Commissioner David W. Shelton

For those interested…

The RPC will hold an open house August 22nd, 6PM-7PM at the Crow Rec Center to take comments and answer questions about a pending ordinance to extend the Madison Street Design Guidelines up MLK Blvd / Hwy 76 to I-24.

See yall tonight!!

August's Formal County Commission Meeting takes place tonight at 6 p.m. on the third floor of the Montgomery County Historic Courthouse.

The meeting can also be viewed tonight, or in the future, on the County's YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/3IOdFVx

Visit here https://bit.ly/3yjvB9R to see the agenda items.

Please consider adopting! These fur friends need families asap!

This is just appalling. I don’t care what they did, no human being should be giving birth in a toilet.

This incident was discussed during a juvenile and jail committee meeting, and we were told then that the details couldn’t be released because of a possible lawsuit. This is the first I’m learning the alleged details of what happened.

I knew it was just a matter of time before this suit hit. If these allegations are true, then there should be some serious accountability.

And I will say it. How the hell are we going to expect the public to even begin trusting us with the few juveniles we have to detain when THIS happens?

By. Herself. In. A. Toilet.

This is a failure of the system. Have measures been taken to prevent it from happening again? That’s the first of many questions here.

Woman who gave birth on jail cell toilet sues Montgomery County Jail medical provider - ClarksvilleNow.com She first learned she was pregnant the day she was booked into the Montgomery County Jail. Eight days later, Alyssia Moulton gave birth to her baby, by herself, while sitting on a toilet.

PLEASE be careful out there. If a school bus stops and turns their red lights on, you must STOP unless there’s a median between you and the bus.

And since there are very few bus stops that have a median by it, y’all better be stopping. Especially if you’re coming from the other direction.

School starts tomorrow! We've had some new, and ongoing road construction. We will have new teenagers driving to school, new students on their first day, and new parents dropping off their kids on their first day.

Let's all try to be safe out there. Please see the image below as a reminder on stopping for school busses.

Big news on that roundabout at Whitfield!

Last year, we had the opportunity to make a major change to our tax freeze program, which got a significant income increase in the 2023 General Assembly and was subsequently approved by the County Commission. Over 65? Make less than 60k per year? GO! Read below.

Not everyone will qualify, but I was proud to vote for this increase so that it would help more people keep their taxes down.

The new income limit is $60,000. Head down to the Trustee's Office and apply. Many people who didn't qualify in prior years may do so now.

Apply at the Trustee's Office. 931-648-5717

For this program only, tax liability is calculated in the Assessor's office, so those questions can go directly to their office. Call them at 931-648-5709.

(Tax Freeze and Tax Relief are separate programs. We'll all do our best to answer your questions.)

Attention: We are now accepting tax freeze applications. We are accepting them earlier this year to accomodate as many people as possible.
This is our 1st year where the Montgomery County, Tennessee Board of Commissioners has approved an increased income limit of $60,000 for our citizens.
If you are 65 or older or will be by December 31, 2024, click here https://mcgtn.org/trustee/tax-freeze or call our office to verify what income documents are needed and come in to apply.
(931)648-5717.
We are open 7:30a-4:40p Monday thru Friday.
Deadline to apply is April 5, 2025.
Thank you for allowing us to serve you.
Please like and share this infomation with our neighbors and friends you know can benefit from this unique program.
Note: Less than 25 counties participate in this program. We are fortunate to have it.
Kimberly Bond Wiggins

I want to once again thank Commissioner Joshua Beal for posting the very effective summary on how the votes went on Monday night regarding the new $2.10 tax rate.

However, I feel like it is important for me to comment on why I voted against my own passion project, the juvenile resource center.

Rashidah Leverett, County Commissioner, District 5 proposed the cut. It would’ve been $500,000 for Design.

As disappointed as I was to see her make this cut, I voted for it for one simple reason: we HAD to get that tax rate down. $2.18 for a tax rate would not something that I would ever support. A youth center is desperately needed, but getting taxes down was more important at that moment.

