The earlier recommendation was $2.90) The new rate checks in at a hike of about 13%.
How did they do it?
Proposed new items in the budget:
• Under present rules, county government pays $2,500 of employee’s $5,000 health insurance deductible. Under the proposed new budget, employees will pay the first $500, the county will pay the next $1,500 and the employee will pay the next $3,000. Bottom line? Employees will pay $1,000 more than previously — taxpayers will pay $1,000 less.
• County workers will be required to pay more of the health insurance premium. Individuals will pay $514 more — families will pay $1,028 more.
• The proposed one-time “bonuses” of $500 for full time workers and $250 for part time workers were eliminated from the budget plan.
• Several less impactful expenses were reduced which mostly focused on individual travel accounts.
• Mayor Smith said the new spending cuts totaled $249,500, but the amended income budgets resulted in a net loss of income.
• The proposed budget is still a deficit budget (predicted to spend more than it takes in) and it does not include enough money to fund the debt service completely.
Lots of discussion
If there was anyone in the audience that was a proponent of the county’s new budget they didn’t make themselves known. But a number of people clearly against the spending made comments including some impassioned pleas from property owners saying they were having a hard time paying their bills.
There were also stinging remarks like one that came from former Mayoral candidate Larry Fitts who said, “we are looking for a different direction.”
Perhaps the most compelling comments came from the leadership of the county’s largest personal property taxpayer, Haywood Company.
Haywood Company Plant Manager Steve Correa said county leaders need to the same as the private sector — and that is “make do with less.”
“You better learn that you can’t spend money you don’t have,” Correa commented.
Correa called the new near $20m debt “totally irresponsible.” He said county government was behaving like a “kid with a new credit card that spends and spend and spends and when the bill arrives says uh-oh.”
Haywood Company’s controller said that he’d called county and city leaders in May during his budget process and was told there would be no tax increase. He said the unexpected increase would result in his budget being out-of- whack by an estimated $50,000. And he warned commissioners to be careful about taxing industries to the point that other locations for plants become more attractive than Haywood County.
Correa concluded his remarks suggesting that budget makers lower the tax rate by another 12-cents.
New budget committee resolve
A week ago the budget committee voted 5 to 1 to recommend the budget — in a session held Monday they voted 4 to 2 — but the new budget, formulated in what amounted to a private session Thursday afternoon, passed the committee unanimously.
(Interestingly, what we learned did not pass Thursday was a motion at the budget committee meeting to cut county commissioner pay by 50%. The vote, we were told by a source, was 3 to 3. Commissioners Allen King, Joe Stephens and Becky Booth voted for the cut. Commissioners Robert Green, Jerry Smith and Leonard Jones voted against the cut.
Next move
The vote comes next Tuesday night. How will they vote? Stay tuned.
Parks & Recreation employees and boss all unhappy —
August 25, 2011
The Haywood County Parks and Recreation Board has placed its director on probation and ordered counseling for the director and her employees
Nancy Cates is on probation for six months.
Brownsville Radio contacted Parks Board Chairman Carolyn Flagg Thursday and learned that during a meeting of the board Wednesday night board members discussed complaints filed by Parks’ employees who work under Cates’ supervision. Workers say Cates “harasses” them and also charged that Cates uses county property inappropriately. During the meeting motion was made to terminate Cates but it died for lack of a second. The board has ordered that Cates undergo “anger management” counseling and also ordered that all five employees enroll in the same program Brownsville and Haywood County governments jointly fund the Parks and Recreation Department.
Gunfire on Lark Street in Brownsville— man murdered teenager shot
August 25, 2011
Update:
Brownsville Police have issued arrest warrants for Lakendrick Deberry, 19. Investigators believe Deberry fired the fatal shot that killed Cedric Persons Thursday night and another shot that injured Person's teenage son. If you know where Lakendrick Deberry can be found, call the Brownsville Police Department at 772-1260 or Crimestoppers at 772-2274.
See additional news this page.
Update:
The Brownsville Police Dept has issued warrants for the charges of "1st Degree murder" and "Attempted 1st Degree Murder" on Lakendrick Deberry, age 19, of Brownsville, Tn- Any leads on the whereabouts of Deberry, please contact the BPD or Crimestoppers
-Chris W Lea
Late last night two people were shot — one fatally. Police answered the call to Lark Street in North Brownsville about 7pm. Officers arriving on the scene found two people suffering gunshot wounds.
Cedric Lamond Person, 36, was pronounced dead at Haywood Park Hospital. The police report states that a juvenile was also shot. The child was flown to a Memphis hospital. Brownsville Radio, talking to people in the neighborhood this morning, has learned that the child was Cedric Person’s son who is believed to be about 16 years old.
An unofficial source told me a man came from behind a house and fired the shots.
Person lived on Robin Street, which is just one street over from the scene of the shooting. The residential neighborhood is off Tibbs Road.
The news was provided to us in a written news release from the BPD, and it doesn’t answer many questions. What led to the shooting? Were the victims robbed? What kind of weapons were used? We don’t have those answers yet. An investigator said this morning that Brownsville Police Chief Chris Lea is expected to release additional information later today.
As of late last night the teenager was reported to be in stable condition.
Police now are faced with two, serious violent crimes occurring this week that are mostly unsolved. You will remember that Monday night there was a drive-by shooting on Bradford Street in which one man was grazed by a bullet. One man has been arrested in that incident but investigators say the suspected shooters — there are two of them — are still at large.
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Mayor Smith to host public hearing tonight
August 25, 2011
There’s no law that requires it — not even a mandate from the county commission — but a public hearing and comment period happens tonight at the Haywood County Courthouse. The results of tonight’s meeting, hosted by Mayor Franklin Smith, could determine next week’s county budget vote.
The budget process includes long, tedious meetings between county commissioner/budget committee members and various county leaders and countless hours of debate and line-by-line analysis. A week ago the budget committee voted 5 to 1 to recommend a 52-cent property tax hike. In an impromptu meeting Monday, they voted again, this time agreeing to the same work except the vote was 4 to 2.
We’ve covered the meetings this year extensively and we’ve created some charts depicting various economic data including county spending. This morning we’re posting two more charts to brownsvilleradio.com.
You’ll see a chart of the county’s total appropriations and a chart that depicts the status of the county’s fund balance — or cash on hand at the end of each fiscal year.
