MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer
Posted: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 12:23 pm

Earlier this year, Tennessee’s General Assembly passed a law that allows guns in state and city parks, as along as city law allows.

The new state law allows those with handgun-carry permits to carry weapons in recreation facilities, but Murfreesboro wants to stop the practice before it starts.

“Local governments have the option of maintaining the status quo (of prohibition) by voting to do so,” City Manager Roger Haley wrote in a letter to the city council.

Haley is backed by Murfreesboro Police Chief Glenn Chrisman, Parks and Recreation Department Director Lanny Goodwin and Old Fort Golf Director Tracy Wilkins in his request for the city council to outlaw guns in city parks.

The resolution will prohibit the carrying of guns in municipal parks, natural areas, historic parks, nature trails, campgrounds, forests, greenways, ball fields, golf courses, sport complexes and community recreation centers within the Murfreesboro City Limits.

The penalty for doing so will be a maximum of a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

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Murfreesboro’s budget for the next fiscal year is balanced with no new taxes or fees but cuts the size of government.

The proposed budget totals $96.8 million, an increase of $3.39 million over last year. But $2.96 million of the increase comes in the form of debt.

The city’s property tax rate will stay level at $1.407 per $100 of assessed value.

Only a hand full of city departments will see a budget increase next year, those include state street aid, fleet services, community development, the VA golf course and administration.

Early in the budget process, the city proposed laying off some employees, but thanks to an unexpected windfall no jobs will be lost.

“State law requires counties to share in bond proceeds with a city schools system,” Deputy City Manager Rob Lyons explained. “The budget distributed to council in May included a recommendation to use $2 million from county-shared bond proceeds. Due to higher than expected receipts of these funds, we have recommended using $3 million for (the next fiscal year).”

The city will use $1 million of the windfall to pay for its current debt, which frees up cash to save the jobs.

The city will also add some much needed cash to the budget of the fire department, solid waste, St. Clair Senior Center, parks and recreation department, community development and fleet services.

Haley also recommended leaving frozen and vacant positions unfilled, because it doesn’t affect any active employees and saves the city more than $994,000.

The unfilled positions are scattered throughout city departments and include 18 police officers. The police jobs may be funded by stimulus money, if the cities COPS Hiring Program grant is approved.

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The city is having problems with gases, like methane, leaking from the Old City Landfill on West College Street.

When the landfill was closed in 2004, a passive landfill gas management system was installed, but late last year the gases seeped their way into the Gateway Island pond.

“It is not unusual for closed landfills to generate landfill gases for a number of years after closure, although an exact timeframe of the Old City Landfill cannot be accurately predicted at this time,” Environmental Engineer Sam Huddleston wrote in a letter to the city council.

The city consulted with environmental consultants, Griggs and Maloney, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to develop a plan to manage the gas situation.

Griggs and Maloney suggested installing a long-term active gas extraction system, which burns excess gases as they rise to the surface from a well placed within the old landfill.

Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.