Lee Erwin Reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The formal meeting of the Montgomery County Commission Monday, August 11 not only saw the county pass a 2014-15 fiscal year budget and property tax rate, but it was also a somewhat emotional time for the county mayor and many commissioners.
Eight County Commissioners were recognized for their service to the community Monday. Lettie Kendall, Loretta Bryant, Dalton Harrison, Keith Politi, Nick Robards, Glen Demorest, Robert Lewis and Mark Banasiak were either defeated in the August 7 election or chose not to seek re-election.
Many commissioners also recognized and thanked Montgomery County Mayor Carolyn Bowers and gave her a standing ovation for her eight years in office. Bowers was defeated in the election by challenger Jim Durrett who along with all 21 County Commissioners will be sworn into office September 1. Along with Durrett a number of new commissioners were also present at Monday’s meeting.
There was a move to delay passing the county budget with a motion to postpone a vote on passing the spending plan until the September commission meeting. After the postponement failed to pass, the budget passed with an amendment that gave a 1.5 percent pay raise totaling close to $28,000 for county department heads and elected officials.
As well as voting in favor of the new budget, the new property tax rate in Montgomery County now sets at $2.97 per $100 assessed value which is lower than the previous rate of $3.14.