If I am not willing to sacrifice things that are important to me in order to bring our tax rate down for the entire county, I have no business being in this seat. And that’s why I voted yes on that cut.

Now what? Is it dead? Not remotely.

At this point, we are looking at the best options to move forward with that project. I will remain passionate for the simple reason that I will continue to fight with everything I have to keep it from becoming a detention center only, or only a justice center.

We all agree that we need more juvenile court judges, court rooms, support staff, and counselors.

HOWEVER, If we have all of those things along with a detention center, I will have considered all of my effort to be an abject failure. 

Already, the message itself has failed. So much negative attention and misinformation focuses around the detention element, that the public has almost no knowledge of exactly what it is that we are working to build.

This will not be a juvenile detention center.

This will not be a juvenile justice center.

Now, this will not be a juvenile resource center.

For far too long, we have simply changed the word from detention to Justice and then to resource. it should be no surprise that critics claimed we are only changing words.

I am a writer. Words have meaning. Words matter. What we say about this facility matters.

The one question we should be asking is how are we supporting families with at-risk kids? We see thousands of families impacted by juvenile crime every year. In each and every one of these cases, our youth services counselors try to find the best option for all of the kids and their families.

Words matter, which is why the youth services folks are even changing the way they talk about probation. But there is no world in which only a few counselors can effectively manage thousands of cases. They need help. They need more social workers at the very least.

As it is today, these counselors often have to spend multiple hours just to find a bed for yet another violent child. And since any child that commits a violent crime have to be detained outside of the county, And then they have access to exactly zero resources.

Everyone arguing against a “baby jail” is arguing for this exact practice to continue.

The reality is that when a child proves to be dangerous to themselves or the community, they must be detained. I know that there are those that say that there should never be a child detained for any reason. I will flatly disagree with that sentiment.

If a child poisoned their own grandmother, they should be detained.

If a child shoots at another child repeatedly while driving down Warfield Boulevard, both children should be detained.

If a child uses a loaded gun while committing a crime, they should be detained.

If a child kills his own girlfriend and then shoots himself, how is that not someone that is dangerous to the community and themselves?

These cases are RARE. We see only a few each week. But they absorb so much of our counselors time, that their regular cases suffer too.

We have to be reasonable. There is absolutely no reason in saying that we should never any child in these or any other violent situation should ever be detained. I will gladly have that debate publicly, but frankly, I do not think it is needed. This is one of those things that is self evident:

A violent child needs to be detained. And the law clearly defines what that means.

We will continue to detain these violent children exactly as we have been, using someone else’s detention facility. And I have toured a few of those. They’re hideous.

One county has their detention facility in a former radio shack. Murfreesboro has a full-on baby jail. Franklin has a juvenile justice center.

None of these are what we are working to build here. If what began to take shape looks anything like those facilities, I will oppose it completely. I have said this before. I will say it again. I will oppose any youth facility That is not built around quality resources and family support.

There is another name being kicked around for the facility, and I really like it. It will change the entire narrative of exactly what it is that we are trying to build. I won’t steal Mr. Moss’ thunder. That’s his baby; he is working on some presentations and I want to make sure that he gets all of the credit for it.

Our families in crisis need support. They need help. They need to know the help is available. And we need to make sure that it stays that way., Along with making sure that we look to the future and set an example for the entire country on how to address youth in crisis and empower them to succeed.

More to come. Stay tuned.

This is a HUGE step in shifting our focus to helping families get the help they need when the kids make poor choices. Her vision to truly focus on their needs is exactly the kind of thing we need to rebuild their lives after crises. Let’s empower these families!

Montgomery County Hires Juvenile Resource Coordinator

Teya Moore was recently selected for the newly created position of juvenile resource coordinator in Juvenile Court. Moore will be responsible for coordinating community-based services to help prevent children and youth from further involvement in the juvenile justice system by screening and working to provide resources to at-risk children and their families. She will also act as a liaison for various community partners and agencies.

