Haslam Appoints Raquel Hatter as Human Services Commissioner

Tennessee Governor-elect Bill Haslam this week announced Dr. Raquel Hatter as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

Devoting her life to social work, Hatter served the last three years as the President and CEO of Family & Children’s Service, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of families, children and individuals.

Hatter worked for 17 years in Flint, Mich. at the Whaley Children’s Center where she held several clinical and administrative roles from front line practitioner to President and CEO of the center.

“Dr. Hatter is a passionate expert in her field, and I’m proud that she’ll join our team in the new administration,” Haslam said. “She’s shown a dedication to families and children throughout her life, and Tennessee will be served well with her as Commissioner of Human Services.”

She currently serves on the Tennessee Council on Children’s Mental Health, Alliance for Children & Families Public Policy Committee, the National Building Bridges Initiative Cultural and Linguistic Competence Committee and American Association of Children's Residential Centers Board of Directors, among others.

“The state budget and the current economic climate present us with a new normal in which we have to continue to find new ways to ensure efficiency and effectiveness,” Hatter said. “I look forward to working with Gov.-elect Haslam, the administration, DHS staff, community partners and the people of Tennessee in our combined efforts to fulfill the DHS mission.”

Hatter has a Doctorate of Education in Child and Youth Studies from NOVA Southeastern University and a Masters in Social Work from Eastern Michigan University.

Hatter is married to Andre Hatter, and they have a son, Delano, and a daughter, Tiara.

Tennessee's Census Fact Sheet Page

As information is released from the census bureau, you can get updates about Tennessee's demographics here.

TN Delays Release of Schools' Adequate Yearly Progress Results Again

According to the Tennessean, the Tennessee Department of Education is again delaying the release of its 2009-10 Adequate Yearly Progress results, saying it will be January when schools find out if they met annual testing goals. A harder state curriculum and exams were implemented last school year. That changed how students are defined as having mastered or failed content on exams. New goals were also set that schools had to meet in reading and math. The state has requested two waivers from the U.S. Department of Education regarding this year's scores, contributing to the delay.

For the full article from the Tennessean, click here.

New House Democratic Leadership

The House Democratic Caucus met this morning and selected its leadership for the upcoming General Assembly. Rep. Craig Fitzhugh was selected as minority leader, replacing Rep. Gary Odom. Rep. Mike Turner retained his position as caucus chair. Rep. Sherrie Jones is Democratic Whip. Rep. Joe Towns is assistant leader.

The Senate Democratic Caucus meets this afternoon. Few, if any, changes are expected in the Democratic leadership in the Senate.

Fiscal Review Meeting - State Revenue Forecast

Director Jim White gave an overview of the economy and the state budget. Currently TN has the 18th highest unemployment rate in the nation. Housing starts remain at historic lows (lowest in 40 years). While risk has lessened somewhat, deflation is still a potential problem.

Historically, per capita sales tax revenues have grown, but if you adjust for inflation and rate increases, we are roughly where we were 20 years ago. We should not expect dramatic growth in sales tax collections. Sales tax collections peaked in 2008 at $6.8 billion with the state substantially below that level today. At the same time, we've seen a 20% reduction in franchise and excise tax collections. These two tax bases make up about 70% of the state's budget.

Over 2 years, total state tax collections have been reduced by 10%, far below peak collections in 2008. How long will it take to get back to pre-recession levels? With 4% growth it would be fiscal year 2013. While we are currently over budget projections, it will be difficult to maintain that level of growth over an extended period.

Many cuts in the state budget are not currently being experienced because of federal stimulus funds in the budget. But many cuts have been made. Several departments have seen cumulative cuts of 25%. To fully restore all the reductions that have been made over the last 3 years, it would take 30% revenue growth.

If we see a period of deflation, the state revenue forecast becomes substantially more negative. The consensus at the moment is that we will not enter deflation, but Director White wanted the committee to be aware of the possibility. He indicated that some aspects of the current US economy mirror the conditions in Japan shortly before that country entered an extended period of deflation.

