Tracy Harris
Staff Writer
The Marshall County Board of Commissioner’s meeting was held at 6:00 p.m. on Jan. 22, 2024 at the courthouse annex in room 2204. There were 15 members present. Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance followed roll call. There were no public comments this month. December’s minutes were approved.
Marshall County Sheriff Billy Lamb recommended the following appointments for the Jail Disciplinary Committee: Harold Foster, Commissioner Nathan Johnson, and Cynthia Durand. Marshall County Mayor Mike Keny recommended Commissioner Seth Warf for the Agriculture Committee. All of the appointments passed unanimously.
The first item under New Business was Resolution 24-01-01 to approve a budget amendment for the General Fund and it passed 15-0. This amendment concerned a BIS invoice from a prior year that was not paid. The resolution listed the invoice as: Chancery Court-Data Processing Services $1,290; Circuit Court-Data Processing Services Circuit $3,450; Circuit Court-Data Processing Services Sessions $1,290 – for a total of $6,030.
Resolution 24-01-02 was to approve the 2024 Master Road list and it passed 15-0. There are 477 roads in the county and there were no changes made to the list.
The resolution to approve the mayor signing a contract with Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center passed unanimously. Resolution 24-01-03 changes the rate of pay for juveniles in their detention center. The old contract paid $175 per day for each juvenile and the new one will pay $200 per day for each juvenile – an increase of $25 per day.
Approving a Memorandum of Understanding for National Cybersecurity Assessment Review (NCSR) also passed unanimously. Resolution 24-01-04 involves a no-cost annual self-assessment to help Marshall County identify areas for improvement in cybersecurity. The State of Tennessee provides local government agencies the chance to look at the current conditions of their cybersecurity programs. It will allow the county to use the results to develop tools, training programs, and strategies to improve the county’s infrastructure.
Resolution 24-01-05 to approve a business personal property audit service agreement with Tax Management Associates, Inc. (TMA) passed 15-0 following an inquiry. A commissioner asked what exactly the company does: do they audit all businesses, how do they choose who gets audited, and the reason for this the resolution. Commissioner Beyer explained that the company usually chooses 12-15 businesses to look at and that they are based in Nashville versus the old company from east Tennessee. The contract says TMA will “perform Business Personal Property Audit and Compliance Reviews in order to verify the accuracy of personal property listings as assigned by the County Assessor of Property.” These services include desk audits, field reviews, and field audits. Mayor Mike Keny pointed out this is a state requirement. The State of Tennessee agreed in a court settlement to require all counties to implement or use an audit property program, or the utilities will be entitled to an extra 5% equalization reduction in its tangible personal property assessments for the year.
There was only one “no” vote throughout the entire meeting and it came from Craig Blackwell on the sixth resolution of the night. Resolution 24-01-06 authorizes Marshall County to enter into a contract with OLG Services, LLC to renovate the old Marshall County Health Department facility and to allow GHP, LLC to oversee the project. According to Blackwell, $1 million is too much money for just four county offices “that have nothing to do with each other.” He added, “Somebody needs to go back to the drawing board on this one.” The motion did pass by a 14-1 vote.
The final item in new business was Resolution 24-01-07 to appoint the delinquent tax attorney. Scottie Poarch, Trustee, chose Barbara Medley for the position. State law allows compensation for the person in this role to be up to 10% of all delinquent land taxes collected. Marshall County negotiated Medley’s compensation before the resolution and decided to put it at 10% of all delinquent land taxes collected. The resolution passed unanimously.
The last order of business was announcements. Commissioner Mickey King updated on the county’s water treatment plant. The current shaft is 27 feet in diameter and 55-60 feet deep. They are awaiting a rig right now, but otherwise are ahead of schedule. The plant is set for completion in 2027. It was suggested that commissioners take a tour as soon as weather is good to see all the progress being made. Several commissioners commended all those who helped during the ice and snow. Everyone agreed that workers did a phenomenal job at keeping Marshall County citizens as safe as possible.
The next meeting will be Feb. 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at the courthouse annex building in room 2204. Agendas are posted at least 48 hours in advance of their meeting at www.marshallcountytn.com. Marshall County allocates a period of time for public comment during Commission Meetings and Committee Meetings.
The following restrictions apply to the period of public comment:
1) comments may only be made on items on that meeting’s agenda
2) the period of public comment will be 30 minutes at a maximum
3) the number of speakers allowed to speak during the public comment section is 10
4) the length of time a speaker may speak is three (3) minutes
5) the speaker’s comments shall be addressed to the chairman
6) anyone wishing to speak at a meeting must submit their name and desire to do so to the County Mayor’s office by 3 p.m. three business days before the meeting
Per the Marshall County website, until further notice item six does not apply to committee meetings. Those wanting to speak at a committee meeting must sign up before the start of the meeting and inform the committee chairman. Items 1-5 are in effect.
