HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — Data centers, Sunday beer sales, a new public comment rule, and more will be on the Carroll County Commission’s packed agenda Monday, August 10.
Public Comment Period
A new state law is forcing Carroll County to open up its Citizens Forum. Under the new legislation, county legislative bodies can no longer limit public comment to items already on the agenda. Commenters now have to be allowed to speak on anything germane to the body’s jurisdiction.
Commissioner Morris Rogers wasn’t thrilled about the change.
“That’s a mistake,” Rogers said. “One of the greatest things I’ve experienced when I come to Carroll County is y’all stopped a lot of nonsense by having it put on the agenda here. That was tremendous to me. Opening it up like that, you’re opening up Pandora’s box.”
Mayor Joseph Butler shared some of that frustration with where the mandate came from.
“I always love that the state chooses to adopt a rule like this for local governments and doesn’t implement it for its own rules,” Butler said.
Still, Butler said the commission has to follow suit. “You want to be open to the public. It’s the public’s body,” he said, adding that the change “could present some challenges,” but the county has little choice but to comply.
Sunday Beer Sales
Most of Carroll County’s municipalities already allow Sunday alcohol sales in some form, and Resolution 8-04-2026 would bring the unincorporated county in line with that.
The resolution would let establishments outside city limits — places like Outer Limits in Rosser or Atwood Oasis just outside Atwood — pursue a change to their beer permits allowing sales between noon and midnight on Sundays.
Currently, beer can only be sold in the unincorporated county from 6 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Saturday.
Should the resolution pass, beer could be sold on Sundays from noon until midnight.
Butler said the proposed hours came straight from the County Technical Assistance Service’s model resolution.
“I know the beer board, in its suggestion, wrestled over what those hours should be,” he said.
Data Center Moratorium
Commissioners will also weigh a one-year moratorium on data centers
Butler said the county has no active projects on the table right now, but the issue is heating up statewide.
He said he’s hoping state lawmakers step in when they reconvene.
“My hope is that the state legislature provides some guidance starting in January. But if not, locally we’ll talk about what we can put in place to, not necessarily restrict, but safeguard our community against something that’s really unwanted,” he said.
Sheriff’s Retirement
Sheriff Andy Dickson will be retiring in September after nearly three decades with the department.
Resolution 8-01-2026 would would allow Dickson to keep a service weapon of his choice, something that has been offered to past retirees of the department for many years.
Commissioner Rogers pushed for the resolution to specify exactly which weapon Dickson intends to keep, given that deputies carry more than just a sidearm.
“That probably should be stipulated, because you also have shotguns, you have rifles,” Morris said.
He said the detail matters for inventory purposes.
“I know we at the state go through this a lot just to make sure we’ve got our inventory for what we have to do.”
Trash Contract Renewal
Commissioners will also consider a five-year extension of the county’s rural trash collection contract with Republic Services.
Butler said the county opted to negotiate directly with Republic rather than put the contract out to bid, after the company acquired Reakar, the one competitor that might have bid against it.
“We felt that our strongest option was to go directly to them and negotiate with them,” Butler said. “We felt like they gave us a really fair deal.”
The renewed five-year Republic Services contract begins on May 10, 2027.
It keeps the county’s existing once-weekly rural trash collection and disposal terms in place while locking in annual rate increases of 2.75% in Year 1, 3.00% in Years 2 and 3, and 3.25% in Years 4 and 5.
Other Items
Commissioners will honor retiring elected officials, including road supervisor Ricky Scott, property assessor Rita Jones, and Sheriff Dickson himself, along with outgoing county commissioners following this year’s contested races.
Two board appointments round out the early resolutions: Mary Ryan Bond and Rene Dickens to the Carroll County Library Board, and Willie Huffman and Dr. Walter Butler to the Carroll County Electric Department Board.
Commissioners will also revisit a hazardous duty supplemental retirement benefit for eligible public safety officers, first brought before the body in March, which would be funded through a lump-sum payment of $328,774 to the state retirement system, effective September 1.
The remainder of the agenda is largely routine budget bookkeeping.
One resolution would move $9,600 into the animal control budget to cover pest-control services.
Another would shift $240,000 from fund balance to the Drug Fund to cover the Sheriff’s Office’s annual vehicle purchases.
A third would adjust roughly $58,000 in ARPA grant funds tied to the ongoing Civic Center project. The final budgetary resolution would clean up several grant accounts for the Office on Aging, a $100,000 state agricultural grant for Civic Center building improvements, Sheriff’s Office and emergency management homeland security grants, and a series of line-item transfers for the county’s Prevention Coalition programs.
The Carroll County Commission meets Monday, August 10 at 7 p.m. at the Carroll County Civic Center.