Commission Chairman Marty Mills Addresses County Financial Issues & Future Political Aspirations

Jefferson County Commissioner and Chairman, Marty Mills – Staff Photo by Jeff Depew

Chairman of the Jefferson County Commission, Marty Mills, addressed some of the issues that are facing the Commission during the next several weeks, as they seek to establish a budget for fiscal year 2013-2014. With the deadline for budget approval looming, Chairman Mills and the Commission are readying for some long evenings crunching numbers to make the bottom line work for citizens of Jefferson County. Mills is a two term Commissioner that is in his third year at the helm of the County Commission. He currently serves on the budget committee and is one of the most experienced budget committee members, having served in that capacity for several years. The Chairman is one of three members that did not support the motion to cut the Department of Education budget nearly $1.5 million below their proposed amount. He stated that, while he is concerned about the Department of Education’s proposed deficit of nearly $3 million dollars, he could not vote for a specific amount to cut until he has information on what is included in the proposed cuts and what areas would be affected. Mills said that he would like to look at all the options available to facilitate funding before making a decision to request drastic cuts that could have serious educational impact. A fat County debt service fund could be a source of funding, according to Chairman Mills, and he is supported in his opinion by Jefferson County Finance Director Helton, who made similar statements during both School Board and Budget Committee meetings. Helton recently raised the issue of increasing the Wheel Tax, which would spread the funding burden more evenly among Jefferson County residents, rather than just those that own property in the County. Mills stated that he would be in favor of taking a Wheel Tax increase to voters, in the form of a referendum, however that could not be accomplished in time to impact fiscal year 2013-2014 budget. The Chairman stated that he is sensitive to the limited pocketbooks of property tax payers, however the County cannot expect to operate on the same level of service with the same level of funding, year after year. Just like personal finances, the cost of doing business increases with County finances, as well.

Also facing Jefferson County is a deficit in the Sanitation budget that has been a recurring audit finding for several years. Recently, Jefferson County Finance Department was notified that the Tennessee Comptroller is requiring the formation of an Audit Committee to address the more than $5 million dollar deficit. Chairman Mills, along with the Chair of the Finance Committee and the Chair of the Budget Committee and citizens will comprise the Audit Committee and Mills is aware that they have a rather daunting task ahead of them. He projects that it will take considerable time to remedy the deficit situation, however the County must begin to appropriate funds to gradually answer the audit findings.

Beyond his position on the Commission, Mills is also sits on the EDOC Board and the funding of EDOC and the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce has been a spotlight issue in the County. Funding for EDOC is a set commitment from Jefferson County and is separate from funding of the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is funded through the County hotel/motel tax and it currently receives around half of its funding from Jefferson County. Mills stated that he would like to see Chamber funding requests lessen as they secure other funding avenues which would free up the hotel/motel tax to meet the obligations that the County has made to EDOC. Currently, hotel/motel tax must be used for economic development in the County (by County referendum) but there is not enough hotel/motel tax to meet the Chamber of Commerce’s funding requests and the County’s obligation to EDOC. Chairman Mills is aware that the Commission is fighting an uphill battle this budget year because as expenditures are rising, the worth of a penny has dropped and property values have also declined. As the deadline to bring a balanced budget before the Full Commission grows closer, the pressure is on the budget committee to find a palatable compromise.

The time is also drawing near that Commissioners will have to decide if they will seek to continue their political career or step out of the political spotlight. Rumors have been abounding that Mills will be a candidate for the Jefferson County Mayor’s position during the next election cycle. Chairman Mills stated that he has enjoyed his time in public service, however there are other considerations that will weigh into his decision about his political future and if it lies seeking a re election to the Commission or declaring himself a Mayoral candidate or stepping down entirely. For now, Mills is satisfied to keep his attention on the budget for fiscal year 2013-2014, however he concedes that nothing is off of the table.