Because our charts were posted over several weeks, we’ve also consolidated all of our work into one spot so it’s easy to use.
Click here to see the Estimated Fund Balance — County Government
Click here to see the Total Appropriations County Government — Including Schools
Click here to see the Combined Cost of Medical and Dental Services and Prescription Drugs and Medical Supplies
Click here to see the Jail Budgeted Utilities
Click here to see the Jail Budget Including Utilities and Healthcare
Click here to see Tax Income Data - Various City and County Tax Income Trends
Click here to see Utility Data - Brownsville Utility Department Customer Trends
Click here to see Motor Vehicle License Data - Trends in the Sale of License Plates in Haywood County
Click here to see other West Tennessee property tax rates
Click here to understand what the property tax rate will mean to your wallet
Click here to learn more about wheel tax rates — Haywood County's other main source of local income
Charts depict expensive cost of bad guys in Haywood County
August 24, 2011
Yesterday, we placed three charts on brownsvilleradio.com depicting some economic trends in Brownsville and Haywood County based on various governmental incomes.
We think more important than the actual numbers are the trends.
Today, we’ve posted three new charts on the hot topic of the new justice complex. The justice complex has been the focus of much of the budget conversations so far and, everybody admits, much of the budget drama.
The three charts depict the utility costs of the old jail versus the new justice center; the cost of healthcare at the jail and the overall cost of the county jail. You’ll see dramatic trends and numbers.
The justice center utilities as compared to the old jail utility costs show that taxpayers will have to pay extra about $90,000 annually just to keep the power and water on.
The charts indicate that health care costs have soared at the jail, even as the inmate population remains fairly level. And you will also see that, historically, the actual healthcare spending has blown the budget planning away.
The third chart — on overall jail spending — will pull all of the data together, depicting the dramatic increase in what bad guys and girls are costing the Haywood County taxpayer. The cost has doubled from about $800,000 to $1.6m in the course of just the last few years.
We’ve created three charts that will help you understand more about the county’s proposed budget
Click here to see the Combined Cost of Medical and Dental Services and Prescription Drugs and Medical Supplies
Click here to see the Jail Budgeted Utilities
Click here to see the Jail Budget Including Utilities and Healthcare
Two injured in fiery crash
August 23, 2011
Two people were injured this afternoon in a one-car accident on Fairgrounds Street near the intersection of Young. No official report is available but the car left the road crashing into a concrete culvert. The car burst into flames.
The two people injured in the crash managed to get out of the car. One person was taken by ambulance to a Jackson hospital. Another victim was flown from the scene.
See photos taken at the scene
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Drive by shooting ends in arrest —one slightly injured
August 23, 2011
Late last night police arrested a young man in connection with a shooting on Bradford Street.
Hunter Freels, 19, will be charged, investigators report, with involvement in a drive-by shooting that slightly injured one man.
According to police, Freels was the driver of a Cadillac Escalade that drove along Bradford Street while two men fired shots from the SUV.
Demarion Owens, 24, was grazed by one of the bullets but was not seriously hurt.
Police say Freels is in custody but the shooters are not. They did not release names of suspects but say they have information they hope will lead to arrests.
Two arrested in home invasion
August
Deputies arrested burglary suspects, surprised in the act by a rural resident, yesterday.
Damian Hill, 20, and Joseph Williams, 20, are suspects and are in jail in connection with the burglary of Mel Williamson’s home at 2735 Eurekaton Road. Williamson was at home asleep and was awakened by noises in her home. She confronted two men disconnecting a television. They fled and she called the sheriff.
Deputies, working from the description of the getaway vehicle arrested the two men near Koko Grocery on Highway 76 South.
Evans faces additional charges
August 23, 2011
The man police say they caught burglarizing the federal compress Saturday now faces additional charges. Police have tied Jeremy Evans to burglaries at the Barber College located on the square, to the board of Education’s Justice Academy and to another barbershop on Jefferson Street.
Evans was arrested Saturday night inside the compress after police were alerted by an alarm system.
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Budget committee teeters on making last minute changes
August 22, 2011
Last week the county budget committee passed a measure recommending a 22% increase in county property taxes, but some members, including Chairman Allen King, had second thoughts — resulting in a meeting of the group yesterday.
King said he almost voted no last week and said he does not expect the budget to pass.
After a 90-minute session little changed except, when they decided to vote again on the same budget they considered last week, the committee lost one of the yes votes.
Budget committee member Becky Booth changed her yes to no.
Joe Stephens maintained his no vote.
The budget committee now is split four to two in recommending the spending and taxation document.
The central issue is whether there are additional cuts that could be made. At yesterday’s meeting several were discussed including:
• Cutting the stipend to the helicopter air ambulance service, $100,000.
• Cutting the part of employee health insurance deductible that government pays. Taxpayers fund the first $2500 of the $5,000 deductible. Mayor Franklin Smith said discontinuing the benefit would save between $200,000 and $300,000 — but cost county employees.
• Reducing county worker pay by giving them additional days off. No estimate was provided.
• Eliminating Conmed, the health care contractor providing health services to the county jail, and returning to the previous budget of about $227,000, theoretical saving of about $200,000.
• Eliminating jobs — no estimate was provided.
• Eliminating some travel and county owned automobiles — no estimate was provided.
• Eliminating the early pay property tax discounts of 2% and 1% — estimated to save $50,000.
• Eliminate a contract for scanning and digitizing county records — no estimate was provided.
• Reducing the number of employees at the jail. Earlier discussions were to add three not the five planned in the current budget. Estimated savings about $60,000.
In the end, no one on the committee offered motions that would change the budget.
We’ve created three charts that will help you understand more
Click here to see Tax Income Data - Various City and County Tax Income Trends
Click here to see Utility Data - Brownsville Utility Department Customer Trends
Click here to see Motor Vehicle License Data - Trends in the Sale of License Plates in Haywood County
What happens next?
We’ll learn a lot about how the public and other commissioners feel during Thursday night’s public hearing.
But one thing is for certain leaders say. If the budget fails when the county commission meets next week, county government will run out of money.
Trustee Sonny Howse said if the commission sends the committee back to the drawing board, demanding a lower tax rate, the county won’t be able to bill taxpayers in a timely manner — and the county will run out of cash — requiring a loan — probably from a local bank — to pay its bills.