Funding Board Meeting

The state funding board held a joint meeting with the business tax study committee today. Lee Jones of the Federal Reserve of Atlanta reported on economic indicators. The economy is expected to strenghthen in the coming year, but growth will likely not be robust enough to significantly reduce unemployment. Even the most optimistic projections expect unemployment to remain above 8.5% through the end of 2011. The good news is that the possibility of a double dip recession appears much less likely. Retail sales have bounced back surprisingly strong since the end of the recession. The most recent results indicate that Tennessee is in recovery and has moved ahead of other southeastern states and the U.S. in personal income growth. Business investment remains robust. Inflation remains at very low levels, but the risk of deflation has declined.

New Leadership Structure in the House of Representatives

Reports are coming out about staff decisions made by the presumptive Speaker, Rep. Beth Harwell. The word is that she is splitting the positions of chief of staff and house clerk. Chief of staff will be Gregory Gleaves (current executive director of TN Rep. Party). The new House clerk, replacing long time clerk Burney Durham will be former Rep. Joe McCord.

In the House Republican Caucus meeting today:
Judd Matheny was elected as nominee for Speaker Pro Tem
Gerald McCormick was elected Majority Leader
Debra Maggart was elected Caucus Chair
Kevin Brooks was elected as assistant leader.
Barrett Rich was elected GOP whip
Ryan Haynes was elected caucus vice chair
Vince Dean was elected floor leader

Still to come in January will be the important announcements of committee appointments and chairs.

Bill Gibbons Named Commissioner of Safety and Homeland Security

Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons was named today as Commissioner of Safety and head of Homeland Security in the Haslam Administration. Gibbons served as a Shelby County Commissioner before being appointed DA. He was a candidate in the Republican Primary for Governor earlier this year before dropping out of a crowded field , citing an inability to raise sufficient funds.

House Caucus Meeting - Also Additional Cabinet Announcement Expected

New legislators are in town for orientation. The House Republican Caucus is meeting this afternoon to vote on leadership positions. The Senate Republican Caucus meets tomorrow. The Haslam administration is planning a press conference this afternoon around 2:00 to make a "transition-related" announcement. In addition, the qualifying deadline to run for two vacancies in the General Assembly is tomorrow. Will update on these issues as information becomes available.

Tennessee Shows Slight Improvement in Health Ranking

Tennessee has moved up two notches on America's Health Rankings from number 44 to number 42. Reasons for the improvement include a decrease in the percentage of people smoking, a lowering in the rate of preventable hospitalizations and a dip in the violent crime rate.

For more on this issue, see this article from the Tennessean.

Commissioner of Agriculture Named

Last night, at the TN Farm Bureau Convention, Gov-Elect Haslam announced his cabinet appointee for the position of Commissioner of Agriculture. He named Julius Johnson, CAO for the TN Farm Bureau for the last 15 years, to lead the Department. Governor-elect Haslam stressed the importance of having a Commissioner of Agriculture that understands farming and the role agriculture can play in job creation, especially in the rural parts of our state that remain the hardest hit by unemployment.

For more on this appointment, go to the Nashville Post site here.

Haslam has named his legal counsel (Herbert Slatery), special assistant (Mark Cate) and deputy governor (Claude Ramsey). Johnson is the first commissioner named in the new Haslam cabinet. For more information on the Haslam transition, you can follow his administration at http://www.billhaslam.org/

Familiar Faces Coming to New Positions in Nashville

Late last week there were reports of two high-profile appointments. One was the announcement of Claude Ramsey as Deputy Governor in the Haslam administration. Claude was recently elected to his fifth term as the Hamilton County mayor. He was an essential player in the efforts to recruit Volkswagen to Tennessee and has experienced tremendous sucesses in recruiting business and industry to his region during tough economic times. Prior to serving as mayor, Claude served a stint in the General Assembly in the 1970's, was a county commissioner in Hamilton County and the assessor of property.

