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County enacting cuts to make budget
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Budget and Finance Committee member Terry Bell chairman.

Warren County commissioners made several cuts to the budget for fiscal year 2016-17 after taking a look at the bottom line.
Budget and Finance Committee members Terry Bell, chair, Carl E. Bouldin, Ken Martin, Michael Martin and Diane Starkey met Thursday for a review of the consolidated budget after meeting on Tuesday and approving departmental budgets.
Finance Department director Linda Hillis presented the information, and Bell says it isn’t good news.
“If we want to give everyone a 50-cent-an-hour raise, we would be down to $131,000 fund balance,” said Bell. “The state is recommending we have a $1.258 million balance or we have to do a cash flow statement every month. If we can get about $700,000, I think we would be alright. Making sure we can make payroll is the main thing.”
The amount, said Hillis, is one month of the county’s total expenditures and what the state says the county should have in its fund balance. Payroll alone is approximately $650,000 a month.
Among the cuts made to the overall county budget:
• Ambulance Service – approximately $130,460
• Sanitation Department – approximately $65,230
• Warren County Animal Control and Adoption Center – $50,000 removed for building improvements
• Trustee’s Office – “Other supplies and materials” was reduced from $10,500 to $2,500
• Warren County Memorial Airport – Shed cost of $94,000.
Also removed was a $6,202 salary increase for the director of the Codes Department. According to Bell, the committee did not realize the director had not reached his one-year anniversary in his employment with the county. When he receives one year in September 2016, he will receive a 50-cent salary increase.
The budget had included a donation of $150,000 to the Industrial Development Board because that amount was given last year. Committee members unanimously agreed Thursday night to reduce that amount to $50,000 – increasing the county’s fund balance by $100,000.
Some increases were made:
• Finance Department budget – Warren County Executive Herschel Wells requested a $2,000 salary increase for the director. Committee members unanimously approved it.
• Warren County Sheriff’s Department went over on its Food Budget for fiscal year 2015-16. It had $400,000 and it is currently at $428,000 with more than a month to go before the end of the fiscal year. Committee members unanimously approved increasing the food budget to $450,000.
• Ambulance Service – Committee members unanimously approved a $7,000 salary increase for the director.
The county is considering a $7.5 million expansion at Warren County Jail. Within the budget is $350,000 for architectural services. Committee members unanimously approved transferring 6 cents in property taxes (approximately $391,380) from debt service and establishing a line item for “Architectural Services” for that expense.
Not within the budget at this time is debt service on $7.5 million. According to Hillis, the debt service on 15-year bond issue of $7.5 million will be approximately $550,000 a year.
Hillis will recalculate the budget with the above changes. A Budget and Finance Committee meeting is scheduled for June 28 at 5 p.m. for a follow-up review of the consolidated budget.

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Warren County Schools has beefed up lunch menus this school year through a new community partnership. Thanks to a collaboration between the district’s School Nutrition Department and Barton Creek Farms, students at Warren County High School, Warren County Middle School, West Elementary, Eastside Elementary, and Dibrell Elementary are enjoying locally sourced, farm-fresh beef in their lunches as part of a pilot program.

The initiative, spearheaded by Terri Mullican, Director of School Nutrition, has already shown great promise in its first few months. The partnership with Barton Creek Farms, located in Rock Island, Tennessee, ensures that the beef served is not only local to Warren County but of the highest quality. Barton Creek Farms specializes in farm-to-fork beef, with grass-fed and grain-finished cattle. Each calf is born and raised in Rock Island and goes through USDA-inspected processing, ensuring it meets the strictest safety and quality standards.

“When the opportunity arose to provide fresh, local beef, we knew it was a no-brainer,” Mullican said. “The fact that it’s a product from right here in our community makes it even more special. We can’t wait to implement it district-wide.”

Barton Creek Farms delivers fresh ground beef to the district monthly, and the nutrition

department incorporates it into homemade recipes such as lasagna, meatloaf, chili, and tacos.

As of now, the beef is being served at five schools, but the ultimate goal is to expand the program to all ten lunch-serving schools in the district.

The pilot program originated from a conversation between Mary Roller of Barton Creek Farms and Mullican. Roller, recognizing the farm’s potential to support local schools, reached out to gauge the district’s interest in serving local beef to students. Around the same time, a Warren County school board member contacted Mullican to share information about a similar partnership in neighboring Dekalb County, which helped push the initiative forward.

The timing worked in the district’s favor, as the nutrition department was able to fund the purchase of the beef using existing resources, eliminating the need for additional funding. Now that the pilot program is enjoying a successful run, the department has budgeted to extend the partnership district-wide for the 2025-26 school year.

Dr. Grant Swallows, Director of Schools, praised the program’s economic approach to student nutrition.

“This pilot is a perfect example of how we can use local resources to continue providing nutritious, healthy meals for our students,” he said. “We are grateful for partnerships like this one that benefit both our students and our local community. We always strive to support our local businesses when we can because our community is so good to us.”

In addition to working with Warren County Schools, Barton Creek Farms also partners with local restaurants to offer farm-fresh beef on their menus. The farm’s offerings include ground beef, steaks, roasts, and custom cuts by the quarter, half, or whole cow, meeting diverse consumer needs.

As the program continues to grow, the district hopes to expand its focus on farm-to-school meals, benefiting students’ health and connecting them to the agricultural roots of the community