Mayor Jason Bailey recently learned that the Union County 911 Board was not appointed according to state requirements. When he became mayor, there were and still are not any local bylaws so he just followed traditions and filled vacancies as they arose. But new learning brought change to the 911 Board at the September Union County Commission meeting.

Schools director Greg Clay reported to the Union County Commission on August 26 that excavation has begun for the new middle school on John Deere Drive. The formal groundbreaking ceremony will be on Wednesday, September 4, at 9:30 a.m. at the site.
Several property items were considered by the commission. The Luttrell Industrial Park Property was the subject of a motion by Greg Dyer and a second by Mike Boles to appraise the property for possible sale that the commission approved. Voting ‘No’ on the motion was Sidney Jesse.

The Union County Commission approved all documents relating to the FY25 Budget unanimously, except for one negative vote by 3rd District Commissioner Kenny Moore on the Non-Profit Budget. The tax rate will remain the same.
The sheriff’s department will get a step increase of two percent. as will EMS. Other county employees will receive a six percent raise which moved them three steps on the pay scale.

The Union County General Fund 101 Budget passed one more hurdle on June 4, 2024, when the Union County Budget Committee sent its recommendations to County Commission for consideration on Monday, June 10.

Sidney Jessee Jr. presided over the May Union County Commission meeting because Mayor Bailey was on vacation. The meeting got a late start due to the lengthy budget committee meeting. The budget committee approved and recommended all budgets to the commission except the County FY25 General Fund 101. A vote to recommend Fund 101 failed 2 to 6 with Chairperson Cheryl Walker and Commissioner Gerald Simmons supplying the only affirmative votes.

In the April 22 meeting Union County Commission learned that a private act would be needed to increase building permit fees. Recently the budget committee recommended raising the fees, but further investigation of the process found that when commission raised the cost of a building permit, it violated its own private act.

A community building and convenience center became one step closer to reality for Braden and Big Ridge during the Union County Commission March meeting. Commissioners Greg Dyer (5th District) and Dawn Flatford (4th district) have spent many months searching for suitable property. Two community landowners have risen to the challenge and offered land at reasonable prices. Danny Kilgore in Braden is willing to sell a nearly 2-acre property for $30,000. The property will need clearing, a well, and septic.

At the February 24 Union County Commission Meeting, Mayor Jason Bailey explained that the Healthy Built Environment Grant through the Tennessee Department of Health has increased its funding to $100,000 and can be used to build multi-purpose sports fields. These fields could increase the opportunities for recreation on property at the back of Wilson Park.

The new year brought Mayor Bailey’s first tiebreaker of his tenure at the Union County Commission meeting last month.
Sheriff Billy Breeding requested a mid-year budget amendment of new money to fund a correctional grade camera system. Prior to the commission meeting, the sheriff brought his proposal to the budget committee where it did not receive any action, therefore the proposal could be brought to the commission without a recommendation.

Jim Hart, Interim Manager and Jail Management Consultant for County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS), reviewed the Union County Jail Needs Assessment for the joint meeting of the UC Jail Committee and the UC Commission on Thursday, February 1.
Hart noted several challenges in the current jail. The jail is an aging facility that regularly exceeds its maximum capacity of 76 inmates. He explained that the jail is considered overcrowded at 85% capacity or 64 inmates.

Mayor Jason Bailey recognized the Union County Finance Department for “doing such an awesome job with Union County finances and having a perfect audit” with no findings in any department or fee office of Union County government at the regular Union County Commission Meeting on November 27. He recognized finance department employees for their careful handling of nearly $75M. He also commended the expertise of the elected officials who handle funds.

At the regular October meeting, Union County Commission voted to set aside $3,000 annually to fund the plaques on the wall at Veteran’s Place. Commissioner Sidney Jessee, Jr. stated that the idea had come from a 2nd district citizen who said that paying for the plaques was the right thing to do for our veterans who have given us so much.
The money will purchase approximately 30 plaques a year on a first come, first served basis.

Mayor Jason Bailey was re-elected by acclamation to be the chairman of the Union County Commission at the regular meeting on September 25.
Commissioner Sidney Jessee Jr., who represents District 2, was also re-elected to serve as vice chairman. Although absent from the meeting,

The Union County Commission postponed its vote on which option to choose for the location of the new jail at its regular meeting in August.

At the regular Union County Commission meeting in July, commissioners voted on a resolution to issue bonds to fund the new middle school.
Scott Gibson from Cumberland Securities and the county financial advisor explained the procedure. The bond resolution is for $26,250,000.
The bonds will be issued in three phases: $10M in 2023, $10M in 2024, and the balance of $6.25M in 2025. The payment is for 20 years with a four percent interest rate.

In the June 26th meeting the Union County County Commission funded all budgets and set the tax rate at 1.8999. The EMS increases, the solid waste contract, the general fund, and the building of a new middle school were all in the tax levy for FY 24. The compromise took at least 8 votes. Votes were taken on proposals that spanned from 1.8990 to 1,9310. The vote was never tied so Mayor Bailey was not able to vote.

Cheryl Walker, budget committee chairperson, explained the actions of the budget committee meetings at the May Union County Commission meeting. The budget committee had taken several votes on several parts of the budget: Development (Planning Commission), County Clerk, Sheriff, Special Patrols, Jail (current facility), Fire Protection, Rescue Squad, Libraries, EMS, Debt Service and General Capital Projects; the budget committee did recommend several cuts to the General Fund 101 Budget, but after several tie votes was bringing no recommendations for the other parts.

At its March regular meeting, Union County Commission voted to return the Parks and Recreation Grant (PGR) that would have funded the Union County Sports Complex.
The PRG would have provided soccer and football fields in Phase 1 and baseball and softball fields in Phase 2 for Union County youth.
Concession stands, lighting and equipment, as well as site development, were included in the $1.2M initial grant that most likely would have ensured the awarding of the phase 2 grant when phase 1 was completed.

By Marilyn Toppins
At the January Union County Commission meeting, Finance Director Melissa Brown told commissioners that Union County had no debt and repeated the statement three times at Union County Mayor Jason Bailey’s request. However, she explained that the Union County School Board still owes for the School Energy Saving Program and the wheel tax will be paying for the construction of Paulette Elementary through possibly 2028.

The Union County Commission faced several agenda items concerning pay issues at its November meeting. The first item to be resolved involved confusion regarding a motion in the minutes of the October 24 meeting to distribute bonus pay to essential workers with funds from the Capital Projects Budget. The commission was unaware of a law that passed in 2016 that reduced the majority vote requirement if a member had a statutory conflict.