Kicking the can down the road
August 23, 2011
The big items discussed yesterday — employee pay, the number of workers employed by the county, the air ambulance, health care at the jail and the change in health insurance benefits are the items that could move the needle in county spending — with the potential for saving several cents in the property tax hikes.
Budget committee members seemed resolute to give these cuts further consideration — but at least by a vote of four to two, they want to get the tax rate up to $2.90 first — and tackle the spending issues later.
Haywood Schools tap Sterbinsky for central office job
August 22, 2011
You know him as the Mayor of Stanton — you’ll now know him also as the Director of Research and Assessment for the Haywood County School System. Dr. Allan Sterbinsky has accepted a job at the Haywood County Board of Education office.
Sterbinsky has been working in the same position for the Madison County School System.
Director of Schools Marlon King says Sterbinsky will “bring a wealth of expertise in data systems/analyses, which is a very critical piece of the Race to the Top” programs. Sterbinsky will also be the system’s grant writer. His first day is September 6.
Tax increase – how much will it cost?
August 22, 2011
Thursday night you can bet the Haywood County Budget Committee will get lots of questions about the work they’ve just completed. The committee says they’ll recommend a 52-cent property tax hike in the county’s new budget.
This week, Brownsville Radio will bring you a number of economic reports that will help you understand the new budget and its impact.
Today, we point out the cost of the new tax.
According to budget committee documents, each penny of tax income generates $35,594.81. That means that if 100% of property taxes are collected, the 52-cent increase will cost Haywood County property tax payers $1,850,930.12. (Budget makers actually contemplate collecting only 93% of the tax — preparing to write-off as much as 7% as uncollectible)
The property tax and the wheel tax are the only two taxes Haywood County lawmakers have control of.
As you know, last year, they raised the wheel tax to $120. Haywood County has the highest wheel tax in the state, and the committee decided against a further wheel tax hike, laying the burden of increased cost exclusively on property owners.
Thursday night at 7pm the budget committee and Mayor Franklin Smith will host a public hearing on the proposed county spending and taxation.
Tomcat’s 100th draws huge crowd
August 22, 2011
Tomcats from as far back as 1937 attended Friday night’s centennial celebration. The large crowd included as estimated 1000 Tomcat alumni that included everyone from former players to band directors.
While the Tomcats were defeated by JCM, it didn’t hamper the celebratory atmosphere.
The night was highlighted by a half time show that focused on the Tomcats who gathered by decade on the field. Russell Taliaferro was recognized as the senior most Tomcat in attendance. He started playing football for the Tomcats in 1938.
Rural homeowners confronted by gun-pointing robbers
August 22, 2011
Two men who share a home on Rudolph Road were robbed at gunpoint just before midnight Sunday night. Sheriff’s deputies were call to 2001 Rudolph Road. Austin Parker and Russ English told deputies that two masked men, both carrying guns burst into their home through an unlocked carport door.
The two gunmen, described as black males disguising themselves with bandanas took electronics, the men’s wallets and cell phones. They also took two sets of car keys and slashed the tires on the cars when they left.
Man beaten and robbed early Sunday
August 22, 2011
Alexander Leal suffered mostly minor injuries when he was “jumped on” by two guys who robbed him. Police took the report in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Leal said the two men took his wallet and cell phone. The incident occurred as Leal was walking on East Main near Anderson Avenue.
Burglar caught in compress
August 22, 2011
Police have charged Jeremy Evans, 25, in connection with a weekend burglary at the Federal Compress on Powell Street. Police discovered a broken window when they answered an alarm call there a little after 6 Saturday night. Investigators say they found Evans hiding in a closet. -
Do you have the world’s greatest hamburger?
August 22, 2011
It’s true. An international competition will be held at this year’s Fall Fest. Applications are now available for the World Championship Hamburger at brownsvilleradio.com.
Let’s be clear. This is not a local, state or regional competition. Saturday, October 15, in front of our studios, teams will compete to be crowned the best hamburger cooker in the world.
A panel of celebrity judges that include internationally famous chef Scott Leysath and the most famous fisherman in the world, Bill Dance, are scheduled to make the decision.
The rules are very few — and there is no entry fee.
A feature of the event is that each team will cook 100 hamburgers each — and we’ll give, free of charge, the burgers to Fall Fest attendees — as long as they last. (Teams will be supplied hamburger meat, buns and fixings for the 100 free burgers.)
Space is limited. We recommend that teams sign-up today. You can see all of the rules at brownsvilleradio.com and also complete your registration there.
Raises, healthcare, debt lead to recommendation for big tax hike
August 17, 2011
The Haywood County Commission Budget Committee met at the courthouse at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday to put the final touches on their proposed 2011 - 2012 budget appropriations and tax revenues for consideration by the full county commission. There was a change in previously approved funding for healthcare to inmates at the county jail, and the committee made a few housekeeping changes in the budget before the big vote to recommend a 22% tax increase.
Jail healthcare
Regarding inmate healthcare, the committee had previously approved appropriations of $435,000 to cover (a) the cost of nursing care to inmates via a contract with Conmed and (b) to pay for prescription drugs.
Until Tuesday’s meeting, the County's agreement with Conmed was for $30,000 per month, or $360,000 per year, excluding the cost of prescription drugs and mental health counseling services for inmates. Conmed and the Mayor have negotiated a deal whereby Conmed reduces it's annual nursing charges to $351,000 but receives an additional $40,000 for the provision of prescription drugs and mental health counseling services. The Budget Committee unanimously approved the change.
Thus, the revised arrangement could result in payment of just over $391,000 annually to Conmed, but the County would have no separate expense to pay for prescription drugs for inmates.
Last minute changes — employee pay
One of the last minute changes involved shuffling some line items to restore $5,000 in funding to the Boys and Girls Club in Brownsville, and another concerned the provision of bonuses for county employees for the current year.
The committee voted 5 to 1 to pay $500 in bonuses to every full time county employee who has worked for one complete year as of December 1, 2011. Every permanent, part time employee who has worked for one year as of that date will receive $250. Joe Stephens cast the lone no vote.
Tax hike posturing — objections
Budget Committee Vice Chairman Jerry Smith stated that no one was happy about having to recommend a tax increase, but he said that he saw no alternative to one without cutting employees or services. He then moved, "reluctantly", he said, to recommend raising the county real property tax rate from $2.38 to $2.90 per hundred dollars of assessed value, an increase of 52 cents. Leonard Jones, Jr. seconded the motion.
