News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The State Comptroller’s Office is requiring Van Buren officials to complete County Technical Assistance Services classes.
These classes will provide financial education for the mayor, county commission, and finance director. Comptroller Director of Communications John Dunn said this is part of the condition to pass the county’s 2020-2021 budget.
“The county has seen its finances take a turn for the worst, and that’s why they had to look at a significant tax increase this year,” Dunn said. “One of the reasons that we believe they got into this situation was because they just didn’t have good knowledge of financial management and best practices. So we believe this training will help improve that situation in the county.”
Dunn said the classes will teach officials valuable tools toward local government finance and debt management. He said this is an additional step toward positioning Van Buren for success. The Comptroller’s office will continue to receive weekly financial reports indefinitely.
The 2020-2021 budget included a 45-cent property tax increase. With the Comptroller’s help to balance the budget, $500,000 was cut and 10 employees were laid off.
“One of our other conditions of our budget approval dealt with the school fund,” Dunn said. “The budget that was submitted to our office showed that expenditures were exceeding revenues by quite a bit of money, so the county’s going to need to go back, take another look at their school budget, and pass a budget amendment to get those into balance.”
Once classes are finished, officials must send signed CTAS documents stating they completed the course.
