The Union County Commission voted to take an option with contingencies on a 12-acre property for the new jail at the October meeting.

Commissioner Sidney Jessee Jr., Jail Committee Chairman, explained the Jail Committee had narrowed the number of architects to three and were expecting to have interviews with each on November 12 at 6 p.m.

Mayor Jason Bailey recently learned that the Union County 911 Board was not appointed according to state requirements. When he became mayor, there were and still are not any local bylaws so he just followed traditions and filled vacancies as they arose. But new learning brought change to the 911 Board at the September Union County Commission meeting.
The mayor researched the 911 Board members and the dates of their appointment to set up the required staggered terms. At the end of the modified staggering, appoints will either finish a defined term or begin a new term of four years.

Schools director Greg Clay reported to the Union County Commission on August 26 that excavation has begun for the new middle school on John Deere Drive. The formal groundbreaking ceremony will be on Wednesday, September 4, at 9:30 a.m. at the site.
Several property items were considered by the commission. The Luttrell Industrial Park Property was the subject of a motion by Greg Dyer and a second by Mike Boles to appraise the property for possible sale that the commission approved. Voting ‘No’ on the motion was Sidney Jesse.

The Union County Commission approved all documents relating to the FY25 Budget unanimously, except for one negative vote by 3rd District Commissioner Kenny Moore on the Non-Profit Budget. The tax rate will remain the same.
The sheriff’s department will get a step increase of two percent. as will EMS. Other county employees will receive a six percent raise which moved them three steps on the pay scale.

The Union County General Fund 101 Budget passed one more hurdle on June 4, 2024, when the Union County Budget Committee sent its recommendations to County Commission for consideration on Monday, June 10.

Sidney Jessee Jr. presided over the May Union County Commission meeting because Mayor Bailey was on vacation. The meeting got a late start due to the lengthy budget committee meeting. The budget committee approved and recommended all budgets to the commission except the County FY25 General Fund 101. A vote to recommend Fund 101 failed 2 to 6 with Chairperson Cheryl Walker and Commissioner Gerald Simmons supplying the only affirmative votes.

In the April 22 meeting Union County Commission learned that a private act would be needed to increase building permit fees. Recently the budget committee recommended raising the fees, but further investigation of the process found that when commission raised the cost of a building permit, it violated its own private act.

A community building and convenience center became one step closer to reality for Braden and Big Ridge during the Union County Commission March meeting. Commissioners Greg Dyer (5th District) and Dawn Flatford (4th district) have spent many months searching for suitable property. Two community landowners have risen to the challenge and offered land at reasonable prices. Danny Kilgore in Braden is willing to sell a nearly 2-acre property for $30,000. The property will need clearing, a well, and septic.

At the February 24 Union County Commission Meeting, Mayor Jason Bailey explained that the Healthy Built Environment Grant through the Tennessee Department of Health has increased its funding to $100,000 and can be used to build multi-purpose sports fields. These fields could increase the opportunities for recreation on property at the back of Wilson Park.

The new year brought Mayor Bailey’s first tiebreaker of his tenure at the Union County Commission meeting last month.
Sheriff Billy Breeding requested a mid-year budget amendment of new money to fund a correctional grade camera system. Prior to the commission meeting, the sheriff brought his proposal to the budget committee where it did not receive any action, therefore the proposal could be brought to the commission without a recommendation.