shirleyNANNEY
Editor
Outgoing county commissioners who won’t be returning to the County Legislative Body were honored during the Aug. 9 meeting. Ten of the 11 commissioners were present.
District 4 commissioner John Mann was the champion office holder with 55 years to his credit. His daughter, Dr. Pam Evans, stood by him as she talked about his life of service.
“I know what it means to be the daughter of a great man,” she said. “He is a champion of the worker. He would always say ‘they elected me to do a job.’”
She held up an agenda from Aug. 31, 1967, the first meeting he attended after being elected.
Mann’s wife, Ruth, also talked about his service.
“He’s been an advocate for Carroll County and the community he served,” she said.
District 2 commissioner Ronnie Murphy had the second highest number of years with 32 followed by District 3 commissioner Steve Parker with 24. District 6 commissioner Johnny Blount has served 20 years and District 9 commissioner Joel Washburn with 16 years.
With 8 years service each were District 4 commissioner Hal Eason, District 7 commissioner Gerald Scarbrough, and District 5 commissioner Lori Nolen with 6 years.
Commissioners with four years service include Jeremy Fowler from District 1, and Vince Taylor from District 5.
District 9 commissioner Paula Watkins, who was not present due to her husband’s illness, has 8 years service.
County Mayor Joseph Butler spoke to the commissioners before calling each one to the front and presenting them with a proclamation and wooden plaque that told of their years of service, compliments of state Sen. John Stevens.
“I’m grateful for you welcoming me as the youngest county mayor in the state and giving me support and knowledge,” he said. “I’m grateful for the culture that County Mayor Kenny McBride created before me.”
He added that Carroll County is a good place to live, work and raise a family.
Road Supervisor Scotty Bailey, who has been associated with the Carroll County Highway Department for 48 years but did not run for reelection, expressed his appreciation to commissioners for always supporting the Highway Department.
During the meeting Huntingdon Insurance agent Nathan Smothers spoke about a change in state law where insurance could be substituted for bonds. It deals with the bonding of elected officials.
Commissioners chose to add all elected officials to Carroll County’s Crime/Employee Dishonesty policy, except the trustee and keep that Surety Bond. The one time cost for the 4-year Surety Bond would be approximately $6,585.
When County Clerk Darlene Kirk ask if anyone had a request for charity, Nathaniel Borntreger, who had a house burnout, was mentioned.
Commissioner Barry Mac Murphy wanted to have the charity amount raised from $100 to $500. The budget committee will take it under consideration and maybe bring it before the Legislative Body in the future.
Carroll County will be getting new voting machines, according to the action of commissioners. The General Assembly in the 2022 session voted to require all counties to use voting machines with a voter-verified paper audit trail by Jan. 1, 2024. The $250,000 cost of the voting machines will come from federal and state grants.
In other business, commissioners:
• Elected the following notaries: Paula Bolen, Donta Cunningham, Nelda Davidson, Niya Cunningham, Amelia C. Jordan, Andrew W. Maddox, Dwayne D. Maddox III, Shelley McArthur, Karen Moore and Courtney Oatsvall.
• Approved monthly reports.
• Approved the quarterly reports of actions by the Carroll County Indigent Care Board.
• Reappointed Jerry Drewry to the Carroll County Civil Service Commission with the term ending 2026.
• Appointed John Austin to the Carroll County Electric Department Board as a County Commissioner representative with the term ending Aug. 2026.
• Amended the 2022-2023 General Fund Budget in the amount of $60,000 for jail elevator repair.
• Amended the 2022-2023 General Fund Budget for the Highway Department by $202,816.
• Acknowledged the receipt of a letter from the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury which noted the receipt of the 2022-2023 budget. The comptroller determined that projected revenues and other available funds are sufficient to meet anticipated expenditures. The information is based solely on the information received.
• Were informed about the county’s delinquent 2021 property taxes that were $628,243.55 as of June 30, according to Trustee Paula Bolen.
