By Katie Northcott, News Director
The City of Tullahoma’s FY27 budget passed on its first of three readings at the Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting on Monday, June 1.
During the budget discussion, Aldermen Kurt Glick introduced a motion to allocate half of the Tullahoma Area Chamber of Commerce’s funding to the Tullahoma Sports Council. The move would take the Chamber’s funding from $47,045 to $23,522.50 and the Sports Council’s funding from $0 to $23,522.50.
Alderman Busch Thoma pushed back on Glick’s motion, saying he didn’t know what the Sports Council contributed to the city that would justify taking money from the Chamber. Thoma said the BOMA withdrew the Sports Council’s funding last year.
“Virtually, [the Sports Council] took the city’s money and gave it back to the city,” Thoma said. “They don’t have any fundraisers. They don’t do anything to speak of to generate on their own additional income.”
The city gives the Chamber funding through its tourism budget. Glick said that the Sports Council works to bring sports events to Tullahoma and that those events attract many out-of-city visitors.
“These are tourism dollars, and I think the Sports Council does much more than just the banquet once a year. They also have participated in doing a lot of youth sports tournaments,” Glick said. “That is truly tourism.”
Glick said he didn’t know what tourism enhancements the Chamber provides.
Mayor Lynn Sebourn said that the hotel/motel tax funds can be used for economic development as well as tourism. Sebourn said that the Chamber is the city’s primary organization for business development. He said that the Chamber also contributed to tourism by holding events such as the Christmas parade that bring visitors to Tullahoma.
“I have no issue with considering giving the Sports Council some funding from the hotel/motel tax. I have a huge issue with taking it away from the Chamber to do that,” Sebourn said. “Removing this funding is going to damage an important relationship between city government and the entire business community in this town.”
Sebourn said he believed the city’s budget could support funding both the Sports Council and the Chamber without slashing the Chamber’s budget.
Alderman Matthew Bird added that much of the city’s revenue comes from the sales tax. Bird said that the Chamber’s mission to support businesses in Tullahoma aligns with the city’s financial well-being.
Glick’s motion failed 5-1 (Glick in favor).
While discussing the budget, Glick also raised the idea of bringing the Coffee County Senior Citizens Center under the Tullahoma Parks and Recreation Department. Parks and Recreation Director JP Kraft and City Administrator Jeff Damron had begun discussions with the Center’s management. Kraft will bring more information on the item to the BOMA on Monday, June 8.
