Farragut weighs new hires, fee increases in 2026-27 budget
Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen will be considering several changes in Town employment and Town fees as it decides whether to include them in the Town’s budget.
Town administrator David Smoak reviewed those changes during a budget workshop held minutes before the Board’s regular meeting Thursday, April 9. One proposed change is the addition of an economic development coordinator at a cost of $115,936 per year.
“This request is for the addition of a full-time economic development coordinator position within the Administration Department to support the Town’s
economic vitality, business engagement and commercial development initiatives,” Smoak said. “This is a new position designed to provide dedicated coordination and support for economic development efforts that are currently handled in a fragmented and reactive manner across departments.
“The Town of Farragut has experienced continued growth and increasing complexity in commercial development, redevelopment activity and business engagement needs,” Smoak continued. “While economic development functions currently
exist within various departments, there is no single position responsible for proactively managing business relationships, tracking development activity or coordinating economic strategy across the organization.”
He said adding the position would centralize those efforts and “provide a consistent, strategic approach to supporting the Town’s commercial base and long-term economic vitality.”
Additionally, “We are also proposing a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment and a 3 percent merit increase for the staff,” Smoak said. “The total impact would be $830,130.”
Other proposed amendments include:
• Eliminating an IT manager position and changing it to an IT director, with a budget impact of $13,467;
• Adding a part-time IT technician, $41,007;
• Adding a plans examiner in the Community Development Department, with a budget impact of $126,314;
• Reclassifying a traffic signal technician in the Engineering Department, $11,430;
• Adding a parks maintenance technician I, $74,909, and reclassifying a part-time parks maintenance technician to seasonal parks maintenance technician for a decrease of $5,574;
• Adding a part-time tourism attendant, $19,502;
• Adding a part-time museum attendant, $27,394;
• Changing lead recreation and event attendant
to events and program coordinator, $6,745.
The total impact to the proposed budget would be $431,130.
The Town also is projecting a 7 percent increase in medical insurance premiums for fiscal year 2026-27. Smoak is proposing a cost share change from 90 percent employer and 10 percent employee to
88 percent employer and 12 percent employee.
Besides the employment changes, Smoak proposed fee changes, including:
• Community Development:
a $104 increase each for demolition permits, building permit extensions, concept plans for subdivision plats and variances, and site plans for small-acreage or small-building projects; a $103 increase for site plans for large-acreage or large-building developments; a $105 increase for landscape plans, zoning ordinances and municipal code text amendments; and a new fee of $311 for subdivision regulations text amendments.
• Parks and Recreation: picnic pavilions and Town Hall Park Pavilion rentals would increase from $25 half day and $42 full day to $31 half day and $50 full day; tournament, camp and clinic usage for grass field and volleyball complex would increase from $104 half day and $208 full
day to $140 half day and
$250 full day; pickleball tournament fees would be a new fee of $540 per day plus a refundable damage deposit for a one-day tournament only, with no Sunday play; McFee Pavilion only would increase from $104 half day and
$182 full day to $110 half
day and $195 full day; and McFee great lawn and pavilion, with a 120-person maximum, would increase from $430 half day and $623 full day to $440 half day and $635 full day for nonprofits, and from $520 half day and $623 full day to $530 half day and $740 full day for for-profit and social events.
