Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett's eighth and final budget proposal urges a short-term fix for educational programs, pay increases for county sheriff's deputies and highway construction.
The$819 million spending plan holds the line on property tax rates, a staple of Burchett's two terms in office. It is a 2.6 percent increase over the current fiscal year.
"This is an effective, responsible budget that reflects our expectations of revenue growth," Burchett said in a summary attached to the budget document.
Sixty-three percent of the county's spending plan this year will go to Knox County Schools. Burchett recommended full funding for the school system's $484 million request. He also proposed possible short-term funds for magnet schools and Project GRAD. KCS Superintendent Bob Thomas previously recommended cuts to both programs. While the budget proposal submitted today includes no formal funding, Burchett suggested county surplus money could be used to help sustain both initiatives for a single year.
"[That] will give our respective staff members an opportunity to draft a defined service contract that will include accountability measures that can be used to properly evaluate these programs and help the Board of Education determine their future," Burchett said.
Pay raises for Knox County Sheriff's Office personnel are also included in the budget plan. While all county employees will get a cost-of-living increase, KCSO deputies will get a bigger one to help offset the slack discovered when the county surveyed salaries last year.
Six million dollars in county and state money will be set aside for paving projects, the equivalent of fifty miles of roads. The spending plan also includes $5 million to complete a highway link between Clinton Highway and Lovell Road. That project, along Schaad Road in western Knox County, will be the largest public works project in county history, Burchett said.
After delivering his annual budget announcement, Burchett set out on a three-day tour across the county. He will explain the budget and field questions at senior centers and libraries through Wednesday, May 9. The county commission will consider the budget proposal in meetings later this month. The fiscal year begins July 1.