The Bradley County Commission at its meeting next Monday will include a resolution to reduce the speed limit for semi-trucks on North Lee Highway, a recommitment of funds for the construction of an academic building at Lake Forest Middle School, and a re-examination of a proposal to raise the salaries of county firefighters after a contentious ad in a local paper.
The speed limit reduction for North Lee Highway was proposed soon after the death of 17-year-old Ashlyn Lamberth, who was killed in a collision with a logging truck.
She was turning onto the highway off of Tasso Lane when the truck ran a red light and crashed into her vehicle. The driver, 20-year-old Cody Judd, was uninjured.
The speed limit for semi-trucks on the highway is currently 45 mph and the commission reported that several residents in the area have repeatedly complained that dangerous speeding is a constant concern for them and their families. However, Commissioner Terry Caywood pointed out that reducing the speed limit would not necessarily prevent drivers from running red lights and proposed that the commission consider limiting semi-trucks to the right-hand lane instead.
The proposed recommitment of funds for the Lake Forest Middle School academic building would be a continuation of the commission’s plan to invest up to $12 million in the school’s facilities by adding 57 classrooms. The building that is currently being designed would replace an existent, poorly-designed structure, which has cost the school significant maintenance and energy costs. The construction would be in 2016.
A pay raise for firefighters in Bradley County has been in process for the past several months since the department asked the commission to examine their payment. County Mayor D. Gary Davis and Chief Troy Maney of the fire department spearheaded the development of a plan that would raise the salaries of firefighters without a tax increase.
However, in the last week after the plan’s unveiling, several firefighters took steps to raise public awareness of pay levels in their department that they consider unsatisfactory. These firefighters placed an ad in the Cleveland Daily Banner claiming that Bradley County Fire Rescue employees are the lowest paid emergency employees in the county and asking that readers contact commissioners in support of raises in the department.
The ad proved problematic for several commissioners including Commissioner Dan Rawls who took issue with the fact the firefighters used the Bradley County crest in their message. He claimed that this was an inappropriate usage of the insignia and made it seem as if the ad had been an official message from the county.
Commissioner Rawls said, “I take offense to what’s in here, and using the county crest like this is not right. It’s a slap in the face.”
The commission did not decide on an official response to the use of the crest, but will be examining whether its placement in the message was in violation of the law.
In addition to these resolutions now included in the voting session’s agenda on June 15, some commissioners raised other matters. Commissioner Thomas Crye asked that the county consider allocating additional funds to the SCPA which is currently working with an $80,000 annual budget.
Vice Chairman Jeff Yarber responded to this proposal claiming that it was not the county’s responsibility to fund the institution and suggested that the SCPA raise its needed funds through donations or community fundraisers.
Commissioner Rawls said that the SCPA was already attempting that and was now largely operating with money raised from such efforts. He also added that the commission would be hard-pressed to find a program that managed its finances as carefully as the Bradley SCPA.
The finance committee met soon after the commission meeting and County Mayor Davis reported that the county had actually come in under budget with savings of $100,000, which was going into the county fund balance. Capital projects such as the LFMS academic building, a $2 million veterans nursing home, and a new interchange on APD-40 are on schedule with adequate funding.
The new budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year is scheduled for presentation at the voting session next Monday when budget appeals may be made at the same time the commission votes on each of its proposed resolutions. The Commission expects this $135 million budget to be approved and adopted on July 6.