Prior to the roll call vote, Commissioner Joe Stevens expressed his concern that, notwithstanding the proposed tax increase, the Committee still was not adequately funding all of the appropriations the County Commission had already approved, specifically at least $1.3 million in unfunded spending for Haywood High renovations.
Stephens said he was not in favor of passing a budget that did not contemplate adequate revenues to cover authorized spending.
After some discussion, there was a roll call vote. Committee members Allen King, Robert Green, and Becky Booth echoed Vice Chairman Smith's "reluctance" but voted in favor of the motion. Leonard Jones also voted in favor and expressly did so "without any reluctance." Joe Stevens again cast the only no vote. County Trustee Sonny Howse agreed with Stevens regarding the inadequacy of the approved revenues to support the high school renovations.
The 22% increased tax rate is projected to produce almost $10.5 million in gross revenues, allocated as follows: 53% to county general, 4.3 % to highways, 8.5% to debt service, and just over 34% for schools.
The tax increase will cost Haywood County property owners $1,850,940 each year.
If passed, Haywood County will have the third highest tax rate in West Tennessee, including Shelby County.
There will be a public hearing on the proposed budget at 7:00 P.M on Thursday, August 25, 2011, at the courthouse. On Tuesday, August 30, 2011, at 7 the full County Commission will meet at the Courthouse to vote.
We’ve created three charts that will help you understand more about the county’s proposed budget
Click here to see other West Tennessee property tax rates
Click here to understand what the property tax rate will mean to your wallet
Click here to learn more about wheel tax rates — Haywood County's other main source of local income
Committee recommends county property tax rate be raised 22%
August 16, 2011
The Haywood County Commission’s Budget Committee met today for the second time this week — finalizing months long discussions about the county’s troubled finances.
If approved by the Haywood County Commission, the county’s tax rate will be raised from $2.38 to $2.90 — a near 22% increase.
The tax increase will cost Haywood County property owners $1,850,940 each year.
Joe Stephens was the budget committee’s lone dissenter. Stephens says the income still isn’t enough to fund the county’s new $15 million debt.
Highlights of the budget include the addition of the equivalent of nine new workers at the justice complex and one-time so-called “bonuses” of $500 for most full time workers and $250 for select part time workers. The salary stipends, provided in lieu of raises, will cost taxpayers about $100,000.
The county commission will host a public hearing on the budget Thursday August 25 at 7pm. The commission will meet in special session August 30 at 7pm to vote on the recommendation.
Budget committee mad about highway budget
August 16, 2011
The Haywood County Highway Department’s budget request won’t impact the county’s tax rate — but budget committee members are angry that the budget proposed by Roads Supervisor Greg McCarley hasn’t been reviewed or approved by the Haywood County Highway Commission.
Haywood County Road Commissioners are selected by popular election and govern the county road department. At a county commission budget committee meeting Monday, commissioners learned that the budget submitted by McCarley has never been presented to the Highway Board. Mayor Franklin Smith confirmed that the board has not reviewed McCarley’s numbers. When McCarley submitted his budget to the committee Highway Chairman Jack Brummett accompanied him.
“We got played by the Highway Superintendent,” Budget Committee Member Robert Green said.
While McCarley did not ask for additional funding for the 2011/2012 budget he did include a $500 one-time bonus for county road employees. His pay plan has left budget committee members pressured to include the same wage supplement for other county workers.
Haywood County tax rate decision now urgent — big increase looms
August 16, 2011
A month and a half into the fiscal year of 2010 - 2011, the Haywood County Commission Budget Committee still has not approved a budget or tax recommendation. And they didn’t get it done when they met yesterday.
Budget Committee members Leonard Jones, Becky Booth, Joe Stephens, Robert Green, Jerry Smith, and Chairman Allen King met at 4:00 p.m. Monday afternoon to wrestle with outstanding issues. But at the end of the day with no final decision, the Committee adjourned with plans to reconvene this morning at 9am.
County Trustee Sonny Howse warned that failure to quickly complete their work would jeopardize the ability of the Trustee's office to dispense tax notices in on time in November.
Mayor Franklin Smith noted that state law requires adequate public notice prior to a vote by the county commission, and that unless the proposed budget is published in this week’s newspaper, the budget can’t pass by the end of August. Smith says he has asked the States-Graphic to extend their deadline for this week to accommodate. "Go home and think about what you are going to do, " Chairman King told the committee members before setting the deadline for the nine o'clock meeting.
Recent meetings by the committee suggest a proposed property tax increase of around 52 cents is in the offing. If recommended and passed, the current tax rate of $2.38 per one hundred dollars of assessed value would rocket to $2.90, a twenty five per cent hike.
Schools giving the committee a heads up
The Committee spent most of its time Monday patiently listening to two presentations of budgetary requests: one by Haywood County Superintendent of Schools Marlon King and another by General Sessions Judge J. R. Reid.
Supt. King appeared with County Schools Chief Financial Officer Vincent Harvell to request inclusion of an additional eleven and a half cents to any tax hike to raise an annual $385,000 in salaries and benefits for eight school positions. Through the current school year, grants are funding instructional facilitators at each Haywood County School, and Supt. King stated that these employees play vital roles in coaching and mentoring teachers. But the grant funds will expire and be unavailable next year. Knowing that a substantial tax hike this year may make any request for another next year even less politically palatable, King and Harvell asked the Committee to include provision for the future in the present tax increase.
Armed with data from the 1995 Tennessee Report Card on School Competency, King noted that Haywood County in the mid 1990s had the second lowest language proficiency ratings of all school systems in the state, and that current performance is somewhat comparable. In his view, the instructional facilitators are crucial to improving student literacy rates and reading comprehension. Chairman King and other committee members expressed support. However, because the program does not lack immediate funding, and with the specter of an already significant tax increase, there was no motion to include the requested additional 11.5 cent tax hike. Any prospective funding for instructional facilitators will have to be considered next year.