Moore is an experienced human services professional with a strong background in managing organizations, military personnel, and social service agencies. She has a proven track record of coordinating and maintaining positive relationships with multidisciplinary teams, providing comprehensive case management services, and evaluating program effectiveness.

📲Read more here: https://bit.ly/3CZI4wj

Thanks to Comissioner Beal for summarizing last night’s votes.

There seems to be some confusion and misinformation being spread about what actually happened at last night’s meeting, so I want to set the record straight.

The proposed tax rate for last night’s meeting was $2.18, but the initial budget's proposed rate was around $2.50. Because of the Mayor and Budget Committee’s hard work in making $30 million worth of cuts, we were able to get it down to $2.18. We successfully cut another $9.35 million at last night’s meeting, which included cuts made by the following:

Me - $3.7 million
Commissioner Gannon - $3.7 million
Commissioner Harper - $1.45 million
Commissioner Leverett - $500,000

I had a list of more cuts that I was prepared to offer, but a few of my colleagues above hit their buttons before me.

Commissioners Frye, Shelton, Simmons, and Burkholder also presented cuts or amendments to cuts that were not successful, but I greatly appreciate their attempts to help the cause.

NO OTHER CUTS WERE PROPOSED! In fact, we had one that tried to get out of voting on the budget by attempting to postpone and send back to the Budget Committee instead of actually putting in work to offer cuts. We were all elected to make tough decisions and most of us were willing to do our jobs last night. In fact, we had 15 budget hearings that were open to the public and all Commissioners to attend and each had opportunities to address the committee.

After no other cuts were proposed and we voted on the amended budget, we then had to vote on the final tax rate. The original proposal being $2.18, I proposed an amendment to bring the rate down to $2.10 to balance the budget and move a few pennies to debt service, so that we would be borrowing less and paying more towards debt.

My motion was initially voted down, so this took the resolution back to the original proposed $2.18. After clarification and a better understanding of what had just been voted down, I suggested a Motion to Reconsider from the prevailing side (the NO votes). That motion was approved, so we then reconsidered my motion of $2.10 with the extra pennies going toward debt. That vote was successful.

Those few pennies equate to an average of $25 per year per household, or around $2.00 per month... to pay more towards county debt. Which saves us a lot more in the long run in future interest payments.

Currently, the county’s total debt is $510 million with $106 million of that being Event Center debt. We’re currently paying $20+ million per year in just interest. Without all of the cuts made, we would be issuing $52 million MORE in debt this year. Because of our cuts and my motion to drop the tax rate and move pennies to debt service, we’ll only be issuing about $18 million in debt this year. This means we’re stopping the bleeding by issuing MUCH LESS debt and paying more towards our existing debt!

Keep in mind… Montgomery County has NOT raised the tax rate since the last reassessment in 2019. I was also reassured that at $2.10 there would be NO attempt to increase this for the next 4-5 years. After conversations with my colleagues, this was the compromise most of us could agree on. Considering we have experienced 19.8% inflation over the past 5 years, it could have been MUCH WORSE. This is a 14% increase instead of 19% at $2.18 or even 38% at the original $2.50. The Clarksville City Council, however, passed a 20% increase just two years ago and passed ANOTHER 18% increase just last month with NO successful cuts to their budget.

So I'm sure we can all agree - $2.10 is MUCH BETTER than $2.50.

I have also seen a few people mention the Highway’s Aerial Media Specialist position being $174,000 per year. That’s not correct. The annual salary for this position is $61,586 with total benefits at $28,008 which equals to $89,594 per year. The remaining $82,500 is a ONE TIME cost for a vehicle, the drone, and required computer and software equipment.

So what did we accomplish with this budget?

We’re investing more in our infrastructure by providing 60% more than last year for roads and infrastructure improvement projects throughout the county.

