Coffee County adopts budget, sets certified tax rate and approves 3% pay raise

Coffee County commissioners voted on June 18 to adopt the county’s budget, set the certified tax rate and approve a 3% pay raise for county employees, approving budget amendments for one-time costs and operational adjustments.

County finance staff member Marianna reviewed the amendment package before the board, which included transfers to cover overtime at the Emergency Management Agency tied to Bonnaroo, a $49,700 adjustment recorded as insurance recoveries, a $5,612 increase to opioid-abatement funds tied to the public defender’s office, and an increase of $29,600 in the coroner’s budget to cover a higher-than-expected number of autopsies. Marianna stated the combined amendments were about $227,000 for the year and said an increase of $107,008.63 to the county’s fund balance raised the reported cash balance to $10,170,009.76.

A motion to approve the amendment package passed by voice vote.

On new business, Marianna read the certified tax-rate figures from the packet: the uniform rate was read as 1.4389; an education/Manchester addition of 0.0360 produced a Manchester total of 1.4749; the county (rural) property total was read as 1.6283 (which the staff noted includes solid-waste and rural debt-service components). The industrial-park rate in the packet was read as 1.7993 for the Caugherty County Industrial Park (as presented in the materials).

Commissioners discussed projected shortfalls and the cost difference between a 2% and a 3% employee pay increase. Staff presented an estimated deficit for June 30, 2026, of $139,007 and read a longer projection for June 30, 2027 that included the 3% salary increase; one commissioner cited a roughly $158,036 difference in the projection if the raise were 2% rather than 3%.

After discussion and additional operational notes — including that property additions to the tax base can be added through the end of August (cutoff Sept. 1) and that the county uses a vehicle-rotation plan (five replacements per year, with a target replacement around 120,000 miles) — a commissioner moved to approve the budget, the certified tax rate and the 3% pay raise with benefits. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

Commissioners also agreed to cancel the June 25 meeting; they reminded residents that a rezoning public hearing is scheduled next Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. regarding property near Beach Grove.

The meeting adjourned following the vote.

Notes: where transcript figures were unclear or garbled when read aloud, this article reports the numbers as stated in the meeting packet and as read into the record. If readers need the precise line-item breakdowns, the county packet prepared by finance staff (Marianna) contains the detailed figures.