Loudon County’s E-911 Center made a request for the Lenoir City government to pay the center to help fund its services was formally discussed after much conversation around the issue at the April 27 Lenoir City City Council meeting. Not everyone is in agreement on if making the payment is necessary.

The center made its in-person request for a contribution of $82,239 from Lenoir City during the meeting, citing an increase in calls and a need for center’s funding as reasons that the money is needed. According to some sources, the center is having trouble with its funding and its ability to properly pay and subsequently retain dispatchers needed during crisis situations. Lenoir City Mayor Tony Aikens, who has been vocal in his explanation for not directly paying the center, stated that Lenoir City still provides funds in the form of its property tax, though Center Director Rose White stated that property tax has no impact on their funding. Talks around the issue appeared on the April 27 agenda as “discussion of implementing a tax from Lenoir City residents to Loudon County 911.” No official vote on the matter was recorded during the session.

“Lenoir City residents pay over $5.3 million in property taxes to Loudon County every year,” Aikens said at the April 27 council meeting. “On top of that Loudon County E-911 receives over $900,000 from everybody that’s got a cell phone or a house phone in Loudon County.”


The most vocal member of Lenoir City Council for getting the E-911 funding on the agenda has been Council Member Robin McNabb, who has taken to social media on multiple occasions to explain the benefit of the service and the potential pitfalls of its absence. In a post to social media, McNabb explained that, in a worst case scenario, it would be more prudent to just pay the $82,239 price tag than have the city set up its own dispatch system, which she stated would be far more expensive.

“The alternative would be for Lenoir City to have its own 24-hour dispatch system,” McNabb wrote. “I learned recently (and much to my surprise) that Tennessee law only requires E-911 to receive and answer 911 calls (i.e., this is 911, where’s your emergency?). After that, they can either dispatch emergency personnel to the scene themselves (i.e., ‘police officers and an ambulance are on the way’) OR transfer the caller to the correct jurisdiction’s dispatch system for that system to send out the needed personnel (i.e. ‘Please hold, I’m transferring you to the Lenoir City dispatcher now’).”

McNabb also asked Director White if, in the event that Lenoir City did not pay this contribution, the center would still be able to afford its National Crime Information Center (NCIC) services. White stated that the decision would be up to the E-911 board.

Some county officials explain that, by their estimation, paying the center should be treated as more than just an optional amenity. In posts to his online website, Loudon County Commissioner Van Shaver stated that Aikens cut Lenoir City’s funding to the center due to ongoing litigation over annexations between the city and county, going on to state that “They [E-911] are a stand alone organization, independent of any of the local governments,” in one post before going onto to highlight that Loudon County contribute over half a million dollars to the agency annually, with the City of Loudon giving $10,000.

Despite voluntary funding from other municipalities, Mayor Aikens has stood firm in his stance that Lenoir City is in no way obligated to pay the center, nor should that choice affect the funding and potential cuts to its services. He cites a Loudon County Commission agreement approved in December of 2009, where the body laid out its terms and conditions in regards to the basic operations and stipulations surrounding the center itself. In the agreement, it states that the county will provide an annual contribution of $540,000 to the center, with a later acknowledgement that “LCECD will seek other funding sources from the municipalities and other emergency service users of Loudon County.” It goes on to state that a litany of agencies within the county, including Lenoir City’s Police and Fire Department, would receive the benefits of the center “regardless of funding contributions of LCECD,” the agreement reads.

But funding of the center is not a new issue. The News-Herald previously covered similar discussions in 2018, when County Commissioners began to implore city officials about making regular contributions, where former Commission Chairman Steve Harrellson stated that he had no intent to back out of funding the center, even if the cities decided not join in.

“I think it’s a situation where the 911 board and county commission both have talked about as far as the cities contributing some money toward 911,” Harrelson told the News-Herald in 2018. “It’s a situation that the citizens of both cities, Lenoir City and Loudon, are counter taxpayers also so I can see both sides of the cities contributing or not just based on citizens being city taxpayers and county taxpayers, and the county’s already contributing to 911. So I really can’t fault the cities for not contributing additional money when taxpayers are already contributing through the county.”

A bill that would increase the funding of 911 centers across the state hit Governor Bill Lee’s desk on April 23, and is currently awaiting his signature. For LCECD, the bill coud make the total amount of funds over $1 million.

McNabb later stated in the meeting that she plans to gauge citizen interest in the issue before she considers reintroducing it to the City Council for a more formal decision.

In other news, Lenoir City Council:

Adopted its new beer sale ordinance, limiting regulations around selling beer to a maximum distance of 100 feet from a church, school or other public gathering space.

Approved purchase of a fiber truck funded by the Broadband Ready Community Grant.

Approved hiring of Community Development Partners, LLC for the 2026 Community Development Block Grant.

Approved going out to bid for a host server.

Approved permanent full-time employment for James Kincade.

Approved contract with Brown Jake & McDaniel, PC to audit accounts for the city and from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, as well as audit Retirement Income Plans for city employees.

Lenoir City Council will reconvene on Monday, May 11 at 6 p.m. in the Lenoir City Municipal Building.