News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Van Buren County officials will work with the Murfreesboro-based Barrett Group to locate missing revenue streams for the county.
Budget Committee Chairman William Maxwell said partnering with an expert will hopefully help the county’s bottom line. The County Commission voted unanimously to move forward with an agreement Monday night.
“Hopefully it just gives someone a look that is very well versed in this,” Maxwell said. “They know what they are looking for, they have had plenty of experience, and they will hopefully find us some revenue that we are not aware of or not currently taking.”
Maxwell said that county will only owe the Barrett Group 50-percent of any funds it finds the first year. Other than that, there is not a fee schedule for the first year of service. Council member Howard Upchurch said the county will have to vote to continue the relationship annually.
County Mayor Greg Wilson said the group will investigate all of the county’s revenue streams for missed opportunities.
“They’re going to say, ‘hey, you’re not collecting this revenue, this source that’s out there for you’,” Wilson said. “And it could be something real simple. It could be something the county has never done. They’ve been able to help other counties in the past. Hopefully they’ll be able to help Van Buren County, as well.”
The Barrett Group in June helped Jackson County find over $38,000 dollars in reoccurring funds through a sales tax audit. Upchurch said he was wary of the agreement’s contract in the beginning, as he dug deeper into it, he said he believed it was something Van Buren County should move forward with.
“After I looked into it more closely,” Upchurch said, “whatever they find, past or future, they give us a report. We can accept it or reject it. We can say we don’t agree with that, we’re not going to seek those revenues. 36-months later, if we still have the right to them, we can do it without their assistance.”