No to pay raise in Judge’s office
Judge Roland Reid made an impassioned plea to the Committee to approve a $3,000 raise to Probation Officer Rene Jackson, who works in his office. Noting that Ms. Jackson does exemplary work in an already critically understaffed office, Judge Reid emphasized the need to have her and additional personnel to assist in addressing a distressing array of social ills plaguing Haywood County. He too, came with data to support his arguments. Judge Reid presented an alarming cavalcade of statistics drawn from the 2009 State of the Child Report by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth. Of 95 Tennessee counties, Haywood ranks first, or highest, in: low birth weight babies, infant mortality, cohort dropout rate (Cohort dropouts are those that began the ninth grade but drop out prior to conclusion of the twelfth.), and juvenile court referrals. Haywood has the sixth highest rate of teen pregnancy, fourth highest rate of teen births, the second highest rate of unwed mother births, and the seventh highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases. "We have an F minus grade. We should be ashamed. We are not servicing our children, “ said Judge Reid, arguing that they have to have help, and that requires adequate staffing in juvenile judicial offices.
Committee members were also sympathetic to Judge Reid's views, but in the end due to monetary constraints they denied Judge Reid's request. Vice - Chairman Jerry Smith noted that of 158 county general employees, there were only two who were slated to receive raises of more than $500: Rene Jackson and Dewayne Qualls. He did not see the fairness in providing an additional raise when other employees were not scheduled to receive one.
What if?
If the Budget Committee votes to request a tax increase up to $2.90 on Tuesday, and if the Commission passes such a request, projected gross revenues are about $10.5 million. 53% of that would fund county general, 4.3% goes to highways, 8.5% to service debt, and 34% for schools. The Committee meeting at 9:00 a. m. Tuesday at the Courthouse will reveal their decision on this year's budget.
Marathon Electric to take job applications in Brownsville
August 11, 2011
Brownsville/Haywood County Chamber of Commerce Director Joe Ing said new industrial park tenant Marathon Electric is about to start hiring. The company is locating its third heater factory in the building formerly occupied by Haywood Element. Haywood Element’s John Finn will manage the business.
Marathon will take applications August 23 and August 24. They are expected to hire up to 60 people.
JACKSON POLICE DEPARTMENT AND AREA
LAW ENFORCEMENT NEED TO IDENTIFY THESE MEN
The Jackson Police Department, along with other area law enforcement
agencies, is attempting to identify these two men in connection with a series of
thefts and credit card fraud.
They are seen here after using the victim's credit cards at a local business.
They stole them from a car parked near Union University as the victim watched
a child's soccer game. The white SUV is believed to be the suspect vehicle. It
may be a Chevy Tahoe or GMC Yukon and appears to have a sunroof.
Lexington Police and Haywood county authorities also wish to question the men
in connection with the theft of a vehicle and credit card fraud in their counties.
If you can identify these men, please contact Sgt. Jeff Shepard at the Auto
Theft Unit at JPD at 425-8400 or Crime Stoppers 424-8477.
Civil War Cavalry exhibit coming to West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center
BROWNSVILLE, TN (AUGUST 8, 2011) - The traveling exhibition “Hoofbeats in the Heartland: Civil War Cavalry in Tennessee” will open at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, in Brownsville, Tenn., Wednesday, August 24. The exhibit is organized by the Tennessee State Museum and funded in part by a grant from the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area.
Hoofbeats in the Heartland will look at how Tennessee’s strategic location would make it a major battleground of the Western Theater. As both sides maneuvered, raided, fought, and occupied the state, nearly every community experienced the heavy hand of war. While few communities witnessed large battles, nearly every community experienced soldiers on horseback as part of a raiding force, occupying army, or as members of the numerous guerilla or partisan bands.
The exhibition Hoofbeats in the Heartland will introduce the soldiers and the evolution of cavalry tactics in the Civil War. Visitors to the exhibit will meet the leaders such as Nathan Bedford Forrest and John Wilder and learn how their personalities affected the mounted warfare. Learn about the typical cavalry trooper, the nearly one million horses and mules that died during the Civil War and the mounted spies and scouts used to gain intelligence about the opposition.
Throughout the state both sides dealt with small bands of guerilla or partisan fighters mounted on horseback. These groups, some holding legitimate commissions from their respective governments, manifested in nearly every Tennessee county.
Visitors will also learn how the homefront sometimes became the frontlines and the role of the African-American troops. Significant battles will also be discussed including Fort Pillow in West Tennessee.
Hoofbeats in the Heartland will remain on display at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center until October 31. The Center is a tourist information center and three regional museums located off of Interstate 40 at Exit 56 in Brownsville. The Center is open seven days a week and is free to the public. For more information, call 731-779-9000 or visit www.westtnheritage.com.
CAPTION: A cavalry and military commander in the war, Nathan Bedford Forrest is one of the war's most unusual figures. He was one of the few officers in either army to enlist as a private and be promoted to general officer and division commander by the end of the war.
Woman killed early Sunday in Haywood County on I-40
August 8, 2011
For the third Monday in a row, we report to you about a fatality on Interstate-40.
A woman was killed early Sunday as she walked along the interstate. The accident occurred near the 61 mile-marker.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol’s report states that the woman, Anita Timbs, 51, “ran out in front” of a westbound car driven by a Humboldt man.
Timbs has a Memphis address. The trooper didn’t say why the woman was walking along the Interstate and he didn’t speculate on the reason why the woman may have run into the path of the car.
Sunday a week ago a Middleton woman was killed in a read-end collision near the 55 mile-marker. A week earlier a truck near the 66 mile-marker hit a Haywood County man.
Clark extends education with annual program on Georgia Campus
DAHLONEGA, Ga. (August 2011) —Sonia Outlaw-Clark, director of the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, has completed the second year of a three-year professional development program that will lead to certification as a Tourism Marketing Professional (TMP).
Clark was one of 232 tourism professionals enrolled at the Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College last month. The week-long program turns the facilities of North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, Ga., into a laboratory to teach tourism marketing each summer.
There is no other professional development program like STS Marketing College, and it is recognized nationally for its training of tourism leaders. 626 people have earned TMP certification.
“In the tourism industry, TMP certification carries a lot of weight,” said Bill Hardman, president and CEO of the Southeast Tourism Society, a 12-state organization that promotes travel and tourism in the Southeast.
The STS Marketing College began in 1992 to provide continuing education for tourism professionals and feted its 20th anniversary this year. Tourism ranks as the first-, second- or third-largest industry in each STS member state. Students come from convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, attractions, hotels and other segments of the tourism industry.
The curriculum covers topics such as branding, social media, packaging and sports marketing. Heritage tourism and research are courses that have attracted special interest in recent years.