We’re funding more in our schools to increase teacher pay and enhance special education, which by the way, will have given teachers a total 22.5% pay increase in the last 24 months. In addition, we’re providing more than we have in the last 5 years for much needed school roof replacements and HVAC renovations.

We’re putting more into public safety by providing 8 more SROs for our schools.

We’re also being smarter by putting 20% more toward debt while paying for more than half of the capital projects with tax rate funds instead of bonds, which means we’re taking out less debt and saving taxpayers several million dollars of future interest payments.

A BIG THANK YOU to my fellow Commissioners for supporting my proposed cuts and making the tough decisions with me while being the best stewards possible of our taxpayers' money!

I hope this helps clear up any confusion.

I am relieved that the former president is okay. We must pray that God will heal our land.

Thank you for allowing me to serve!

After Councilperson Travis Holleman slammed the LGBTQIA community as “satan,” I had to respond. If he is going to use his seat to speak poison, I will speak life instead. Starts at 35:15.

We aren’t your enemy, Travis. Stop being ours. This has to stop.

July 1st, 2024 - Informal Montgomery County, TN Commission Meeting Montgomery County Government, TN - County Commission Meetings (with live captioning)

Important information below! If you live in District 21 (Madison street, memorial drive, paradise hill, happy hollow areas) please tell me your thoughts and concerns on this.

County Commissioners to Consider New Tax Rate to Meet the Needs for Montgomery County

In a special-called public meeting on June 21, 2024, the Montgomery County Budget Committee conducted a final review of the proposed 2024-2025 budget. After additional cuts, including the almost 30 million in reductions from previous budget meetings, the Budget Committee approved a budget to present before the full County Commission on July 8 at 4:30 p.m., with a proposed county property tax rate of $2.18. A public hearing will be held at 5 p.m. on July 15 followed by a special budget voting session at 6 p.m.

When the revaluation was completed in the spring of this year, property values in Montgomery County and across Middle Tennessee realized increases between 52.8% to 72.8%, with an average 64.5% increase for Montgomery County. The current tax rate for Montgomery County is $2.99, which was established in 2019. The certified tax rate from the State of Tennessee Board of Equalization set a revenue-neutral amount of $1.83 for Montgomery County.

Read more here: https://mcgtn.org/articles/gov

This is exciting news. After the letdown we had over another attempt to bring this back to town, I’m glad to see this happen. This is the exact kind of thing the county needs to work with for resources. Rep. Ronnie Glynn is doing some serious good for our community!

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee (BGCMT) has announced its plan to expand operations into the Clarksville community on Friday, June 28, with an anticipated opening date in the summer of 2025.

https://clarksvillenow.com/local/boys-girls-clubs-of-middle-tennessee-plan-to-expand-operations-in-clarksville/

Let’s talk roads. I’ve been driving for Uber for the last few weeks to make ends meet, and it’s given me the chance to talk with literally hundreds of people one on one.

And the number one concern: roads.

First, we have three entities that manage our roadways: the city street department, the county highway department, and the Tennessee department of transportation (TDOT).

All of the major arteries in the area are managed by the state:

Highway 48/13
Highway 149
Highway 41A Bypass
Trenton Road
Fort Campbell Blvd
Wilma Rudolph Blvd / College Street
Warfield Blvd / 101st / Purple Heart / Richview
Tiny Town Road
Rossview Road
Riverside Drive
Madison Street
MLK Connector
I-24

The City manages all other roads in the city limits.

The county manages all other roads outside the city.

Both city and county governments are spending large amounts of money to improve and add roads throughout the area. The City Of Clarksville has added multiple stoplights around town.

At Exit 11, the city added a stoplight at Memorial Drive extension and Martin Luther King Blvd. This has been a huge improvement for the area. They are also adding a stoplight at Twelve Oaks Blvd. On Tiny Town Road, another seriously needed bit of control.

The City of Clarksville is currently building the first phase of the new spring Creek Parkway. The second phase is in the new budget. They just approved.

