Members of the Carter County Commission’s Financial Management Committee received updates on the annual budget process and a variety of projects going on around the county during the group’s meeting Wednesday morning.
County Finance Director Ingrid Deloach updated the committee on the county’s budget process.
“We’ve finished all of our workshops,” she said. “We have completed that process, and as far as I know, everything is ready for the public hearing.”
The public hearing on the budget is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at the Carter County Courthouse. After the public hearing, the budget will be presented to the full Commission for a vote during the commission’s monthly meeting at 9 a.m. July 20 at the courthouse.
Carter County Mayor Leon Humphrey informed the group that the county had received a check from the Tennessee Department of Health for $450,000 in special needs funding to assist with the costs of much-needed renovations to the Carter County Health Department.
In the coming weeks, Humphrey said he and health department officials will begin meeting with other agencies to seek grant funding for the remaining costs of the remodeling project, which will be about $430,000.
The mayor also updated the group on another remodeling project, this one to the old Carter County 911 facility at the corner of East G Street and Holston Avenue.
Earlier this year, the Commission approved a project to remodel the building and create a new home for the Carter County Election Commission.
“We hope to have the bulk of the work done by the end of July,” Humphrey said.
The Carter County Highway Department has been working recently to clean out ditches and solve drainage issues, especially in the wake of recent heavy rainfalls, Road Superintendent Roger Colbaugh told the group.
The committee heard about maintenance and improvements being worked on in the school system during the summer vacation from Dr. Carol Whaley, director of special education for the Carter County Schools. Among the improvements are lighting replacements some of the gyms, a drop ceiling that was completed at Unaka High School and cameras being installed on all of the school buses.