Meanwhile, the Comptroller of the Treasury, Justin Wilson, announced the appointment of former Representative Jason Mumpower to his staff. Rep. Mumpower did not pursue re-election this year after serving as Republican Majority Leader. Mumpower will serve as the Executive Assistant to the Comptroller. His duties will include serving as a liaison to the General Assembly, representing the Comptroller on several boards and commissions and dealing with the overall management of the Comptroller’s office.

Commissioners Compensation and Benefits Survey Going Out

Each year the Tennessee County Commissioners Association surveys its membership about a number of things pertaining to the compensation and benefits provided to members of the legislative body in all 95 counties. These surveys also ask for updates on who is currently serving as chair of the commission and when the commission's regular meetings are scheduled. The surveys are going out to county mayors and chairs of commissions today. Once we compile the information, it will be available on the main TCCA website. Last year's survey is currently available here.

High Unemployment Streak Could Exceed 1980's

With November's rate expected to be 9.6%, that will mark the 19th consecutive month that the unemployment rate was over 9 percent. That would exceed the length of high unemployment during the 1980s recession. The Federal Reserve forcasts that the rate will still be near 9% at the end of 2011. For more, see this article from USA Today.

Delays Again in School Systems Reports

According to this article in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, the release of Adequate Yearly Progress reports for school systems has been pushed back again. Now, Department of Education officials expect to release that report and the official report card for the state and school systems around mid-December. Click on the link above for more information.

Tennessee Improves High School Graduation Rate

According to an article in the Commercial Appeal (click here for the link), Tennessee has made dramatic gains in its high school graduation rate. In 2002 we had one of the lowest rates in the country at 59.6%. By 2008 that had improved to 74.9%. This 15% improvement led the nation. This article is reporting findings from a study by Johns Hopkins University and America's Promise Alliance, founded by Gen. Colin Powell. The website for that organization and a link to the full report can be found at http://americaspromise.org/ and at full graduation rate study report.

Busy Times

Over the last couple of weeks, we had a tremendously successful TCSA fall conference, announced a new training program for county commissioners in conjunction with CTAS, welcomed several new members to the TCCA board and saw an election that had dramatic results. All these developments have made for a busy work schedule. I hope to update you soon on all these developments, as time permits.

Today, I'm at a hearing of the business tax study committee which is considering several issues today and tomorrow that impact county governments. Tomorrow afternoon I hit the road to Oak Ridge to teach the first training class in a new program designed to provide county commissioners with evening training opportunities to help make them better informed about their job. Three more classes will be taught across the state this month in Cookeville on the 8th, Gallatin on the 16th and Jackson on the 18th. I hope to see you at one of these classes. We hope to hit at least three more locations in the future if one of these locations is not convenient to you. This first class is a basic overview. More classes are planned on budgeting, capital planning, parliamentary procedure, education funding and several other issues.

NACo Database of Sample Codes and Ordinances

The National Association of Counties (NACo) has created an online database of sample codes and ordinances that are listed by subject. This materials may be of interest to your county if you are considering a specific issue. Keep in mind that these are not tailored to Tennessee law. They may give you a starting place for drafting but should not be adopted "as is." A county commission interested in one of these samples should have the code or ordinance reviewed by the county attorney to see if there is authority in Tennessee law for a county to take such action and to determine whether the sample needs to be modified to conform to Tennessee law.

See the link below.
http://www.naco.org/research/solutions/Pages/CodesandOrdiances.aspx

TCSA Fall Conference Coming Up

In less than two weeks, TCSA will be holding its annual fall conference and trade show in Pigeon Forge, TN. During the event, TCCA will have a membership meeting, board meeting and nominating committee meeting. This conference is when our new officers and board members will be selected. In addition to these meetings, there are numerous training and break-out sessions on topics of interest to county officials. With over 10 days still to go, we already have more folks registered for this year than attended the conference last year. It looks to be a great turnout. Hope to see you there.

State Revenue Collections

Tennessee sales tax collections showed positive growth in September, as overall revenues grew compared to the same period last year. Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz reported that overall September revenues were $977.5 million or 6.14% above September 2009 collections.

