Corby Bridge rebuilding looms over Washington County budget talks

Washington County approved both the highway department and the solid waste fiscal year 2027 budgets on Wednesday. The Washington County Budget Committee met to continue its discussion on the county's FY27 budget which began last Friday. The county's general fund expense budget is estimated to be $74.8 million — $10.9 million under what is projected for the general fund revenue budget. Mitch Meredith, Washington County's director of finance and administration, said the revenue budget will increase by June with an expected revenue increase in property and sales taxes. Washington County Highway Department The committee approved a $6.9 million budget for the highway department with an expense budget of $46.6 million. Meredith said 90% of Hurricane Helene recovery funds come out of the highway department fund making it a key expense for the department. The expense budget increased by 4% or $1.8 million from FY2025-26. The approved budget does not include the 1% salary increase to all county departments. Highway Superintendent Doug Jones told the committee he "completely disagrees with across the board" salary increases made by the county. He said this should be a decision made by each department head, not the commission. He added instead of presenting it to the full commission as salary increases, to present it as budget increases for all departments. This would allow department heads to distribute salary increases at different rates depending on the individual. "We cannot tell you what to do with the increases your department gets," County Commissioner and Vice Chair of the Budget Committee Richard Tucker said. "That's entirely up to you." Jones also gave the committee updates on Telford Bridge and Corby Bridge. He said Telford Bridge is expected to reach completion by July while Corby Bridge is still undergoing the engineering process. He said the engineering process is projected to be completed in three weeks and he hopes to have the bidding process started by mid-May despite not seeing any reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for at least six to eight months. The estimated cost for completion of Corby Bridge is between $27 and $30 million. The project is eligible for reimbursement up to 95% from FEMA and Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Washington County Mayor Joe Grandy previously said he will leave the decision up to the county commission on whether to begin the project before or after the county receives funds from FEMA and TEMA. "We hope that you all agree that (this) bridge needs to be built back," Jones said. "It's either we build it back or we don't." Jones added farmers in the area are having to detour five to eight miles with large equipment and "that's just not practical," he said. Washington County Solid Waste Department The committee approved a $1.24 million budget for the solid waste department with an expense budget of $2.49 million. The approved budget does not include the 1% salary increase to all county departments. Director of the Washington County Solid Waste Department, Lewis Haynie, gave the committee an update on the Lamar convenience center which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Helene. He said the center will open to the public at 10 a.m. on May 5 and will run at full capacity moving forward. The committee also discussed the five year plan for the capital project fund, but no actions were taken. The capital fund project was created for county departments to make requests outside of its budget for one-time projects or expenditures. The projection for revenue available for county projects in 2027 is $7,043,000 with a total expenditure projection of $10,905,000. The expenditure projection increased $6.6 million from the 2026 budget and the revenue available for county projects only increased by $345,000. The full county commission will meet in a special called meeting on Monday at 5 p.m. before its regular monthly meeting to consider and take possible action on the FY27 budget. This meeting will be one of three meetings the commission will have before May 31 to consider the FY27 budget. The next Budget Committee meeting is on Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the Washington County Courthouse.