The Greene County Commission's Budget & Finance Committee on Tuesday tentatively came up with a plan to fund about half the amount needed to balance a proposed budget for the Highway Department for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

The budget proposal on the table from Greene County Road Superintendent David Weems for the Highway Department is currently unbalanced by $812,894.

Weems said that amount reflects rapidly escalating costs of fuel, asphalt, concrete and other "oil-based" products necessary for the Highway Department to do its job repairing and building roads.

Budget & Finance Committee members, after a lengthy discussion that lasted most of the day, decided they could partially pay for the Highway Department's proposed budget by having the county issue a six-month note and borrowing money to go toward the purchase of asphalt.

Greene County Budget Director David Lawing said a note for $390,000 could be issued by the county, then paid back -- with an interest payment of roughly $12,000 -- in six months by the General Debt Service Fund.

Lawing said the interest payment is uncertain because of fluctuating interest rates.

Committee members generally agreed that issuing a note was a viable option, but did not formally vote on it.

Won't Raise Property Taxes

Committee members quickly ruled out raising county property taxes to fund the Highway Department's proposed budget.

Committee member John Cox sympathized with Weems' predicament.

Said Cox, "The problem is he (Weems) doesn't have the money this year to do the things he needs to do this year."

Committee members ended their meeting by telling Weems to essentially "go back to the drawing board" and come back to them with a new budget reflecting cuts of $422,894 from his current proposed budget.

Weems said he would try his best to do that and present it to the committee at their next meeting on Wednesday, July 9.

Lawing assured committee members that the $390,000 note would still leave a comfortable "safety margin" of about $600,000 in the General Debt Service Fund.

The committee began its meeting by discussing, then approving, a new budget for the University of Tennessee's Extension Service.

Director Milton Orr, who was present, requested $121,618, an increase over last year's county appropriation of $118,407.

Orr said the extra amount was needed for higher salaries to attract highly-qualified people for three open positions in the Extension Service.