KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — Knox County Commission was set to meet Monday evening to consider a list of proposals that could give employees raises, create a memorial for a deputy who was fatally shot in the line of duty and give a program that focuses on reuniting families some more funding.
Commissioners were scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Monday in the City-County Building. More information about some of the most significant proposals is available below.
The Knox County Commission will consider a proposal that would build a memorial in the heart of the Powell community honoring Tucker Blakely, a Knox County Sheriff's Office deputy who was fatally shot while responding to a domestic call in October 2023.
The proposal calls for the placement of a permanent memorial near the intersection of Emory Road and Brickyard Road, down the road from the high school Blakely graduated from — Powell High School.
Specific information about the memorial was not immediately available. However, the resolution also called to name a nearby bridge after Blakely. It is part of Brickyard Road and goes over Beaver Creek.
A program that works to keep families intact and support parents as they work to reunite with their children could get funding for another year if commissioners pass a proposal on Monday.
The Knox County Commission approved a state contract a few years ago that funded the Safe Baby Court from July 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2024. The court seeks to reunify young children with their birth parents while those children are in foster care.
Every month, a magistrate hears all cases on the Safe Baby Court's agenda. From the onset, the cases must involve a child under 3 years old who was placed in foster care. The court then provides parents with resources and support to change their own lives and their homes in order to be reunited with their children.
The court continually assesses and reassesses parents' needs, taking a unique approach for each family involved in the court. Parents can access mental health assessments, treatments, drug and alcohol assessments and treatment, parenting support, housing support, transportation assistance, legal aid, employment support, financial support and trauma counseling through the program.
The court specifically focuses on children under 3 years old because research shows infanthood is a critical time when children develop attachment styles and begin processing their own emotions. The impact of losing connection with a parent during this time could change children's trajectories for the rest of their lives, research shows.
However, the Safe Baby Court program also works to make sure children have safe and supportive homes.
As its grant contract with Tennessee approaches its end, commissioners will consider amending it to increase the state's maximum liability to $600,000 and continuing its terms to June 30, 2025.
Knox County commissioners will consider a proposal to change the county's fiscal year 2025 budget by around $1.5 million, using that money to give county workers more money.
Pay increases totaling 2% were already factored into the budget, and so if the proposal passes county workers could see a 4% raise instead. The proposal, if passed, would take effect on Jan. 1, 2025.