By TOM YANCEY

Staff Writer

A vote by the Greene County Commission regarding adoption of a building code was postponed Monday after members said they still need to know more before voting.

Monday's agenda included a resolution that would have adopted the International Building Code.

However, when the agenda reached that point, Building Code committee member Tim White asked that the resolution be pulled "to give everybody another 30 days" to study the code.

White said questions remain among county commissioners and others did not know that the building code was scheduled for a vote on Monday.

The resolution stated that the committee had studied the proposed building code and recommended it be adopted.

However, Commissioners John Cox and Robbie Morgan each said in the Republican caucus that they did not think the committee had actually voted to recommend it, although the committee did vote to take steps that would eventually lead to the measure's passage.

Cox said the committee needs to be able to meet again, have more discussion, and vote.

The county has now placed three copies of the building code in the office of the county clerk on Carson Street, for public inspection and use, as required by state law. The law requires that the books be in the clerk's office 90 days before adoption of the code.

Acting Trustee Appointment

The county commission voted unanimously to suspend its rules to discuss a procedural matter related to the continued hospitalization of County Trustee Dan Walker.

Walker suffered severe burns last month in a farming accident, and now is being treated at a Winston-Salem, N.C., hospital.

Mayor Broyles said several banks have asked that Walker appoint an acting deputy trustee to serve in his absence, to meet regulatory requirements.

County Attorney Roger Woolsey said state law allows a trustee to appoint deputies. Broyles said he and Woolsey had discussed this with Walker, who is still hospitalized.

Woolsey said Maxine Carter has worked in the trustee's office for many years and functions as a deputy, but the title has never been formalized. Broyles and Woolsey said Walker agreed to appoint Carter as deputy trustee, when they spoke with him.

A motion to suspend rules to vote on this matter was approved unanimously. A vote to suspend rules is necessary for the commission to vote on a new matter that is not on the agenda.

After rules were suspended, a motion by Commissioner Greenway to ask Walker to designate his choice was also approved unanimously.

Woolsey said Walker is hopeful that he can be transferred later this week to a rehabilitation center in East Tennessee.

Continuing Resolution

The commission also voted unanimously to approve a continuing resolution that will enable the county government to continue to operate in the new budget year that begins July 1, in the absence of an approved budget.

County Mayor Alan Broyles said the budget committee will likely have a budget for fiscal 2008-09 to present in July. Budget Director David Lawing said the county can operate under a continuing resolution without penalty until the end of September.

Erwin Hwy. Traffic Signal

The commission also voted unanimously to let the county mayor enter into a contract with the Tennessee Department of Transportation for a traffic light.

The light will be at the intersection of the Erwin Highway (state Route 107) and state Route 351 (the 107 Cutoff) near Tusculum, but just outside that municipality's limits.

Broyles said this will be the first traffic signal in Greene County that will be outside the limits of a town.

The county will be responsible for electricity to serve the light after it is built, Broyles said, as well as maintenance. He said the cost of erecting the traffic signal is a state responsibility.

Several commissioners said the signal light will need to be accompanied by signs to warn approaching motorists.

Other Resolutions OK'd

The county commission also voted to approve several routine budget matters at the same time, in a single vote, after they were explained by Lawing and Broyles.

All of the resolutions were sponsored by the budget committee.

The commission approved resolutions to:

* let the school system receive and use $3,500 in Milk Settlement funds in the current budget, for the same purpose as school health-fund grants;

* adjust health insurance revenues upward by a total of $8,348, due to changes that occurred during the open enrollment period;

* authorize an upward adjustment of the trustee's commission by $7,500, to correct an earlier oversight;

* accept and use a $5,000 Community Enhancement Scholastic Clay Target grant for supplies for the trap-shooting teams at West Greene, South Greene and Chuckey-Doak high schools;

* increase the tire-disposal fund by $1,424 because of increases in the cost of fuel needed to transport used tires; and

* let the county's Health Department receive a $1,089 reimbursement for drugs purchased, and to let the Geographic Information System department receive and spend $1,500 for data disks sold.