Johnson City assistant city manager prepares to retire after 14 years johnsoncitypress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from johnsoncitypress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
While the subject of a community roundtable meeting Thursday was tagged as “downtown safety,” it was clear from the first comments what the true issue was going to be: Homeless
Although he said a proposal to create an equity board in Johnson City appears unlikely to get traction, Mayor Joe Wise expects conversations will occur with a newly formed organization
Especially compared to prior years, City Manager Pete Peterson said Johnson Cityâs proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 is âextraordinarily large,â clocking in at $302 million.
âJust a couple years ago we had a $250 million budget, which was a big budget,â Peterson said. âOne of the things thatâs driving this total budget number up is the number of capital projects. . Out of that $302 million, thereâs probably $40-50 million worth of one-time expenditures.â
The City Commission unanimously approved Johnson Cityâs fiscal year budget on first reading Thursday. The next two readings will occur on June 8 and June 17. The budget does not contain a property tax increase.
Between 2018 and 2020, 64 simple assaults, 39 aggravated assaults and 34 acts of shoplifting have occurred in Johnson Cityâs downtown area.
As a deterrent against future crimes and to preserve public spaces, the city is now considering whether to install video surveillance downtown.
Members of the cityâs staff presented a plan to commissioners on Thursday. Under that proposal, cameras would be positioned to cover East Main Street, Spring Street, Tipton Street, the downtown breezeway at 216 E. Main St. and the Downtown Square and Cherry Street parking lots.
Commissioners did not take action on the proposal.
Under the option recently presented to commissioners, staff expects the total cost of installation would be about $73,000.