The first reading of Signal Mountain’s budget for fiscal year 2023-2024 passed at the town council meeting Monday night. There will be no property tax rate increase; it remains the same as last year at $1.7012 for every $100 of assessed property value.
"City Manager Elaine Brunelle and the various department heads did a phenomenal job and found a lot of savings while keeping standards at where they have been," said Vice Mayor Elizabeth Baker. A lot of changes were not needed "because it was well thought out," said Mayor Charles Poss.
Capital improvement projects that are planned in the upcoming year involve many repairs to town-owned facilities. Some of those are for town hall, including replacing siding on the building, interior updates and replacing the front sidewalk. Repairs will be made to the fire department training facility and the shop building and a post lift will be purchased. Upgrades and renovations are planned for the town’s parks and playgrounds. Some tennis courts will be resurfaced and there will be backstop fence drainage repairs. And a sun deck will be added at the pool. The Mountain Arts Community Center will get four banks of windows and plumbing work and the recycle center will get concrete pads and be updated to meet Americans with Disabilities standards.
There is a planned raise for town employees. A facilities maintenance division will be established under the public works department. This will create several new positions, including a supervisor, a crew lead and a laborer. There will also be a communications specialist added under administration. The current parks and recreation department will be dissolved and absorbed into the new facilities maintenance division.
Total revenues for the year are planned at $9,143,115 and total appropriations are set at $9,822,488. There was a consensus of the council to pay for the difference out of the fund balance.
A public hearing regarding the budget will be held on May 22 during the council meeting when citizens can participate. A vote to adopt the budget will follow.
The town is beginning to use the American Rescue Plan funds it received from the federal government for COVID relief. The city manager was authorized to purchase two CPR devices for the Signal Mountain Fire Department for a price not to exceed $36,078, which will come from ARP money.
Final approval was also given to contract for administrative services with the Southeast Tennessee Development District to handle a large grant application. The town of Signal Mountain and Walden are building a water supply interconnect that will ensure a water source for both towns if it is ever needed. Water Utility Director Matt Justice has applied for a grant worth $998,500 that would be used for repairs and multiple water infrastructure projects, including the interconnect. Application for the grant is complicated and the town will pay SETD $7,215 for professional advice to make sure all the grant conditions are met. Of this, Signal Mountain will be responsible for paying $2,164 and the rest can be paid with another grant from the state. The actual cost to build the interconnect will be $240,516 with Signal Mountain’s co-payment of $72,154.
City Manager Brunelle has met with an industrial hygienist to evaluate town hall. She told the council that he did quality testing and found some significant issues with the building. The town will receive a written report and advice for remediation. She also said that applications for a new fire chief will close on May 19 after being advertised for a month. Five solid applications have been received, she said.
Mayor Poss reported on activity at the last planning commission meeting. The focus now is to make sure that the town’s land use plan and the subdivision plans match up. The planning commission will be doing a comprehensive review of the system, he said.
Appointments of council liaisons with four volunteer boards have been rearranged after Susannah Murdock replaced Vicki Anderson on the council. She was appointed to be the council liaison on the planning commission and the library board. Vice Mayor Elizabeth Baker was appointed to be liaison with the historical committee and the stormwater appeals board.
A discussion about the process for reviewing the city manager was led by the vice mayor. The review will be done by each department head and can be done anonymously. There will be a self-assessment done by Ms. Brunelle and another review by each council member. The questionnaire will include both ranking questions and open-ended questions that will need specific answers.