All around town, projects are starting to come to completion. The roundabout at Whitfield and needmore is nearing completion. Officials are hoping to have it open before the new school year.

The county is also working on several projects. The new budget we will vote on includes Excel Road and Highway 12, purchasing land for rod improvements on Highway 48 near Salem ridge, And widening of Excell.

This is just to drop in the bucket of the projects that are currently being planned for the area. But city and county government are working hard to convince state officials to get off their Blessed Assurance and building new roads in our area.

I am highly critical of the current TDOT management. They continue to ignore the Clarksville-Montgomery county area and its rapid growth, which puts even more pressure on local officials. We get the brunt of the complaint, and TDOT gets nothing but a very large amount of money to sit on.

Their current projection is to begin widening Trenton Road in 2029 and I plan to begin widening the interstate in 2033. That’s not a typo. Finishing Purple Heart? Not even in the list. And that one project alone would cut traffic on riverside by half overnight.

Regardless of any of this, both the city and county governments are committed to doing all we can to improving our structure we currently have and the continuing growth. The new city budget includes multiple projects, as does the new county budget that we will vote on next month.

As we continue to grow, project like these become necessary. Residential impact fees for new developments help cover the cost of infrastructure in their immediate area, but the arteries, quite frankly, remain clogged.

We need to continue to put pressure to the state government in order to help them understand the dire need that our community has regarding roads.

In the meantime, we will continue to do all we can to drive our community forward.

What would you like to see done first?

PROPERTY TAXES: folks, this is the time to pay attention!!! There will be a proposal to increase county property taxes.

As I have discussed several times, the $2.99 certified tax rate for the county will be LOWERED to $1.832. My initial guess was around $1.82, so this is exactly what we expected.

I’ve also said that there may be proposals to increase that rate depending on budget. So yes, we will be asked to raise property taxes from that $1.832. We should know by the end of the day today what that proposal will be and how much of an increase it would be.

Accounts and Budgets has pushed out this agenda for our next steps. Please see below!

The Budget Committee will hold a Budget Hearing on (TODAY!) Friday, June 21st from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (or whatever time is necessary) to discuss and decide on the tax rate and look at any additional cuts that may need to be made.

We plan to have the Budget Synopsis published in the paper on the 4th of July.

Our Roundtable discussion with the Commission will occur before the July 8th formal meeting to discuss the FY ’25 budget. Tentative time for the Roundtable discussion will be 4:30.

There will be a Public Input meeting on July 15th at 5:00 p.m.

Following the Public Input meeting, we will have a Special Called commission meeting to discuss and vote on the proposed budget and tax rate.

Please let me know if you have questions!!

A day worth celebrating!

Today we commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. It is a great opportunity to learn, spread awareness, and celebrate freedom.

Happy Juneteenth! This day celebrates the end of human slavery in America.

The new county certified tax rate is $1.832. Here’s what is next.

Certified property tax rates much lower for Clarksville and Montgomery County, votes coming next - ClarksvilleNow.com The new certified property tax rates have been set for the City of Clarksville and Montgomery County. The ball is now in the court of the City of Clarksville and Montgomery County Government.

Hey District 21!! This is a big week and I wanted to make sure that y’all were in the know!

First, all county offices will be CLOSED on Wednesday, June 19th for Juneteenth. This is an officially celebrated holiday in Montgomery County. I’m grateful for the work that Rashidah Leverett, County Commissioner, District 5 did to help make this happen a few years back. This is a time to truly celebrate freedom for ALL Americans.

Second, and this is a doozie. The Budget Committee will meet on Thursday, June 20th to make recommendations for the new Certified Tax Rate for the county.

This is it! This is what all those reappraisals have led to. They will send the budget to the Commission for a vote in July. I will discuss the details at that time.

I have previously guesstimated $1.82, and the official number turned out to be $1.832. Then, we will vote to keep it at the new rate or raise it based on budget needs.

Please stay tuned to this process as we are required by state law to have the budget finalized by the end of July.

