Smith County Mayor Jeff Mason’s January 2021 Report to the County Commission

January 15, 2021

Smith County Mayor Jeff Mason will be submitting a written version of his mayor’s report from each county commission meeting beginning this month. You can follow Mayor Mason on Facebook and see reports on the Smith County Government’s website at https://smithcotn.com. You may also view the full January Commission meeting here.

Opening Remarks

First, I want to send a ‘thank you’ out to Michael Railing and his staff at the Smith County Health Department. They have worked long and hard to provide Covid-19 testing and now administering vaccines. During a recent meeting, I heard many other mayors across the state address issues with their own county’s testing and vaccine administration. I am now more convinced our Smith County Health Department is doing a great job with the process and the logistics of the vaccine. It has not been an easy 10 months, but they have performed well.

Secondly, I want to send a ‘thank you’ out to Daisy Denton, Director of Budgets and Accounts. Daisy works hard to keep the books balanced and keeping the county commission informed on the financial standing of the county. I struggle sometimes with the lack of common sense usage in government processes. She always has good info and facts as to why certain things have to be done certain ways. I appreciate her for the job she does.

Governors One Time Money for County Governments

Smith County received $826,000 in one-time money from the state of Tennessee. We worked with Departments to meet needs that were not funded in the past due to budget and hierarchical restraints.

We have purchased two roadway tractors with sidearm bush hogs to keep our right of ways clear. They were delivered early fall and are currently being used across the county.

We purchased a new oil distributor and truck for the highway department. The distributor they had was over 30 years old. It has been delivered and Steve Coble is building a fund for rock and oil to be used when the weather breaks in the spring.

We purchased a new tanker truck for Central District Fire Department to replace the old unit in which the tank was beginning to rust. The new tanker has a poly 2000-gallon tank that should serve the county for many years to come.

We purchase AED kits for sheriff’s patrol cars that did not have one. These life-saving devices are now in every car and do not have to be swapped out at shift change.

We allotted fifteen thousand dollars to the rescue squad for upgrading and purchasing new rescue equipment.

The remaining balance of just a little less than fifty thousand will go to building repairs and upgrades.

Thank you goes to the commission for approving and trusting us to spend the money on needs.

County Bond Restructuring

We completed a bond-restructuring sale in December. This sale and restructuring saved the county $1.5 million in interest charges and reduced the length of debt payments. Thank you to the county commission for allowing us to get this done.

Sale of the Baker Property

The proposed sale of the Baker Property to DeCleMac Holdings is not moving forward. At the second reading of the Gordonsville City Council, the motion to rezone the property from I-1 to I-2 did not receive a second. The request had passed unanimously through the Gordonsville Planning Commission and first reading of the city council. DeCleMac Holdings decided to build their ammunition primer manufacturing, penicillin fermentation distillery and sensor production facilities in Power Com Industrial Park located in Trousdale County. I am disappointed that this did not happen here, and our citizens and children will not be able to have those jobs in Smith County. Mayor John Potts and I are committed to working together to find the best use for the property that will be approved by the Gordonsville Council.

County Employee Salary Study

As directed by the Budget and Finance Committee last year, we are currently working on getting a salary study complete for wages and benefits for county employees. The firm we are working with is compiling data from our employees and surrounding counties as well as similar size counties across the state and private sector comparable jobs. They will then make a recommendation on what salaries we should be paying. At that time, we will present findings to the county commission and a decision on whether or not to make changes to the compensation plan. 

Budget Season

Budget request sheets will be going out to elected officials and department heads in February. Budget and Finance hearings will begin in late March to early April. If collections maintain their current level, we should reach our sufficient operating capital goals this year. We will have made our goal in two years instead of the three planned. This, combined with not adding to our debt, restructuring our debt and paying off debt was my goal. The direction I will advise the county commission will be to reduce property tax rates this year. It is the right thing to do. We asked for a heavy lift from all of Smith County in 2019 and will have soon fixed our issues. We need to reduce that ask from all of us. Government needs to do what it does and do it efficiently and effective. Government services cost what they cost but we should only ask for what is needed to operate year to year and maintain funds for improvements. 

Census Data

Census data will be sent out in the spring. We will start working on redistricting in the summer, with it being completed by year-end.

Thank you for allowing me to be Mayor of the greatest county in the world!

God Bless Smith County and God Bless the United States of America.

Jeff Mason