Chris Cutshaw

The Mayor

• Helps to propose the budget and manages the day-to-day spending after commission approval

• Legislative duties are completely in the hands of the County Commission

• Is more of an operations manager

• Does NOT have the power to approve a tax increase

• Does NOT have the power to accept or withdraw grant applications

• Does NOT have the power to issue debt

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Debt

• The County holds an Aa3 Moody’s Bond Rating. Best rating we have had while in county government

• Our debt percentage benchmarks are less than half of the national standards.

• As of June 30, 2025, (End of fiscal year), our total outstanding debt was $130M.

• Of the $130M, almost $11M is debt we hold for the Landfill (expansion and equipment), and over $33M is for the school system. (New Lincoln Elementary, renovations at Lincoln and Meadowview Middle, and the West High School addition.)

• We have a very low debt burden based on Standard & Poor's classifications.

• Our debt to assessed property value has gone from over 7% to under 5%.

• All of the outstanding debt directly tied to the County has been used for the construction of the new Justice Center.

• The new Jail and justice center was a necessity, and is a 40-50 year investment for our county.

• Without issuing debt, a huge tax increase would have been necessary to fund the construction.

• Issuing the bonds allowed the county to spread the cost over decades. This is actually fairer than a tax increase because it shares the costs across current residents and future residents.

• Without debt, today’s taxpayers would unfairly pay for something that future generations will benefit from.

• Hamblen County is very solvent, and debt was prepared for and expected with the capital projects in mind.

 

Budget Deficit

• All of the wheel tax revenue is now dedicated to paving. Seven to eight cents of the recent property tax increase was to replace the wheel tax revenue that was in the general fund. Meaning up to 3.5 million dollars is now dedicated to the maintenance and repair of our roads. Hamblen County has never had dedicated money for our roads until this was enacted.

• Cost of living increases cost over $1.3M

• We purchased an ambulance for EMS with no help from other government agencies = $208,000

• New vehicles for the Sheriff’s Department

• Increased insurance costs of 13%

• 5 SRO positions completely funded by the County 5 x $75,000=$375,000

• 4 new Courtroom Security Officers $160,000

• Increased inmate costs with medical and food

• Of the deficit, over $1.2M was for capital expenses.

• All of this was approved and voted on by a 14-member County Commission.

• To begin the 2025-2026 budget, there was a 4-million-dollar deficit that was a carry-over from the previous budget due mostly to the need to hire additional corrections officers. The commission waited until the funds were needed

• 50 new hires were needed to be certified as a penal facility with the state. With 400 inmates. The additional 50 x $60,000 average for salary and benefits equals 3 million dollars.

• Additional inflationary cost, coupled with the other expenses, equaled the 5.5 million dollar deficit. As Mayor, I presented facts to the Commission for consideration. As a Commissioner, I supported the new jail and justice center and agree that it was beyond needed. Hamblen County was subject to many lawsuits over deplorable conditions and had to pay a premium for liability insurance as a result. Studies were used to make decisions.

• Commission had a choice: to fund moving forward or cut services and employees

• The Local Government Finance Office of the Comptroller of the State of Tennessee requires a balanced budget.

 

Taxes

• Property reassessments are state-mandated.

• For 5 years, our property tax rate remained unchanged

• Property values increased during reappraisal because of current real estate market conditions.

• Prior to the most recent tax increase, the county moved funding from other areas to avoid property tax increases.

• As a commissioner, Mayor Cutshaw only voted on one property tax increase in 2020-2021 of $0.03 to help fund the jail construction and West High projects.

• Hamblen County’s property tax rate is the lowest of any surrounding county at $1.47 per $100 of assessed value.

• Hamblen County is the only county in the surrounding area with services like garbage pickup and bulk waste pickup.

• Inflationary costs and capital improvements lead to an inevitable need to raise property taxes only when necessary. 

• Growth of our Community does not sustain the rising cost of salaries and benefits of our employees. 67% of our general budget goes to salary and benefits. With a recent salary study, we find Hamblen County close to mid-range, yet we are still behind in some areas. Employee retention is an issue.

 

Grants

• There were 2 grants that were not accepted that would have actually cost the County far more than the funding we would have received.

• Was it financially responsible to accept a historical grant with a 50% match minimum that would have cost the county $700,000-$800,000 to meet the historical requirements the grant required? Estimated costs to replace the portico (which is what the grant was written for only) on the courthouse were $1.2-1.3 million dollars. Mayor Cutshaw realized we should not proceed with this, as it was far too much to replace, in essence, the front porch. Saving taxpayer money.

• The repair work for the courthouse can be done much more economically without adhering to the Historic Registry requirements.

• The Jail-2-Work grant would have cost the county close to $1M to accept the funding due to building upgrades that would have been needed to house the participants of the pass-through grant.

• The County would have only been the pass-through for this money.

• Not accepting this grant saved the county $1M

• Grants are not free money. Both were grants with matching requirements.

• County Commission voted not to accept the Jail-2-Work grant – a 14-member UNANIMOUS vote.

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Former Mayor Bill Brittain

• His work has been limited to grant administration, not Mayoral, day-to-day operations.

• The county is receiving more grant funding than ever before.

• The Finance Dept. is not staffed to take on the project management demands of the grants that were received prior to Mayor Brittain leaving office.

• Hiring former Mayor Brittain to finish his grant processes was approved by the County Commission, not solely decided on by Mayor Cutshaw.

 

Dedication to County Government

• I have dedicated my time and energy to making Hamblen County better for the citizens and the employees of the County

• Served as county commissioner since 2018. ​

Elected three times as County Commission Chairman. 

• I continue advancing my knowledge with additional training and educational opportunities.

• I have worked diligently, not only within the City and County government, but with other local and state agencies to advocate for Hamblen County and our region.

 • I understand long-term financial planning, budget laws, and am familar with State regulations

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