Finance committee approves SRO grant application, bank RFP process and accepts annual debt report

The Hamblen County Finance Committee on June 15 voted to authorize the sheriff's office to apply for a statewide School Resource Officer (SRO) grant totaling $1,350,000. Sheriff Mullins told the committee the grant is a recurring award that typically reimburses about $75,000 per school and can be used for SRO salaries and equipment. "This is just for approval for us to do the application," Sheriff Mullins said; committee members voted to move forward.

Committee members also heard that the county issued an RFP for banking services; proposals will be opened and evaluated and a recommendation will be presented at the next meeting. The chair said proposals will be opened later in the week and a bank selected before the next meeting.

Finance staff presented the county's annual debt report for the year ending June 30, 2026. The report lists total debt at $134,535,388, including just over $41 million associated with the schools, roughly $86.5 million of county debt and about $6.8 million in landfill-related obligations tied to a shredder and expansion project. Presenters said Moody's and Standard & Poor's ratings remain "very strong," and staff noted that, excluding any new borrowing, the county's scheduled debt payments would be covered by current fund balances.

The finance committee approved several additional routine items at the meeting, including construction change directives and a set of year‑end budget amendments across multiple funds.