Carroll County to Adopt TACN Radio System

​HUNTINGDON (April 13) — The Carroll County Commission met on Monday, April 13. Two key items were on the agenda: purchasing ​TACN radios through the Sheriff’s Office and changing the payroll schedule policy for county employees.

Resolution 4-01-2026 amended the General Fund Budget and Drug Fund Budget for the Sheriff’s Office for the TACN Radio System. The amended budget for the Sheriff’s Office accounts for $440,000. The expenditure comes at no additional cost to taxpayers, as $180,000 is a line-item adjustment and $260,000 will be moved from the Drug Fund’s Fund Balance.

​For several years, county agencies, along with local municipalities, have had various issues with the current radio system. With the advancement of technology, most local agencies and utility companies, as well as state agencies, are joining the ​TACN system.

​TACN is a statewide radio system that provides communication connectivity infrastructure for local, state, and federal first responders. With TACN, first responders, including law enforcement, fire, EMS, and healthcare providers, have reliable communications capabilities for daily operations and the ability to talk to each other to coordinate at the local, regional, and statewide levels to respond in the event of an emergency or disaster.

​TACN is made up of mobile and fixed radio transmission sites across the state so that, from Tennessee’s urban to most rural areas, first responders will have consistent communication coverage. No matter where you are in Tennessee, even when other means of communication fail, TACN offers seamless communication for our partners. TACN has built-in redundancy to ensure the network will still offer statewide coverage in the event any location becomes inoperable after a natural or man-made disaster.

Resolution 4-07-2026 approved an updated payroll policy and transition to a semi-monthly pay for days worked structure. The current payroll structure includes advance payment practices that do not align with recommended accounting standards. The change comes at the recommendation of the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) due to concerns about future audits and liability associated with carrying over pay into an additional fiscal year. In order for a payroll policy to go into effect, Tennessee law requires a 45-day notice thus the reason for the rushed passage.

Several Commissioners, along with county employees, wanted to know how the policy change would affect employees who would technically have their pay held to adjust for the schedule adjustment.

At the time of the meeting, Central Finance nor members of the Finance Ways and Means Committee could provide a definitive answer but promised that employees would not lose any pay with the change. A possible fronting of pay that would be paid back over a period of time, and a one-time inconvenience bonus have been mentioned.

Other items on the agenda approved were as follows:

Resolution 4-02-2026 amended the General Fund Budget for Circuit Court in the amount of $1000.

Resolution 4-03-2026 amended the General Fund Budget for Carroll Academy in the amount of $500; this covered the cost of an assistant coach for the basketball team.

Resolution 4-04-2026 amended the General Fund Budget for County Clerk in the amount of $10,200 for new computers.

Resolution 4-05-2026 amended the Solid Waste Fund Budget in the amount of $1,945 for part-time help.

Resolution 4-06-2026 amended the Grant Fund Budget with an increase of $10,098 to be applied towards the Highway Safety Grant and the Sheriff’s Recruitment Grant.

In other business, the following were elected notaries: Bonnie Autry, Carlas Ballhagen, Gina G. Burton, Brad Hurley, and Sandi Roditis.

The next meeting of the Carroll County Commission is on May 11 at 7 p.m. at the Carroll County Government Complex in Huntingdon.