State Funding Restored For Warren Co. Driver Testing Center

The state has agreed to restore funding to the Warren County driver testing center after three years of not doing so.

The state budget includes $48,000 in recurring money to keep the center open.

Jimmy Haley is Mayor of McMinnville.

“It’s been a work in progress and the General Assembly recognized the importance of this center and how vital it is to rural communities like ours,” Haley said. “We were successful in getting the recurring funding, which is a blessing for our citizens.”

When the state failed to fund the center three years ago, the center actually closed down for a brief period of time.

Mayor Haley managed to negotiate a deal where the city and county split the $48,000 cost to rent out the facility in order to keep it open.

“No other community had ever actually offered to do that before and it was a little cutting-edge,” Haley said. “When they announced that it was going to close, I was persistent in telling them it wasn’t an option for our community.”

Had the center closed down for good, Haley said it would have been a hardship on Warren County citizens by forcing them to drive to Murfreesboro or Cookeville driver testing centers.

“The center is right across from the high school, so it makes it very easy for students and parents to go over to the drivers license center to do the test,” Haley said. “It’s been a huge savings on the students and parents to have the center open.”