“The fundamental concept of STS Marketing College is that the curriculum is practical. What students learn can be put to practice as soon as they get back to their workplaces,” Hardman said.
Twenty-four senior executives in the travel and tourism industry were the volunteer faculty.
The program attracts students from throughout the Southeast and occasionally from other states. This year’s program included students from Maryland and Oklahoma.
“Southeast Tourism Society is recognized nationwide for the cohesiveness and camaraderie it fosters in the region. No other region in the U.S. has a similar organization. STS Marketing College is a major project to build skills and professionalism in the tourism industry,” Hardman said.
Southeast Tourism Society, created in 1983, is headquartered in Atlanta and has approximately 800 members who represent travel industry businesses, state tourism departments, chambers of commerce, convention and visitors bureaus and travel media. Its activities include cooperative marketing programs, continuing education, professional development and travel industry policy advocacy. More about STS can be found at http://southeasttourism.org.
The 12 STS states are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
CUTLINE: Sonia Outlaw-Clark, director of the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center is among three area tourism professionals who have completed their second year of STS Marketing College in Dahlonega, Georgia. Pictured with Clark are (from left) Jackson Tenn. Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Lori Nunnery, Clark, STS Vice President of Communications and Public Relations Neville Bhada, and Shiloh National Military Park Superintendent Woody Harrell.
Bluegrass featured at August “Concert on the Porch”
Join the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, Tenn., for the fourth in its 'Concert on the Porch' series Saturday, August 20, beginning at 7 p.m. This month's concert will feature Wildwood Express, a group of five area musicians who perform the old time stringed music of yesterday. Also appearing with Wildwood Express will be 11-year-old Emma Webb of Memphis.
The concert will open with Webb. Webb is part of the Generation Next series of the Memphis & Shelby County Music Commission and she is also the youngest member of the Memphis Songwriters Association. Webb has been performing in the Memphis area since she was 8. Her performances include music from the 80s to current pop songs plus some originals.
Wildwood Express performs the old time stringed music including bluegrass gospel, instrumentals and old time country. Their instruments of choice include the banjo, dulcimer, mandolin, upright bass and guitar.
The band is made up of Grover Westover, of Brownsville, who does vocals and plays guitar. Paul Jackson is from Bells, Tenn., and does vocals and plays mandolin. Gary Spraggins is on the upright bass and is from Alamo, Tenn. Coley and Marilyn Graves are from Bartlett, Tenn.; Coley does vocals, guitar and banjo, while his wife, Marilyn plays the hammered dulcimer. All are members of the Jackson Tennessee Area Plectral Society whose main purpose is the preservation of old time stringed music.
Everyone is invited to this free event. Bring your lawn chairs or blanket and enjoy an evening of old-time music. For more information, call the Center at 731-779-9000 or visit online at www.westtnheritage.com.
The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center is a visitor's center and three regional museum located off of Interstate 40 at Exit 56, behind McDonald's, in Brownsville, Tenn. “Concert on the Porch” is offered May through September and is presented from the porch of the “Sleepy” John Adam Estes home located on the grounds.
Brownsville’s Hatchie Fall Fest set for October 15
With over 8,000 attending last year’s Hatchie Fall Fest, this year promises to be bigger and better than ever. Held annually on the historic court square in Brownsville, Tenn., this year’s event will be Saturday, October 15. It will be a fun-filled day of kid’s games and activities, cooking and eating contests, live music, arts and crafts, a quilt show and more.
One of the most popular festival events is the Frozen T-shirt Contest. Enjoyed by all ages, participants compete to see who gets the frozen t-shirt on the fastest. The Pet Show and Blessing of the Pets is another event that adults and kids both flock to.
Are you a good cook? You can show off your skills at the cake and pie-baking contest. Maybe you’d rather try your eating skills during the hot salsa-eating contest? While the kids are busy in the bouncy houses, getting their face painted and enjoying the many games and activities, you can find great bargains at the more than 100 arts and crafts booths and local merchant’s sidewalk sales. For a bit of nostalgia, visit the “Heritage Quilts of West Tennessee” exhibit featuring heirloom and modern day fabric creations.
The fun starts at 10 a.m., and continues all day, including live performances from the main stage area: local and regional performers singing your favorite gospel, country, blues and rock melodies.
During this year’s festival you will also be able to visit Oneal Lake on the Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge and participate in an Amateur Radio event. The ham radio operators will be celebrating National Wildlife Refuge Week and the rich cultural heritage and significance of the Hatchie River.
The fun continues on Sunday when the Elma Ross Public Library parking lot gets revved up for the 32nd annual Tennessee Trash Car Show. Classic and show cars from all over attend this show that has been happening in Haywood County since 1979.
The Hatchie Fall Fest is held annually on the third Saturday of October. Admission to the festival is free and open to everyone. For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit www.hatchiefallfest.com.
During the annual Hatchie Fall Fest, events and activities are planned for all age groups including the kids. Children’s activities include bouncy houses, a petting zoo, games, face painting and more.
Texas Family Joins the Fun at Concert on the Porch
The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center was honored to welcome guests from Cut and Shoot, Texas, during its July 16 “Concert on the Porch.” Gary Christianberry and his family were vacationing in Tennessee when they decided to stop in Brownsville for the night. During their stay, the family enjoyed a tour of the Center’s three museums and a Southern Gospel concert from the porch of the “Sleepy” John Estes home.
Pictured with Christianberry, outside of the Center, are his wife, Julie, and children, Joshua and Chelsea.
Dozens of jobs coming to Brownsville!
Marathon Heater to open here
August 5, 2011
The Brownsville/Haywood County Chamber of Commerce announced today that Marathon Heaters, a Texas based company, will open in the former Haywood Element building in the industrial park.
Brownsville Haywood County Chamber Director Joe Ing says an official announcement and details will follow.
Haywood Element closed just a few weeks ago, idling about thirty workers. Marathon will employ 50 to 60 people and Ing is hopeful that many of the former Haywood Element workers will find work with Marathon.
A local government incentive may have helped close the Marathon deal. Brownsville and Haywood County, via the Brownsville Industrial Board, provided $50,000 to the company to help move equipment to the Brownsville plant.
John Finn, the former manager of Haywood Element, will manage the facility for Marathon
According to their Internet site, Marathon Heater, Inc. was founded in 1996 with three employees and one product: cartridge heaters.
In 2002 Marathon was selected by Inc. magazine as one of the 500 fastest growing privately held companies in the United States.
