Interview with Budget Committee Chair, Roger Griffith

Jefferson County Commissioner, Roger Griffith – Staff Photo by Jeff Depew

Budget Committee Chairman Roger Griffith has been at the helm of recent Budget Committee meetings, as the group prepares to bring the fiscal year 2013-2014 budget before the Full Commission Body for adoption. As Chairman of the Budget Committee, Griffith will also be one of three Commission members, along with citizens, that will comprise the State mandated Audit Committee, which will take up the issue of a Sanitation budget that has been a source of concern for the State of Tennessee. Absent from the budget proposal, and apparently absent for several years, is the Sanitation Department’s answer to funding the closing of the County landfill, should closure be deemed necessary. Closure funds are required to be kept in the County budget, however several years of audit reports confirm that the reserve funding is not currently in the County budget. Chairman Griffith will sit on the Committee that will address the audit findings. Also on that Committee are County Commission Chairman Mills and Finance Chairman Cureton. Griffith stated that the need to address the issue is pressing, however he doubts that there will be a short term fix from the Committee. Rather, the Chair predicts that there will be no easy answer to compiling the funding needed to satisfy the State of Tennessee and it will most likely be a long term process.

As Griffith and his budget committee prepare to present the 2013-2014 fiscal year budget, they have encountered certain set backs that in the timetable. Recently, Griffith was one of a small majority of Committee Members that voted to return the Department of Education budget for cuts that amount to almost $1.5 million dollars. Griffith, an independent business man and first time member of the budget committee, has hopes that a tax increase will be forgone for the next budget year. He is aware that the numbers are piling up and that budgets that were preliminarily passed may not make it to the Full Body without further cuts. This budgeting session has been a softer ride for most of the non profit requests, however, according to the Chairman, there are no sacred items in the budget. Though the membership of this Budgeting Committee appears to value the contributions of the non profits, final cuts will still be made to accommodate a decreased revenue stream and the lower worth of the tax penny. Chairman Griffith concedes that the Department of Education may not be able to meet the bar and find nearly $1.5 million in cuts, however he believes that it is the Committee’s charge to present a budget that is palatable to the Commission and the citizens. The Chairman stated that the Budget Committee was sending the message that it expects all departments to make the effort to trim their requests and bring a real, best effort to the budgeting table. Griffith stated that any tax increase is distasteful and that it should be considered a last resort to balance the budget. He said that he believes that budget overages are largely in response to expenses out of control of the County and not to growing the government.

Griffith is the father of nine children and a business owner. He, like his colleagues on the Commission, will soon be faced with deciding to continue his political career or stepping out of the political spotlight. The Chairman is still weighting his options concerning a return to the County Commission and has ruled out a run for any County wide position during the next election cycle. Griffith and the Budget Committee are on the fast track to completion of the fiscal year 2013-2014 budget and will await a response from the Department of Education regarding their ability to meet requested cuts. The current plan is to present the budget to the Full Body in mid July, however that date could be moved if more time is needed to complete the budgeting process.