News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
An official from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office told Van Buren County officials the county is running out of money and brave decisions need to be made.
Deputy Comptroller Jason Mumpower addressed the Van Buren County Commission at its monthly meeting Tuesday night. He said commissioners need to be honest about their problems and take steps to correct them.
“You’re in worse financial condition that any other county in this state,” Mumpower said. “The key to getting out of that bad shape is being honest about it with your citizens and yourselves. The situation in Van Buren County is very serious.”
Mumpower said the county’s financial problems have been caused by a series of decisions by the County Mayor and County Commission. At its heart, Mumpower said the issue centers on not being able to bring in enough revenue and overspending by the county government.
“Van Buren County did not get in this shape overnight,” Mumpower said. “The good news is, you have an opportunity, right now, to make a series of decisions to get yourselves out of the situation.”
Before the Tennessee General Assembly recessed last week, it awarded Van Buren County $683,000 dollars in unrestricted money. Mumpower suggested the County Commission treat that money like a loan. He said the state would be watching very closely to see how it is used.
“I will tell you if you don’t use that money correctly, while it may seem like manna from heaven, it can make your condition worse if you don’t use it correctly,” Mumpower said. “You need to use this money to provide working capital for your basic operations. And you must resist the urge to spend it on pet projects.”
Mumpower did have praise for the some of the work that has already been done on the budget. He commended Budget Committee Chairman Will Maxwell for the effort the committee has put in going through the budget line-by-line to cut spending.
While he did receive some push back from the Commission, Mumpower said his intent was not to embarrass anybody. Instead, he said he hopes to empower Commissioners to make tough decisions to pull Van Buren County out of its financial mess.
“The opportunity you have right now is to pull Van Buren County out of the ditch, because you’re in the ditch,” Mumpower said. “It is damaging the good name of your county, and you want to be responsible for the citizens that elected you.”
The next meeting of the Van Buren County Commission was set for July 28 to give the Budget Committee more time to work on a proposed budget.
