News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A revenue audit of Jackson County’s book has already found over $38,000 dollars to boost the county’s budget.
Mayor Randy Heady said the county has contracted with The Barrett Group of Murfreesboro to perform the audit. He said the audit of Jackson County’s sales tax numbers discovered the missing revenue stream.
“That is revenue (Donna Barrett) has found for this year,” Heady said. “But then that’s also going forward from 2021 on that will always be here. The sales tax revenue is going other places, and it should be coming here. She’s also found a little bit of Hall Income Tax, which will end January 1, 2021.”
Heady said with the county being short staffed, he thought it was important to bring in some outside help. He said Barrett’s expertise has been helpful during the first two phases of the audit.
“We don’t have the personnel to do this ourselves, to actually do a revenue audit,” Heady said. “To look at sales tax, Hall Income Tax, and other revenue streams. To have someone where that’s their primary focus to look into that, and it does happen where we miss these revenue streams, just like the sales tax audit.”
The Hall Income Tax is a state tax on interest and dividends on investments. Governor Bill Haslem signed legislation in 2017 that would eliminate the tax by 2021.
Jackson County began working with Barrett in December. Heady said the relationship is already helping the county’s bottom line.
“That’s money we have not been receiving that now we will be,” Heady said. “So now we can add that to the revenue lines. Everybody knows when it comes budget time, you have revenues and expenditures, and that’s what dictates whether or not we have a tax increase. So, this is a plus for us. Especially in the middle of a COVID-19 crisis, this was a huge help.”
Heady said he appreciated the Board of Commissioners for supporting the revenue audit. He said the chance to find extra revenue for the county was appealing.
“This is something we heard about at a conference, actually,” Heady said. “When it comes to fining more money for the county, it didn’t take a whole lot for me to get their approval, but I appreciate them being on board and us getting this done.”
Heady said Barrett was about to enter the third phase of the audit. He said Barrett would continue looking at specific revenue streams to help Jackson County maximize the amount of funds it should be receiving.
