Police Chief Dan Seymour
City Manager Tim Thornbury has prepared and presented Red Bank’s 2020 operating budget to the commissioners. Now a series of three budget workshops have been scheduled for the commissioners to review and fine tune it. The proposed budget totals $6,639,800 which is $377,000 more than the 2019 budget. Mr. Thornbury said that the proposed budget includes no tax increase. It does include a two percent raise for employees. It is subject to change before the final adoption.
The public is welcome to the workshops that are planned for Tuesday, May 21; Tuesday, June 4, and Tuesday, June 11.
All will be held at 4 p.m. The first reading and vote on the budget will be June 4 and the second and final vote will be held on June 18.
Sergeant Dan Seymour, who has worked in the city’s police department for eight years, has been promoted to be Red Bank’s new chief of police. His career in law enforcement began in Decatur, Ala. He then worked for the Collegedale force before coming to Red Bank.
The second and final vote on the amendment to the city’s code dealing with firearms, weapons and missiles was passed on Tuesday night. This change was made in response to the state of Tennessee’s new regulations about the circumstances that firearms can and cannot be regulated. The vote will bring the city’s laws into compliance with state laws. “There’s not much we can regulate now,” said City Attorney Arnold Stulce.
The commissioners approved a resolution that authorized participation in the U.S. Department of Justice Bulletproof Vest Partnership. This is a 50/50 grant and will help to replace 12 out of date vests for the police department.
Approval was also given for an agreement with Kleenco Construction to replace a section of a box culvert over Stringer’s Branch that washed away on Brentwood Drive because of recent heavy rain. An amount not to exceed $105,526.85 was authorized for this work.
County Commissioner Chip Baker, who represents Red Bank on the Hamilton County Commission, spoke saying that he is always open to hear opinions about issues facing the county. He cited the proposed 49-cent tax increase that the commission will be addressing in the near future. He said that 34 cents of that would go to the schools. "I believe that there will be a ton of discussion before it is adopted," he told the commissioners.
The city manager in his report took the opportunity to thank all the volunteers who helped with last weekend’s Red Bank Jubilee.