The Greene County Commission's Budget & Finance Committee voted Thursday to recommend restoring $1,690 that was cut last spring from the contribution to the Greeneville-Greene County Library.

The library funding was cut by that amount when the commission cut most other non-profit agencies by 2 percent, and also cut most county departmental operating budgets by 2 percent.

Together, the governments of Greeneville and Greene County provide $169,000 toward the operation of the library.

During discussion, Commissioner John Cox said he could not justify restoring the funding to one non-profit agency when all the other 2 percent cuts had not been restored.

County Mayor Alan Broyles pointed out that the local library has a "maintenance of effort" agreement with the Watauga Regional Library. Under that agreement, the local library, and the city mayor and county mayor, agree that funding from the city and county will be maintained at the same level as the previous year, in exchange for numerous benefits and services that the local library receives from the regional library.

Mayor Broyles said that the terms of the agreement are clear in pointing out that if the "maintenance of effort" is not maintained by the local governments, then the regional library is not required to meet its obligations.

Librarian Don Miller said that 38 percent of the 62,407 books and other materials in the Greeneville-Greene County Library were purchased using funds provided by the state, through the Watauga Regional Library.

It is possible, Miller said, that the state could require the regional library to reclaim those materials if the local library were to break the agreement. That would mean, Miller said, that at least one out of every three books or other materials could be removed.

The replacement cost of those materials was estimated by the regional library at $592,676, on a worksheet the committee was given.

More than that, Miller said, the funds that the city and county governments provide the library is actually an investment that each year brings in a great deal more than it costs.

He said he found a document "by accident" showing that the local library has had a relationship with the Watauga Regional Library since at least 1967.

Miller said one benefit that the local library gets is the use of a $300,000 electronic cataloging system that it could not operate without, and could not afford to purchase itself.

The agreement with the regional library also provides local library patrons access to every book or CD or DVD in libraries in the upper eight counties in the regional library network, as well as courier delivery of those materials to Greeneville twice each week.

Miller urged the committee not to jeopardize having budget cuts made that the library cannot afford for such a relatively small amount of money.

Miller also said that it is his understanding that the Town of Greeneville is willing to restore the same amount of funding, if the county restores its $1,690.

Mayor Broyles and Commissioner Bill Dabbs, who is both a member of the budget committee and of the library board, said they had spoken to people in the office of the Tennessee Secretary of State and had been told that unspecified cuts would most likely be made to the services that the local library receives if the maintenance of effort agreement were to be broken.

Broyles also pointed out that the library is in essence an agency of the city and county governments.

The mayor said that restoring the cut funding "needs to be acted on," and indicated his support several times.

Cox said he had yet to be shown that the maintenance of effort agreement is a legal requirement on the county, but out of respect for Mayor Broyles and Commissioner Dabbs, agreed to vote in favor while continuing to research the matter.

Approval was unanimous.

The committee also voted to approve two resolutions related to a $111,470 federal Homeland Security grant.

One resolution lets the county government accept the grant, and the other specifies where the money will go into the county budget.

Commissioner Bill Brown, who is also the county's director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said that until this year, Homeland Security funds were handled by Washington County, with help from Greene County, for all eight counties in Upper East Tennessee.

Last year, that arrangement could not handle the volume, he said, so this year each county receives its Homeland Security funds directly.

According to the resolution, the Emergency Management Agency will receive $1,620 for supplies; $19,912 will go for "information sharing" communications equipment, mostly for the Sheriff's Department; $30,000 for a truck; and $59,936 for equipment for dealing with bombs and hazardous materials.

Brown pointed out that this is a 100 percent grant, requiring no local "match."

The committee also voted to authorize County Mayor Broyles to apply for a $104,000 state Energy Efficiency and Conservation block grant.

Mayor Broyles said that if the grant is received, it would be used to retrofit the county's jail/workhouse. He said a study by Energy Systems Group showed that the jail/workhouse is the county building most likely to qualify for the grant.

Broyles said part of the money would be for solar water heaters and other "green" retrofits.

The committee also approved a resolution transferring $34,807 reserved for the Drug Court and making that money available to pay Comprehensive Community Services, which administers the court.

A state law provides for collecting funds from convicted offenders, or those who enter a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or "no contest," and then to use the money to operate a drug court.