The Bradley County Commission will vote next week on a resolution to ask the state of Tennessee to not pass down any unfunded mandates to county governments. The resolution was requested by Bradley County Mayor Gary Davis, who stated that the same resolution was being voted on by all other county commissions across Tennessee.
Commissioner Ed Elkins applauded the resolution, as it went further than a previous resolution requesting the same thing. In an effort to ensure the mandate is as successful as possible, Commissioner Howard Thompson asked that it also be sent to President Barack Obama.
“I believe that the state is having a budget crisis,” Commissioner Elkins said. “If they’re able to cut their funding for mandated programs, I think not only should the counties not be required to pick that up, but some relief should be given to the counties if they’re having trouble.”
Following this discussion, a resolution was put on the agenda to thank Tom Collins, superintendent of the Bradley County Road Department, for his department’s great response during the recent snow in Bradley County.
President of the Bradley Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, Gary Farlow, took the stand to invite the commissioners to a meeting with Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey at the Chamber on Feb. 13 at 12 p.m., as well as a meeting with Ocoee Multicultural Services on Feb. 23 at 2 p.m., which will feature a public relations professional from Volkswagen.
The next meeting of the Bradley County Commission is Feb. 16 at 10 a.m.