Harrison McClary/News & Observer
The meeting started with a public hearing to allow people to comment on budget items including budgets for emergency communications, for the property tax rates, and a capitol improvements program 2020 – 2025. No one spoke.
In the public comments period several people discussed addressing codes to allow homes that are in the flood plain to be raised as FEMA suggests.
City Manager Kirk Bednar pointed out that the code is in compliance with FEMA and that the codes do allow the homes to be elevated with enclosed crawl spaces to two feet above flood level, up to five feet. If it is over five feet it needs to be on a pier system.
Public works discussed storm clean-up and asked that people please get debris from the storms to the curb so that they can get the chipper trucks and supplemental trucks being used to help with the clean-up. They are staying with the normal schedule which can be found on the city website and that people follow the guides for placing items for the chipper service. The guidelines and schedule can be found here.
Concerts in the park, Rubiks Groove will perform August 4 since their earlier concert was canceled due to weather.
Consent agenda passed.
The budget had several amendments, the first being for the schools. The city voted to contribute $62,400 each for Brentwood High School and Ravenwood High School; $15,600 for Brentwood, Sunset, and Woodland Middle Schools; $10,400 Crockett, Edmondson, Jordan, Kenrose, Lipscomb, Scales and Sunset Elementary with the actual amount contributed to Sunset Elementary to be based on the percentage enrolment of Brentwood students as of August 16. Commissioner Regina Smithson commented that Brentwood has contributed $5,000,000 over the years to the county schools in the Brentwood city limits and that as far as she knows Brentwood is the only city in the state that contributes in this manner. The money goes for extra items the schools would not get.
Amend recreational service budget: $50,000 to FiftyForward Martin Center, $13,000 to the YMCA; $21,000 to the Brentwood Ball Club; $18,000 for the Brentwood Blaze; and $3,250 to Mid Cumberland Human Resources Agency in lieu of the city’s membership in the National League of Cities. Commissioner Anne Dunn pointed out that since the city does not have a full-fledged recreation department, these donations actually save the city as they do not have to fund a full recreation department.
City manager 1.5% adjustment to base pay and a merit pay of 3% to be paid as a onetime lump sum.
Budget passed unanimously with amendments.
Property tax rate passes and stays the same, this is 29 years that the tax rate has remained the same.
Anne Dunn is appointed to the Historic Commission
Regina Smithson is voted to the Library Board.
Nelson Andrews is on the Park Board
Vice-Mayor Ken Travis is on the Planning Commission
Susannah Macmillan is Environmental Advisory Board
Vice-Mayor Ken Andrews is on the 50th steering commission
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