By Gary Nelson
Crossville Chronicle
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Tenn. — Cumberland County Emergency Services collections remain $656,828 below budget for fiscal year 2025-’26.
Jennifer Turner, Cumberland County finance director, gave the report during April’s county commission meeting last week.
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Turner reported the county’s EMS service collected $377,001 for April, which is $56,332 below the estimated monthly income of $433,333.
“The collections are starting to improve but we are still down for the year,” Turner said.
She reported she has spoken with Chris Miller, EMS director and AMB Mars, the third-party billing service and they did find a couple of things in the billing that had caused lower collections than usual.
“They were both on our part and theirs. Hopefully, it will continue to improve,” Turner said.
Year-to-date collections are down by $656,828.
She reported local option sales tax collections for April, which reflect sales from two months prior, came in at $1,255,571, which was $83,251 above budgeted revenue. Year-to-date collections are ahead of revenue projections by $522,896.
She reported property tax collections are at 98.96%, compared to 96.79% at this point last year.
Hotel/motel tax collections are $771,044 year to date, versus $786,465 last year, which is 64.25% of the annual budgeted amount of $1,200,000.
She reported prisoner boarding collections for the county housing state inmates at the county jail are $466,703 year-to-date versus $323,039 last year. The total budgeted amount is $397,823 for fiscal year 2025-’26. This represents 10 months of revenue collections.
Turner also reported the finance department and the Cumberland County Trustee’s office reviewed all of the January through March bank statements for the county and Board of Education, and they were reconciled and balanced.
Cumberland County Mayor Allen Foster reported in March 2026, the Cumberland County Codes Department issued 40 residential and one commercial building permits, 30 general mechanical permits, and 30 general plumbing permits. A total of $50,646 in fees was collected compared to $64,001 the same month last year.
The Cumberland County Commission approved the following budget amendments:
- $4,560 for the BOE for insurance cost adjustments.
- $8,800 for the BOE for the Gear Up grant funds.
- $31,000 for the BOE for accepting the Early Literacy Tutoring Grant.
- $639,756.41 for the BOE to move from its fund balance for the purchase of safety equipment.
- $900 for the county general fund to contribute to the Daughter’s of the American Revolution children’s parade.
- $10,000 for the county general fund to accept donations for the Cumberland County Animal Shelter.
- $20,000 for the county general fund for the sheriff’s office for the purchase of equipment for mental health transport vehicles.
- 24,000 for the county general fund for EMS service employee salary supplements for training. The funds are coming from the state of Tennessee.
- 46,000 for the county general fund for the sheriff’s office for salary supplements for law enforcement training programs.
- 64,500 for the county general fund for the county to accept a grant for the county fire department to purchase a new air compressor.
- 424,809 for the county general fund for the county to accept opioid settlement funds for the county’s Opioid Task Force and contracted programs.
The amendments were all unanimously approved.
Wendell Wilson, 6th District commissioner, did not attend the meeting.
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