Lookout Mountain, Tn., town consultant Ansley Moses on Tuesday gave the commissioners an overview of the town’s finances as the close of the fiscal year approaches on June 30. He said the town currently has a surplus of $859,000, but budgeted expenses in May and June are forecast to reduce that surplus to approximately $100,000 to end the fiscal year.

Mr. Moses said he is working on the new budget and will present it next month for review and approval. Some assumptions made in the budget forecast include reduced revenue from the Tennessee Hall Income Tax, no cost-of-living raises for town employees, and an increase in healthcare insurance premiums around 20 percent.

Much work and discussion is going on, he said, to help reduce the healthcare insurance increase. A change in the deductible, a change in the carrier, and a change in the cost to employees are all on the table. Any changes in the insurance will not take effect until Nov. 1, Mr. Moses said, which is the insurance renewal date.

Mayor Brown said one scenario is to raise the deductible from $500 to maybe $1,500 or $2,000 to reduce premium costs. He suggested the Town might pick up the deductible after the first $500 is paid by the employee. That plan is a modified self-insured option, he said.

Mr. Moses said the town can expect about $1.6 million from property taxes next year and just $600,000 from the Hall tax.

Mr. Moses gave an update on Police Officer Jim Purser who was injured in a farm accident several months ago. Mr. Purser is virtually blind now, he said. One eye is completely blind and the other is badly damaged and of little use.

The town plans to keep Mr. Purser on the payroll until June 30 to give him time to file for disability, Mr. Moses said. Mr. Purser had 29 years with the town before the accident and was planning retirement in July.

Garden Club of Lookout Mountain members Cindy Whitaker and Jody Clark presented Mayor Greg Brown an award from the Garden Club of America for the restoration and preservation of the historical and unique beauty of the Natural Bridge Park.

Ms. Whitaker gave a brief history of the Garden Club of Lookout Mountain. The club was established in 1916 and is the oldest club on record in a district extending from Texas to Florida. In 1923, the local club joined the Garden Club of America. The Garden Club of Lookout Mountain has 110 members and the Garden Club of America has 17,000 members.

The local club began last September asking the national club to honor the town for preservation of the Natural Bridge Park. In March, the club was notified the award would be forthcoming. Mayor Brown and Public Works supervisor Bobby McDaniel accepted the award.

Parks and Playgrounds Commissioner Will Moses said the new Mountain Maze has been delivered. Construction will begin May 13 and will take two to four weeks to complete. He said he hopes it only takes two weeks.

After construction is complete, the town will construct a wooden fence around the playground, much like the previous one. Landscaping would then follow.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be planned to officially open the new playground, but would not delay the first use by residents.

In a follow-up to last month’s announcement of the Temple Park renovation, Mayor Brown asked the commissioners to approve the expenditure of up to $1,500 for the town to install a one-inch water meter for the park and to share in the cost of other piping needs with the Garden Club of Lookout Mountain. The commissioners approved a motion to allow the expenditures.

Mayor Brown gave an update on the possibility of installing sidewalks in the town. The firm of Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon has completed a study of locations for the sidewalks, including necessary bridges and retaining walls. The total cost, if the plan is built, would be around $4 million.

With the current state of the economy, Mayor Brown said, the town has no revenue sources to begin construction. The recent federal stimulus funds required cities and towns to submit plans that were “shovel-ready in 120 days.” “Ours was not,” he said.

There are rumors of a second round of federal stimulus funds and Mayor Brown said, “We will be ready.”

Commissioner of Education Bill Mitchell gave the following important dates for the school:

5th Grade Graduation, May 22

Memorial Day Holiday, May 25

No School--Records Day, May 26

Last Day of School, May 27

Library Opens for the Summer, June 9

Mayor Brown listed the following dates for the opening of new businesses:

New Mountain Market, May 28
Guthrie’s Restaurant, June 17

Mayor Brown said there are rumors of a new proprietor for the Mountain Café.

The next Town Commission meeting will be June 9 at 5 p.m.

Dana Wilbourn
dbwilbourn@yahoo.com

- Photo2 by Dana Wilbourn