Marathon currently has 2 manufacturing locations, their 40,000 square foot headquarters in Del Rio, TX and a 12,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Udaipur, India.
Fixed mobile and speed intervention — some call it robo-cop
Haywood County leaders listen to presentation
August 4, 2011
Speed and traffic light cameras; West Tennessee communities from Memphis to Selmer use them. A small group of county leaders, including Sheriff Melvin Bond and Mayor Franklin Smith, listened to a presentation from American Traffic Solutions yesterday. ATS sells the systems and claims to be the country’s leading supplier.
According to ATS, the economical to operate systems provide new income to communities and dramatically reduce accidents. The company provided impressive crash and fatality data from communities that have been using the systems for months and years.
Also impressive is the revenue, especially at a time when county government is in a crunch. At $50 per ticket, based on data supplied by ATS, Haywood County could easily realize income near $100,000 annually.
It is also interesting to see just how many speeders there are in communities using the device. During the first month of operation, McKenzie Tennessee issued 3425 warning tickets to motorist driving 11 mile per hour over the speed limit. ATS says most law enforcement agencies only issue warning tickets for the first few weeks of operation.
Except for a fairly inexpensive traffic survey the county would have to pay for, the equipment is free. ATS collects their income as a portion of collections from each ticket.
Interested? None of the officials at yesterday’s meeting would say whether they would recommend the idea here.
Tax rate under consideration could place Haywood among West Tennessee’s most expensive
August 4, 2011
The Haywood County Budget Committee met again yesterday. The budget-makers continue to chip away at small expenses and are trying to make final decisions about employee compensation. While looking at the budgets line-by-line, most of the cuts aren’t enough to effectively move the needle on what appears to be the prospect of a very large property tax increase.
Yesterday, the committee concluded that based on the current numbers, a tax rate of $2.90 is required. Last year Haywood Countians paid $2.38. The increase would place Haywood Countians among the top three property tax payers in West Tennessee. Only Benton and Shelby County would best Haywood. The final tax rate decision hasn’t been made as the committee continues to wade through numbers.
Discussions about employee compensation continue. The committee is considering a $500 one-time payment rather than an actual raise. The bonus would cost taxpayers $100,000.
The budget committee has voted to add another five workers to the jail payroll, but they’re still discussing their jail inmate health care plan with Conmed. Some commissioners say the now $30,000 per month contract should be bid.
STEMC Annual Meeting
Annual member’s meeting to be held on Aug. 12 at a new location
In accordance with Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation bylaws, each year the Cooperative holds a meeting of the members on the second Friday of August. This year’s event takes place at a new venue, the Jackson Fairgrounds Park in Jackson, Tenn.
“We are excited about the opportunities that the Jackson Fair Grounds Park provides for us,” says STEMC president Kevin Murphy. “It is centrally located for our members and is easy to find. The facility also gives us much more indoor space to help avoid the August heat.”
At the annual meeting, STEMC members receive reports from STEMC staff regarding the Cooperative’s activities during the past year. The results of the annual Board election will be announced as well.
In addition to the business meeting, STEMC will provide entertainment by Mickie Utley, barbeque from Brooksie’s Barn, activities for kids, and some exciting new door prizes.
All members are invited to the annual meeting on Friday evening, August 12, 2011, at the Jackson Fair Grounds Park located at 800 U.S. Highway 45 S. in Jackson, Tenn. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the meeting and entertainment will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Southwest Tennessee Electric is a member-owned not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative that serves 50,000 meters in parts of nine West Tennessee counties.
Missing man found late Tuesday night
August 3, 2011
A helicopter night vision system played hero last night — finding a man that had been missing most of the day.
Raymond Johnson, 76, wandered away from his home about 10 am yesterday. He lives with family members on Albright Road near the solar farm. Authorities say he suffers dementia.
Sheriff’s deputies, the rescue squad and other volunteers worked into the night scouring the area around his home with no luck.
Sheriff Melvin Bond asked for help from the Jackson Police Department. JPD’s helicopter is equipped with a night vision device and an officer spotted Mr. Johnson about 100 yards from his home, according to the sheriff. “It was very very thick where he was found,” Sheriff Bond said. “We really believe he was probably there the whole time — he was under heavy cover.”
He was taken to a Jackson hospital. His condition unavailable today.
Utilities ease up on no-pays during hot weather
August 3, 2011
Southwest Electric’s Phillip Mullins says the utility doesn’t stop trying to collect, but they won’t cut off residential electricity for non-payment in the most brutal weather — like today.
Mullins says Southwest doesn’t have a written policy, but their usual course is to suspend disconnects when temperatures reach 100 or better. For example, he told me last night, disconnects are suspended today.
Sheriff wants ten — looks like he’ll get five
August 3, 2011
The Haywood County Budget Committee has spoken. They’ll recommend to the county commission that five new people be hired at the jail— not the ten Sheriff Melvin Bond says he needs to keep the new facility certified with the state.
During a meeting yesterday the county’s budget committee debated the needs at the jail. Commissioner Leonard Jones said, “We can’t run it (jail) from here.” Jones meant the budget committee wasn’t qualified to manage the jail.
But Budget Chairman Allen King and Commissioner Joe Stephens, who both voted no to the proposal that the jail add five new workers, said they wanted to add only three.
The controversy has been brewing for weeks. A state jail inspector has said the jail requires 41 workers. Three consultants have said it needs more than 30 and Sheriff Melvin Bond, who is chairman of the state board that certifies jails, had settled on 31. However the county’s original consultant, who provided advice during the pre-building phase, suggested the jail needs only 26 workers. Consultant Jim Woodrum has recently visited with leaders and reiterated his claim.
The jail now employs 21 workers — the budget committee’s proposal will bring the number to 26 — matching Woodrum’s recommendation.
Sheriff Bond, who did not attend yesterday’s meeting, has told the committee that he can’t promise the jail will be certified with 31 workers.
The cut from ten to five means it’ll take only half as much money as earlier predicted. During yesterday’s session committee members loped an estimated $250,000 from their out of balance budget — but they also talked about adding about $100,000 in one-time bonuses for all employees. A pay raise isn’t in the budget.
While the committee is still several meetings away from a final decision, they are still at least $1.1 million out of balance. Committee members admit that a significant property tax increase is likely. They’ve already agreed to add 20 cents to the property tax to repay debt. Without further cuts the committee will have to raise taxes more than 20% just to balance.
