News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office is pleased with Van Buren County’s newly passed budget.
Director of Communications John Dunn said he believes the new budget, including a 45-cent property tax increase, was a win for all involved.
“What was important to us all along was that Van Buren’s financial condition could improve,” Dunn said. “And we believe if the county sticks to this budget, they will find a much better situation at the end of the day, basically providing Van Buren County and its citizens financial stability.”
Dunn said the Comptroller’s Office will continue to work with the county for the foreseeable future. He said Van Buren officials will still submit weekly financial statements to the office.
Van Buren County entered the current budget process facing a projected shortfall of around $709,000. With the Comptroller’s help, the county made over $500,000 dollars in budget cuts, laying off 10 employees in the process.
“The County Commission had to make some difficult choices,” Dunn said. “They not only look at cuts within the county, but they also had to look at a tax increase. We recognize those are tough decisions, but we believe those decisions really will improve the future for the county. We know that they are going to have a balanced budget from this point working forward, and hopefully that will set them up for future budget years.”
Although the Comptroller’s work with Van Buren County got off to a tense start, Dunn said a positive working relationship developed over time. Both Dunn and Deputy Comptroller Jason Mumpower have offered praise to the Budget Committee in general and its chairman, William Maxwell, in particular.
“At the beginning of this process, we had to educate county officials quite a bit on the situation that was in the county and its really troublesome financial condition,” Dunn said. “But as we worked with them more and more, I think we found them to be very open to discussing the problems with us, learning how to they can fix them, and eventually coming up with the solution that put the county on a firm foundation.”
The Van Buren County Commission passed it 2020-2021 budget Monday night. The budget included the 45-cent property tax increase. In addition, the commissioners passed a resolution sending a $40 Wheel Tax referendum to the November election.