June is Pride Month, so a happy PRIDE to the entire LGBTQIA+ community. I stand with you! Those of us in the LGBTQIA community (including myself) are a valued part of our county and our community. Everyone deserves respect, dignity, and grace. Everyone.

Also, June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness month, which is why you might have seen the Historic Courthouse draped in purple lights!

Thank you again for the opportunity to serve.

I will gladly answer questions.

It was decades ago, when I was in the fifth grade at Barksdale, when I was one of the kids selected to be the flag bearer for the year. Every day, another boy and I would raise and lower the school’s flag, and ensure it was properly folded before taking to the office at the end of the day. It was a special honor then, and a great memory now.

I attended the flag day ceremony, and it was just as solemn as it should be, retiring Old Glory when her days are at an end. It’s a special honor for me now, as I serve as commissioner for District 21.

If you have a flag that needs to be retired, find a scouting troop or bring it to the VFW outpost off Haynes drive.

See y’all at the Whataburger!!!

From Mayor Golden:

I have heard a lot of concerns about the proposed location of the Juvenile Resource Center. With these concerns, though, a lot of support has been expressed for this need, along with many suggestions for alternate locations.

I am pulling this resolution from next week’s agenda to review the suggested locations and to hear more from the community. The need for the center is no less crucial to serving the families and children in Montgomery County. I do want to thank everyone who has reached out to our office and our Commissioners.

Respectfully,

Wes Golden
Montgomery County Mayor
1 Millennium Plaza
Clarksville, TN 37040
931-648-5787

In the comments is an article by Clarksville Now on the proposed site for the youth resource center. I will also post a link to the full video.
Update: the resolution is pulled.

This has been in the works for a while, but we have a site for the new Youth Resource Center. It’s located at 739 and 741 Madison Street, a great location with easy access for families. If the commission agrees to this purchase, the next step is design and engineering, likely to be included on next year’s budget.

I have signed as the sponsor. We will hear this resolution tonight. I will gladly answer questions. Here’s a few points to consider:

1) No, the facility has not been designed. We will be considering the design fees as part of next year’s budget. That will be voted on separately. Same for construction.

2) the vast majority of this facility will be geared toward services that are available for families including counseling, training, and other services that are available. Many of these programs are available without any involvement from law enforcement. The new facility will finally coordinate and locate them under one roof.

3) The folks at Youth Services are continuing their push to coordinate all the resources we currently have and are looking to incorporate additional resources as well. These include proactive programs that are available to families that want additional help.

4) We will design the facility from the ground up, and will incorporate every kind of best practices available for helping families with their kids. I’d also like to see a coordination with the alternative school folks as well. Since the Greenwood building is close by, there are definite possibilities here too.

5) Detention (arguably the most controversial element) is only for the most rare and violent cases where a child is determined to be a danger to themselves or the community. We only detain a child if we have to.

Currently, we are forced to traumatize these children every time we have to detain them, hauling them to facilities outside of Montgomery county. That is IF there’s a bed available. Even then, there’s little to no access to lawyers, education, medical services, ministers, or even their families. The new facility will allow our own community to help with their needs rather than shipping them off to another county where they have zero contact with anyone from home.

The current status quo is incredibly traumatic, and these kids deserve to stay in their own community while they work through their case. And it’s been this way since the 1980s. We can’t keep doing this to our kids, even if they have committed violent crimes.

We have also started using ankle bracelets for cases that need enhanced security but not necessarily detention. So far, this has been pretty effective and saves a ton of cash.

6) When a judge is asked to detain a child, the only information they are given is the child’s age, s*x, and the nature of the charge. The child’s race and even their name is withheld to prevent any kind of bias. Even at this point, the work begins quickly to find out what other resources are needed for the family. Unfortunately, the current system makes getting resources for the child extremely difficult, and is far more traumatic than folks realize.

I have advocated for a youth resource center for a couple of years now, and I’m glad to see this major step going into that direction.

Again, I’m glad to answer questions.