September collections were $41.0 million more than the budgeted estimate. The general fund was over collected by $28.5 million and the four other funds were over collected by $12.5 million.

Sales tax collections were $1.0 million more than the estimate for September. The September growth rate was 2.15%. Franchise and excise taxes combined were $22.9 million above the September budgeted estimate of $246.6 million. The September growth rate was 10.36%.

Gasoline and motor fuel collections for September increased by 15.08% and they were $3.9 million above the budgeted estimate of $70.8 million.

Year-to date collections for two months were $35.6 million more than the budgeted estimate. The general fund was over collected by $17.8 million and the four other funds were over collected by $17.8 million.

"Tennessee Downtowns" Program Accepting Applications

Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber announced today that applications are now being accepted for Tennessee Downtowns, a competitive community improvement program for cities and counties seeking to revitalize traditional commercial districts. The program is open to communities with downtown commercial districts established at least 50 years ago and whose citizens are ready to organize efforts for downtown revitalization based on the successful program “Main Street Four-Point Approach to Downtown Revitalizationtm.” Applications are available online at www.tennesseemainstreet.org and must be completed by Monday, Nov. 8.

For the full press release on this program announcement, go here.

County Officials Fees

A question came up at one of the regional meetings about alternative ways of handling the funds collected by the so-called “fee offices”. The following material is adapted from the CTAS County Government Handbook and explains these options.

The sheriff, trustee, county clerk, register of deeds and court clerks receive fees from the public for services they perform; for this reason these officials are sometimes referred to as "fee officials." There are two methods of accounting for the fees received by these officers.

The first and oldest is the "fee system." Under this system each official remits to the trustee quarterly all of the fees and charges collected by the official in excess of expenses for the following items: salaries of the official's deputies and assistants, necessary expenses of the office, and the official's salary as established by statute. The official is also authorized to maintain a reserve in an amount equal to three times the monthly salaries of the official, deputies, and assistants. If the fees are insufficient to pay the regular expenses of the office, including the statutory salary of the official and the salaries of deputies and assistants, the deficit is to be paid out of county general funds. Excess fees are placed in the county general fund as a source of county revenue.

The county commission is authorized to adopt an alternative system for fee officials, often called the "budget" or "salary" system, although the sheriff is always under this alternative system. This budget system can be adopted for some or all of the officials. Under this method, the official pays over to the trustee all of the fees, commissions, and charges collected by the office on a monthly basis. The county commission must, in return, budget for expenses, authorizing the trustee to pay the official's salary, salaries of deputies and assistants, and authorized expenses of the office. These salaries and other proper costs of the office are included in the budget and must be paid even if the fees are insufficient to cover them.

Rural Library Grants

Dozens of rural libraries across Tennessee will share in nearly $1.5 million in combined federal and state grants to provide computers, education courses and job skill training. The grants are targeted to help Tennesseans improve computer-related skills so they will be more competitive as they seek jobs.

The project is the culmination of more than a year’s effort by the Department of State and the Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD). The joint effort was successfully leveraged to secure additional funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development. Of the nearly $1.5 million, ECD will provide $1,030,000 and the Department of State will provide up to $70,000. The remaining $356,577 will come from USDA Rural Development. The funds will be used to provide computers, peripheral equipment, high-speed Internet routers and instructors to conduct training classes.

In addition to administering the $70,000 grant, the Tennessee State Library and Archives, which is a division of the Tennessee Department of State, will administer the other grant funds. TSLA is currently assisting the local libraries in finalizing the consent agreements required before the money is disbursed.

For more info, see the full press release from the Department of State here.

Race to the Top Resources

The State Department of Education has put together an Internet site with detailed information about the Race to the Top Program in Tennessee. I particularly recommend that county commissioners use the link on the site to download the approved Scope of Work that was proposed by your school system. These documents provide a detailed plan as to how your school system intends to use their portion of the federal grant to improve schools in your communities over the next four years.

