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Mayor Davis proposes $193-million county budget, pay raises

From the Cleveland Daily Bannner: After several months of preparation, Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis presented his budget proposal for fiscal

From the Cleveland Daily Bannner: After several months of preparation, Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis presented his budget proposal for fiscal 2023-24 in the evening of Monday, June 5.
Touting the budget proposal as his 23rd, which will not require tax increases, Davis still noted revenue was “flat” due to the 28% discount from the ratio study, which was conducted by the Comptroller’s Office.
He quipped, “I often say, the good thing about Biden’s inflation is we get more sales tax.”
Looking to the budget, Davis said his proposal features 3% increases in pay for all departments, and the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office will receive its requested step plan.
“Everyone agreed pay raises were the No. 1 priority,” Davis said, but he noted the 3% raises meant there were no new full-time positions added to the county.
As of now, this means the Election Commission, which has been requesting an additional full-time employee for some time, is not likely to have its request honored.
EMA and EMS had also requested new full-time positions which are not funded by the mayor’s proposal.
At noon on Monday, June 19, departments may make appeals for alterations to the proposed budget.
The following are a few items from the proposed budget which Davis highlighted:
• Paying down $6,910,000 of the county’s debt;
• Having a projected fund balance of $5.877 million, which is expected to help with future school projects; and
• Including the budget for Bradley County Schools, the county’s total budget in the proposal is $193,912,935.
Davis added, “Next year’s revenue’s will be much better than this year, for sure.”