Orderly progress appeared to be the theme of the Union County Commission Meeting on September 23. Chairman Jason Bailey and Vice Chairman Gary England were re-elected to their leadership positions by acclimation. Commission approved the minutes and notaries as usual. Grants, building improvements, and finance highlighted the Mayor's Report.
When rumors circulated on Facebook regarding a resolution to amend the Regulations Governing the Cleanup of Illegal Dump Sites (Litter Ordinance), Mayor Jason Bailey candidly told the rather large crowd at the August County Commission meeting that “there will be no drama here tonight.”
The latest Union County Commission meeting was held on Monday, July 22 at 7:00pm at Union County Courthouse. The meeting was opened with invocation by Commissioner Jody Smith and the pledge led by Commissioner Bill Cox. All commissioners were in attendance, with the exception of Janet Holloway.
County Commission rejected a request regarding sick leave accrued during a previous administration for employees who continued to work under the current sheriff. Sheriff Billy Breeding stated that the employees were requesting over 7900 hours of sick leave to be used for retirement credit only.
By Marilyn Toppins
Monday, June 10 at 7:00 pm, the Commission will meet in special session to consider the FY20 Union County Budget. Mayor Bailey announced, “The budget is balanced.” According to Finance Director Ann Dyer, 1.06 pennies were moved from debt service and 2.97 pennies were taken from capital projects to balance the budget. The tax rate remains the same as last year.
Union County Solid Waste collected 421 pounds of household hazardous waste during its event on Saturday, May 18.
Union County has never had a county seal. Other counties have a seal that reflects their work, products, resources, or heritage. Believing that Union County should have a seal, Mayor Jason Bailey met with Ms. Lana Booker, who teaches graphic design at Union County High School. The Mayor challenged the students to develop several seals. He offered to personally fund the project with a $50 gift card to the student who developed the winning design. The students submitted their designs anonymously and a committee of county leaders narrowed the choices to the top three.
On a roll call vote at Monday's March regular meeting, Union County Commission voted to table the discussion of the Byrd Property. During the Mayor's Report, Mayor Bailey stated that a lot of people had asked him to bring the issue of the Byrd Mortuary property up for discussion.
Mayor Bailey announced that Union County would be holding a Ms. Union County Contest to enable some young lady to compete in the Ms. Tennessee Contest to be held in Knoxville later this year. The Mayor also introduced the new trifold informational pamphlet that Thomas Skibinski and the Chamber of Commerce developed to advertise Union County. Finally, the Mayor encouraged everyone to review the new website: unioncountytn.com.
The Commission approved three notaries: Carla Beeler, Jamie Bowman, and Bethany Winstead.
County Mayor Jason Bailey continues to provide information and transparency with county government. To this end, the Mayor will host a County Project Planning Workshop on Monday, February 18, at the courthouse to discuss some possible projects that he would like to see Union County undertake as well as garner ideas from all stakeholders. “Everyone interested in planning our county's future is welcome. I would like to get ideas from everyone: commissioners, school board members, elected officials, organizations, and the citizens,” stated Mayor Bailey.
A special thank you to Chantay Collins for videoing the December 10th Commission meeting.