Everything was flowing as usual during a special called budget meeting Thursday night until Commissioner Eric Maddox made a motion to basically move the funding for the Partnership of $100,000 from the general budget into the line item (resolution) for nonprofits.
Resolution No. 26-2 - A Resolution Making the Appropriations for the Various Funds, Departments, Institutions, Offices, and Agencies of Bedford County, Tennessee, for the Year Beginning July 1, 2025, and Ending June 30, 2026.
Maddox said he believes there were several nonprofits, like volunteer fire departments, that got left out of the budget this year.
Maddox was basically overruled due to parliamentary procedure (explained by Attorney John T. Bobo) which states he could not move specific budget line items on the floor tonight. It would have to go back to the financial management committee which originally sent the budget document to the full commission.
By recommendation, Maddox moved his motion to the next resolution for nonprofits.
Resolution No. 26-3 - A Resolution Making Appropriations to Nonprofit Charitable Organizations of Bedford County, Tennessee for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2025, and Ending June 30, 2026
This time, his motion received a second from Commissioner Diane Neeley.
Attorney Bobo stated the commission could not line-item vote on both resolutions.
The other 16 commissioners then voted to move ahead with funding the Partnership, supporting the original resolution, as presented.
Maddox said following the meeting that his purpose was to give money to the nonprofits who are doing charitable work that greatly benefit the citizens of this County (firemen, senior citizens, etc.)
Maddox said Friday that the amendment he was proposing would have made a very small difference to the overall budget (only to who gets funding for non-profits and in his opinion, would have had a much greater ROI, as over a dozen local non profits would have been able to use this funding to do “great work” in the community. He said additionally, this amendment would have funded those nonprofit requests without increasing the tax burden on constituents or requiring the County to dip into its fund balance.
Maddox further stated: “BACK STORY: The following organizations asked for additional funding back in April, at a 10:00 am “County Non-profit Budget Meeting.”
• $3,000 increase for Community Development Center; to help support services in the Child Development Center and the Children’s Center for Autism
• $2,653 increase for the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center; to help individuals with disabilities find competitive and integrated employment in the community
• $1,000 increase for the Skills Development Center; so they can continue providing transportation services for the individuals from six of their residential homes into the community to pursue employment and get to medical appointments
• $3,000 increase for the Senior Citizens Center; as they continue to promote the physical, emotional and economic well-being of older adults and promote their participation in all aspects of community life
• $19,972 increase for the Argie Cooper Public Library. $10,000 of this would be one-time funds to help support their application for a grant from the state for Renovations and Additions currently in progress. The other $9,972 would allow them to give their employees a cost-of-living raise and also improve technology at the library.
• $2,000 increase for the Soil & Water Conservation Service; as they continue to reduce water treatment costs for the county by using every dollar spent on conservation to improve water quality in the Duck River.
• $931 increase for Tennessee Backroads Heritage; as they promote travel and tourism to the Southern Middle Tennessee Area.
• $2,500 increase for each of our 7 volunteer Bedford County Fire Stations (total of $17,500)
• $1,750 increase for the Arts Council
• $3,500 increase for Haven of Hope; used as matching funds for state grants so they can continue to support victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking in Bedford County
• $3,000 in new funding for the Tony Rice Center; to help their continued treatment of individuals suffering from co-occurring disorders.”
He further advised, “Unfortunately, the County Commission didn’t get to make the final decision on whether these requests (above) would be included in the budget (that we voted on); and “someone” or “group” made the decision on who would be funded and who would not. To be clear; these organizations were asking for additional funding.
Maddox said his goal was to take funding from the $100,000 that would be awarded to the Shelbyville – Bedford Partnership, and reduce their number to $41,693 - and the $58,307 difference would be used to fund the increases requested by our nonprofits (listed above).

More on this story in the July 3 Times-Gazette.