News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Upper Cumberland officials continue to push to have sales tax revenue taken away by the state in the early 2000s restored to local municipalities.
Representative Ryan Williams said he feels good about the chances of having the funds restored, but Governor Bill Lee will have to champion the issue. A 2002 state budget crisis caused legislation to allow the state to retain some of the tax revenue that would normally have been returned to local jurisdictions.
“I’m very optimistic that it will be done,” Williams said. “I think the big challenge, as it always has been, is that the governor really needs to make it a priority up front. I think these entities have made it a priority to tell us, Paul and I particularly, that it’s important to them.”
Williams said micropolitans like Cookeville are especially impacted by a dramatic change in their ability to fund infrastructure without this money. The money is estimated between $72 and $86 million.
Williams said that in the past, the Upper Cumberland hasn’t done a very good job of asking for things like this from the state government. Williams said that the decision will be left up to Governor Lee and how he chooses to address this in his budget documents. Williams also said Cookeville’s role as a service hub for the rest of the Upper Cumberland makes this a priority.
“A lot of people come there to shop,” Williams said. “Those communities, because they have to provide so much infrastructure and so many services to provide services to all of the surrounding counties, those are the ones that are most hit by it.”
Williams said that while a city like Nashville could see an enormous amount of money returned, it would not be as substantial given their budget as it would be to cities in the Upper Cumberland.
