This budget is a slight reduction from the $6.5 million for the current fiscal year.

Before the vote, Councilman Lynn Millsaps opened the discussion with questions in regard to the budget numbers submitted by Loudon Police Chief James "Bear" Webb for the Loudon Police Department (LPD).

He said the police department was "over budget" and it was "using too much money from the general fund."

Millsaps proceeded to quote statistics from police departments in surrounding cities all of which have a larger population than Loudon but have a smaller budget than the LPD. He noted that the Kingston Police Department has a budget of approximately $829,117 in contrast with the proposed more than $1.7 million for the LPD. "Our budget is over twice as much," Millsaps said.

He went on to give similar statistics for the police departments in Rockwood and Harriman, and also for Lenoir City, which he listed as $237,644 less than the LPD.  "I feel like there needs to be some kind of change made," he said. 

Millsaps went on to explain he felt one of the biggest items in the LPD budget was the $911,000 estimated for labor costs.

Councilman Michael Cartwright asked if the high amount could be attributed to too many hours worked or to paying too much. Cartwright then pointed out Kingston's police budget listed only $480,000 for labor and he estimated their department has only nine or 10 members including the police chief. 

City Manager Lynn Mills said the amount spent, "depends on the level of service you want to provide the community."

Councilman Lewis "Charlie Brown" Garner said when he attended meetings at the state level, "we were praised for the service we provide" and he attributed that to excellent pay for LPD officers which results in less turnover in the department. Garner also noted less turnover in LPD personnel means the city does not have to spend money to train new officers at the rate most police departments do. 

Councilman Eugene Lambert said the LPD used to have a lot of volunteer officers who helped out especially at events like football games and local celebrations, but now "we have to pay everybody." 

Mills said while retaining officers was good for the city and cost less because high turnover rates mean money spent training, the lack of turnover means a lot of officers with high seniority which equals more vacation time and more spending for others to fill in during time off.

"It's a tough nut to crack," Mills said.

According to Lambert members of the LPD enjoy the "highest pay scale around" compared to surrounding city police departments. 

Cartwright said Kingston's relatively small police budget might also be explained by that city not providing officers at their schools. Lambert agreed saying he felt the county should pay for school based officers. Loudon Mayor Bernie "Inky" Swiney said it was up to the council to monitor spending in all city departments and he takes "a great deal of pride" in the fact that Loudon pays more than other cities. 

It was suggested by Garner the council ask Webb for an overview of how many officers he has working at certain times to see if he could "justify the expense" of his proposed budget. 

Speaking of the budget in general, Millsaps said he feared the proposed budget overestimated revenues the city would be receiving given the economic downturn.

Mills spoke up immediately saying, "If Stephanie (City Manager Stephanie Putkonen) feels comfortable with the projections I certainly feel comfortable with them." He went on to note Loudon was in a better financial position than a lot of municipalities that did not plan ahead and maintain a healthy fund balance as a protection against an economic downturn. 

Mills said he feels Loudon can, "ride through these economic times."

Lambert agreed if the budget predictions are correct and nothing unforeseeable occurs the city should be fine. "But you never know what's going to happen," he concluded. 

While saving money wherever possible, Mills said there is a "certain level of services the citizens of Loudon expect" singling out excellent police protection and the city's parks and recreation department. 

"They appreciate it," Mills said.

"It's a good budget," Lambert concluded moving for the budget to be adopted. The council voted to approve the budget with only Millsaps voting against it.