News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Director of Communications for the Tennessee Comptroller said the office is pleased at the progress Van Buren County has made to balance its budget.
John Dunn said the Comptroller’s office has followed the budget process closely. He said he hopes the full County Commission will implement the decisions of the Budget Committee.
“I have to say our office is pleased with the progress so far,” Dunn said. “The budget committee under the leadership of Will Maxwell, the chairman there in Van Buren County, has taken this very seriously, they’ve explored the options, and they’ve recommended to the full Commission the steps that are necessary to bring their budget into balance.”
The Van Buren County Budget Committee will propose a 45-cent property tax increase to the full Commission on August 10. In addition, the Commission will consider placing a $40-dollar Wheel Tax for on November’s ballot. Van Buren Commissioners passed a $10-dollar Wheel Tax in 2018 that was later struck down by voters in February 2019.
Dunn said he believes the county is taking steps in the right direction to address its budget problems.
“No county wants to have to go through a process like this,” Dunn said. “Where they are forced to look at their budget in a way where they have to make cuts, they have had to look at taxes, and how they may have to be increased. The county was in a pretty serious financial condition, and no county wants to have to deal with that. But we believe the county now understands how serious the problem is. From the conversations we’ve been having, from the conversations we’ve heard at Commission meetings, and at committee meetings, we know that the county understands the problem and is moving in the right direction to solve it.”
The Comptroller’s office has been keeping a close watch on Van Buren County’s budget process since May. During the June County Commission meeting, Deputy Comptroller Jason Mumpower told Commissioners they needed to be honest about their financial problems and that lack of revenue and overspending was at the heart of the county’s budget issues.
“We continue to receive weekly financial updates from the county,” Dunn said. “We’ve listened in to every commission meeting and budget committee meetings. We have daily or weekly conversations with staff within the county, and our office will continue that involvement until we are satisfied that the problems there in Van Buren County are under control.”
In a Facebook update Monday, Maxwell said if Van Buren County failed to pass a balanced budget, the Comptroller’s office could assume control the county’s finances. Dunn said that is an extreme option, and it is not one that has happened in Tennessee in many years.
“Taking over a county’s finances is very serious,” Dunn said. “It’s not something we’ve rarely done. In fact, it hasn’t been done in any sort of recent history. The comptroller is given broad authority in that event to direct the county to take the necessary steps to bring its budget into alaignment. For Van Buren County, that would look like either cutting expenses, which they’ve already done, or raising revenue, which they are now looking at proposing.
“We are more inclined to look on the cut side of that equation,” Dunn said, “before we ever look at a property tax increase. So, we would look at things that are optional services within the county that are not required by law before we ever looked at making a tax increase in that county.”
Dunn said with the effort the Budget Committee has made, he does not believe the Comptroller’s office will need to take such extreme steps. He said if the full commission votes to approve the measures, it will have weathered this part of the storm.
“I think the progress we’ve seen in Van Buren County is very encouraging,” Dunn said. “At this point, we have no reason to believe that we will have to take the step of taking over the county’s finances. We believe if the commission votes on this recommended budget in August that they will bring their budget into balance and provide themselves with a strong financial foundation to move forward with.”
The Van Buren County meets August 10 at 6 p.m. to consider the 2020-2021 budget, including the 45-cent property tax increase and $40-dollar Wheel Tax.
