Supervisors hear request for opioid settlement money for the drug court and an escaped tax dispute, 9-15-2025
On September 15, 2025, the Union County Board of Supervisors heard a request to grant some of the Sackler opioid settlement money to the drug court, heard an escaped tax dispute, and addressed other county business.
A meeting agenda and a 38 minute video of the meeting are available below.
Seated left to right:
Chandler Rogers – Board attorney (enters at 23:20)
Terry Johnson – County Administrator
Annette Hickey – Chancery Clerk
Randy Owen – 4th District Supervisor
C. J. Bright -3rd District Supervisor
Chad Coffey – 2nd District Supervisor
Sam Taylor – 1st District Supervisor
Steve Watson – 5th District Supervisor
Personal appearance
(Timestamp 2:20) Drug Court Judge Kenny Luther requested the board give the drug court a portion of the county’s award from the Sackler family opioid settlement. Judge Luther said the state gives the court $325,000 a year and that there are currently 318 participants in drug court. He said the court administered 17,536 drug tests last year and that drug testing was becoming more expensive. Tests for novel substances has depleted cash reserves. An employee retired recently and they have not been replaced due to lack of funds. The board said they would take it under advisement.
(Timestamp 4:37) Mr. Owen asked the gentleman lodging a tax appeal on behalf of Jerry and Zack Morrison to wait until Tax Assessor Tameri Dunnam arrived and the gentleman agreed. The Board proceeded to the other items on the agenda.
Board agenda items
Item (1b) was approved. County Administrator Terry Johnson made a few remarks about the FY 2025-2026 budget: Ad valorum tax rate was unchanged; Schools went up 1.22 mills; Maintenance levy up by 1.29 mills; debt service down .07 mills. The board approved the budget.
(1d) Johnson commented that the rates for property and liability insurance were going up by 20% and that had been included in the budget. He added that their agent shops around looking for the best rates available.
(1e) Board approved employment of Barry Jenkins for work in either Roads or Solid Waste, noting that the application was for full-time employment rather than part-time as was written on the agenda.
(1f) Board approved a request for the Purchase Clerk to open an Amazon account for County Purchases. The board believes this will save the county money, while Administrator Johnson noted it would be limited to supplies and items over $100 and things that can’t be bought locally.
Department items
(Timestamp 9:55) Items 2a-7a were all approved. (2b- Timestamp 18:53) The board heard two quotes for striping roads received from Riverside Traffic ($68,000) and Tr-State Paving ($81,600). This is for 10 miles of traffic striping and 10 miles of thermal edge striping. The board accepted the lower bid.
Board approved Sheriff’s Dept. request for a manual check to Brock Gutters for $12,500 for removing old gutters and installing new ones at the jail.
Tax office items
(Timestamp 20:45) Items 9a and 9b were approved. Tax Assessor Tameri Dunnam then told the board she wanted to go with Delta Harris for printing and mailing tax notices. She said she’d gotten quotes from two other companies (but did not give a price). She said she did not believe second bidder could get notices out in time and the third bidder was not approved by the state. At the last meeting on September 2, County Attorney Chandler Rogers had expressed misgivings about Delta Harris’ contract. Rogers (who entered the meeting at this point) said he had proposed changes to the contract and Delta Harris had accepted them. The board approved the contract for Delta Harris.
Escaped tax dispute
(Timestamp 24:28), at this point Mr. Owen invited the advocate for Jerry and Zack Morrison to address the board on a long-standing tax issue. Assessment issues over 2021, 2022, and 2023 had been settled over. The remaining outstanding issues had to do with 2019 and 2020. The dispute concerns a home latterly occupied by Zack Morrison which the Tax Assessor’s office asserts escaped taxation for the years 2019 and 2020. The advocate stated that the home was still being built in fall of 2018 and Zack and his wife were still living with Jerry Morrison when their child was born in February 2019. The Morrisons had provided affidavits from contractors showing work on Zack Morrison’s home was not completed until well into 2019.
Mr. Morrison agrees that he still owes for 2020, for which the property should have been assessed but wasn’t. The Morrisons’ advocate asked that any penalties and interests on that debt be waived. Mr. Morrison’s advocate insisted that Mr. Morrison was not being evasive and that had he gotten a tax bill, he would have paid it. The property was deeded over to Zack Morrison this year but it was after the April 1 homestead deadline, so Zack Morrison will be claiming homestead exemption as of January 2026.
Mr. Randy Owen said his understanding of penalties and interest is that the purpose is not to penalize the taxpayer but to reimburse other taxpayers who paid for the portion Mr. Morrison should have paid throughout those years. The Morrisons’ advocate disagreed, arguing that it was designed to be a penalty for someone who did not pay taxes they were assessed (for which he says Mr. Morrison was not assessed). Mr. Morrison paid what he was told he owed but was not told he owed additional tax on this property.
Escaped tax dispute response from Tax Assessor Tameri Dunnam
(Timestamp 29:19) Ms. Dunnam then addressed the board requesting they uphold a decision of June 16, 2025, to increase taxes on parcel 018R-31-002.01 due to escaped taxation for years 2019 and 2020. She said Mr. Morrison had provided affidavits and checks, but no invoices or specific dates as requested to establish his tax lien date.
A 911 address for the property was requested in August 2018, and utilities hookups were likewise completed in late 2018. A Cadillac Escalade was also registered to the address in question in January 2019 which disputes the claim that they were not in residence at the property.
(Timestamp 34:48) Chandler Rogers said it was up to the board to factually determine whether or not the home was occupied in January 1, 2019. He said they could take into account all information presented both by Ms. Dunnam and the Morrisons to make that determination. If the board believed the residence was occupied, then taxes are owed for 2019, and if they didn’t believe the home was occupied then no taxes are owed.
Mr. Owen proposed that the board take it under advisement. CJ Bright asked if it was possible to reach out to the vendors who had signed those affidavits and Rogers said he didn’t know of any reason not to. The board voted and agreed to take it under advisement to present a decision at a later date.
The board then approved rebate distribution checks for the volunteer fire departments before voting to adjourn until October 6, 2025.
Board of Supervisors agenda 9-15-25