They meet again today at 1.
Mayor Franklin Smith said yesterday that he’d hoped to bring the budget to a vote August 23, but he believes that will now have to be moved at least a week later.
Big deficit creates potential for big tax increase
County budget badly out of whack
August 2, 2011
While temperatures approached triple digits in Brownsville Monday, things also heated up considerably at the afternoon Haywood County Budget Committee meeting.
Mark Dyer attended the session and provides today’s report.
With the 2011 - 2012 fiscal year already a month underway, the committee is still wrangling over a significant projected increase in spending and the lack of revenue to pay for it.
Yesterday’s big topic: Jail spending. Sheriff Melvin Bond’s budget now includes a request for funding 10 additional correctional officers at the Justice Complex. The jail staff includes 21 full timers now — Bond’s new budget raises that to 31. With insurance and compensation, the Sheriff's recommendations add well over $300,000 in personnel spending for the jail compared to last year.
The line item for medical and dental spending on inmates is a whopping $435,000, much of which is allocated to Conmed, the healthcare services company currently providing on site nursing care to inmates 16 hours a day, seven days a week. Now “medical and dental” does not include the expense of prescription drugs. Budget makers are estimating the year’s costs at $75,000 despite having spent $94,000 in the year that just ended. So let’s add health care up — $435,000 + $75,000 = $510,000. (If the jail averages 120 inmates, that’s $4250 per head)
Largest jail budget in history
So the two big-ticket items of correctional officers and inmate healthcare pushed the proposed jail budget to over $1.8 million, more than a half million dollars more than last year's budget of $1.3 million. And that isn’t exactly a fair comparison. Last year utilities for the jail were included in the jail budget — about $50,000— this year they are not. Utilities were shifted to another budget called “county buildings.” The most recent utility bill at the complex for one month was $18,800. Annualized, that figure would place the Justice Complex utility bill at over $200,000. Budget makers seem prepared to estimate, however, the utility cost at $150,000.
So where does the overall budget stand?
After yesterday’s session budget committee members concluded taxpayers are facing a $1.4 million deficit this year without a tax increase.
Now remember we reported last week the budget committee passed a recommendation of a twenty-cent property tax increase to fund their new debt. With the prospect of the bloated jail budget before them yesterday, committee members were talking about the need for an additional increase of thirty to forty cents. That raises the prospect of a recommendation to the county commission of a property tax hike of between 55 and 60 cents in order to avoid a budget deficit. That’s a 25% hike in property taxes. (Excepting Shelby County, Haywood County could claim the highest or second highest property tax rate in West Tennessee .)
A few comments from yesterday —
Sonny Howse, the County trustee, noted, " We got stuff backwards. Revenue [for the Justice Complex] should have been considered years ago."
A visibly frustrated Allen King, the Budget Committee Chairman, said, " We are broke. That is the bottom line."
Though not on the Budget Committee, Haywood County Commissioner Wally Eubanks attended yesterday's session. When asked for his thoughts by the committee members, Commissioner Eubanks replied, “ We need to admit we've made a mistake."
What’s next?
The Budget Committee unanimously voted to table a final vote on the sheriff's budget and the jail budget until a later session. The budget committee next meets on Tuesday, August 2nd (today), at 2:00 p.m. at the Courthouse.
Woman killed on I-40 Sunday
August 1, 2011
A three-car accident early Sunday morning set the stage for a wreck later in the day that killed a woman motorist. Haywood County EMS spent much of Sunday on I-40.
The woman, unofficial sources say she was from Middleton, was killed in an accident that was backed up from the first wreck.
Early morning wreck
Firemen and ambulance crews were called a little after 6 a.m. Sunday to Exit 56 where they found a three-vehicle pile-up. One of the wrecked vehicles was a tractor-trailer truck that one worker said was “wedged” under the bridge. No one was seriously hurt in the wreck but it took hours to clear and backed up traffic on I-40.
Fatal accident right down the road
It was the slow moving traffic that contributed to the second wreck that occurred just before 11 a.m.
Sources say crews were still trying to clear the accident wreckage from the Exit 56 accident when a car plowed into another car near the 55 mile-marker. Unofficial sources say the driver of an eastbound car didn’t realize traffic was moving at a slow crawl and he rear-ended a car driven by the woman that was killed. The fatality victim’s car was pushed into the median, striking a motorcyclist. The motorcycle driver was not seriously hurt.
Haywood County budget deliberations continue today
August 1, 2011
Money to manage the jail will almost certainly take center stage again today when the county commission’s budget commission goes to work. Their meeting is set for 5pm.
Budget committee members will be focusing on Sheriff Melvin Bond’s assertion ten more employees will be required to run the new jail located in the justice complex. The sheriff’s decision comes after weeks of discussions and the opinion of four jail experts.
Bond said he would ask for the ten workers adding $320,000 to the cost of the justice center’s operations.
Last week the budget managers agreed to recommend 20 cents to the property tax rate to fund the new $15 million debt incurred mostly for the new justice center. A portion of the money is also being used for renovations at the high school and football field.
Budget committee members are almost certainly not finished adding to the property tax rate, as their budget remains more than a million dollars out of balance. Discussions in earlier meetings indicate budget committee members won’t consider a wheel tax increase.
“Low down”; Sheriff’s term for rural thieves and vandals
August 1, 2011
Henry Estes and Charles Simmons raise a large garden — a so-called truck patch on Dancyville Eurekaton Road. Thieves raided the garden sometime late last week. What the thieves didn’t steal, they destroyed, according to the sheriff’s report.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene Saturday when Estes and Simmons went to work their corp. Investigators believe the large garden filled with vegetables the two men raise to sell, was picked over by thieves. When they finished stealing, they drove a truck through the rows, destroying the rest of the garden.
“We think they picked most of it — the rest they wouldn’t even leave it for them. It was low-down,” Sheriff Melvin Bond said.
No arrests so far.
Weekend burglaries in Brownsville
August 1, 2011
Burglars took five bags of popcorn and cash when they broke into Addie Harden’s home on Gray Street. The burglars kicked in a door to get inside the house. Police say the cash was taken included $2 bills and fifty-cent coins.
At 109 Holly Cove, burglars entered Theron Thompson’s home through a back window and hauled off a 27-inch television.
