Washington County denies WCS budget for a second time

Editorial Note: This story has been edited to clarify the revised WCS budget for FY27 was a more than $2 million increase. The Washington County Budget Committee denied the Washington County Schools upcoming fiscal year budget for the second time on Tuesday and sent it back to the Board of Education for a second revision. Both the Washington County budget committee and the full commission met on Tuesday to discuss and take possible actions on the 2027 fiscal year budget. Washington County Budget Committee The committee denied the revised Washington County School budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The original budget was denied last Thursday by the committee and sent back to the Board of Education for revision. The original budget showed a nearly $4 million increase in funds. The revised budget presented to the committee on Tuesday was a more than $700,000 decrease than the original budget request. The revised request showed a more than $2 million increase from the current fiscal year. Additionally, the board requested a $2 million increase in sales tax revenue. The committee approved a $1 million increase in sales tax revenue for the schools last Thursday, but Washington County Mayor Joe Grandy said he is "uncomfortable" with an additional $1 million increase. "I was OK moving forward with an additional $1 million … as sales tax has grown over the years," Grandy said. "I'm comfortable with a million, but I'm not comfortable with two million." The $1 million increase brings WCS sales tax revenue to $22 million for the upcoming fiscal year. Washington County Commissioner and Vice Chair of the committee Richard Tucker made the motion to deny the budget request. "My suggestion is to reject this budget and send it back to the school board and let them try to balance their budget with what funds they got and not use anymore of the county money," Tucker said. Additionally, Tucker addressed a comment made during the the BOE meeting last Thursday by the board suggesting the county is micromanaging the board during the budget process. "I don't think we micromanage the school," he said. "We have to look at everything here because the school budget is a big factor here and when the school comes in wanting millions of dollars it's hard on us (because) we just don't have it and the only way you're gonna raise more money is to raise taxes." Washington County Schools Superintendent Jerry Boyd said the comment was made about the committee due to the little to no time it spent discussing the Johnson City Schools budget. "We have an elected board that makes the decision and approves the budget to you and their responsible for that so that was my comment on that," Boyd said. Tucker responded by reiterating he doesn't believe "that is micromanaging." The committee made a recommendation to the board to consider getting rid of its reserve fund. A reserve fund of two months is recommended by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, but it is not a requirement. The WCS budget will be sent back to the BOE for revision for a second time and will then be brought back to the committee for approval or denial. Washington County Commission The full commission met in a special called meeting on Monday for county departments and organizations requesting funds to discuss how the money will be sent if the county approves the requests. No decisions were made at the meeting during the discussion. Presentations from organizations requesting special appropriations included Families Free, Northeast Tennessee Tourism, Jonesborough Tourism, Johnson City Convention and Visitor Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce. The total special appropriation requests for the county are nearly $10 million and is a $914,009 increase from the current fiscal year. Washington County Sheriff Keith Sexton also presented the Washington County Sheriff's Department budget to the commission. The WCSO requested budget is a more than $2 million increase from the current fiscal year totaling to $38,151,049. Sexton said the increase in budget is due to salary increases, 10 additional positions and operational costs of the detention center and the WCSO as a whole. The 10 additional positions include patrol officers, detention center officers, a drug investigator and a child sex and internet crimes investigator. Sexton said the department is ensuring it doesn't fall behind in all aspects to ensure the residents of Washington County have access to public safety they can rely on. The 7% increase in the upcoming fiscal year budget request ensures the department stays ahead or level with surrounding counties sheriff's departments.