You can find these resources by going to this website Race to the Top and then selecting your LEA (local education agency) from the drop down menu. There is a signature page within these scopes of work. If your school system is planning to use these funds in a manner that will create on-going obligations after the federal grant has expired, the chair of the funding body (county commission or city council) should have been required to sign off on the scope of work as well.

Dealing with Substance Abuse in Jails

The link below connects you to a lengthy report on jails, prisons, substance abuse and the challenges facing correctional facilities. Somewhere there is a balance to be found between the cost of treating addictions of those incarcerated in order to reduce recidivism and ultimately lower costs of incarceration. The study is from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Behind Bars II Substance Abuse and America's Prison Population.

A recent TN Department of Corrections report found that there were higher rates of recidivism for individuals held in local correctional facilities. One theory is that local jails do not have the resources to provide rehabilition and treatment programs and this may relate to the prisoners being more likely to commit additional crimes upon release. For a discussion of the TDOC report, go here.

Recommendations on Audit Committees

The following is from a memorandum that went out to County Mayors and Finance Directors last week from the Division of County Audit.

The Local Government Modernization Act of 2005, Section 9-3-405, Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA), encourages local governments to consider establishing an audit committee and provides that the Comptroller may require an audit committee be established under certain conditions. The two conditions are when a local government is in noncompliance with the accounting and financial reporting standards required by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board or have recurring findings from the annual audit for three or more consecutive years as determined by the Comptroller to be a material weakness in internal control or material noncompliance with Government Auditing Standards.

We believe well structured audit committees can improve the financial management and overall governance of governmental entities in Tennessee. Our office (County Audit) has encouraged the establishment of an audit committee in local governments for many years. However, very few local governments have an effective audit committee. We believe in today’s environment of fewer resources and increased demand for transparency and accountability, it is time to focus on the audit committee
as an effective tool to improve the operations of local governments.

Beginning with the audits for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010, when it has been determined that either of the conditions described in Section 9-3-405(a), TCA exists, there will be findings that address the county’s noncompliance with accounting and financial reporting standards and/or the existence of recurring audit findings. Both findings will include a recommendation encouraging the establishment of an audit committee under provisions of Section 9-3-405(a), TCA. If either of these conditions continue to occur, the county may be required to establish an audit committee. This committee will be responsible for addressing financial and other reporting practices, internal control, compliance with laws and regulations, and ethics. The audit committee should provide management with guidance to correct all reported material weaknesses in internal control and material noncompliance.

We (County Audit) will provide counties with guidelines regarding the establishment of effective audit committees. Please contact the Division of County Audit if you have any questions.

Great Meeting in Jonesborough

Another excellent meeting in Jonesborough last night. Close to 100 in attendance. Representatives Dale Ford, David Hawk and Matthew Hill all joined us as well as representatives of Congressman Phil Roe. Good dinner and discussion. On to Knoxville this evening and Baxter tomorrow night.

Regional meetings continue

Had another great meeting Tuesday night at Cleveland, Tennessee. Taking a little bit of a break to attend the Governor's Economic Development Conference in Nashville today and tomorrow. Next week I travel through Jonesborough, Knoxville and Putnam County for 3 more regional meetings. At lunch today at the conference, the keynote speaker was Michael Cohen, President of Achieve. Achieve is a national organization focused on raising the standards for k-12 education. He talked about Tennessee's efforts to raise standards and improve public education in the state. Much of what he had to say mirrored some of the discussion at our regional meetings.

Hope to see you soon at one of our meetings.

Regional Meetings Off to a Great Start

We had excellent turnouts at our first two regional meetings this week in Jackson and Henry Horton State Park. Thanks to all the officials for turning out. We're averaging over 100 people per meeting so far. It's been great to see many of our returning officials as well as getting a chance to meet more of the new county commissioners and mayors. We've also been privileged to have the chairs of the Senate Education Commitee, the State and Local Government Committee and the Transportation Committees in attendance. We meet next in South East Tennessee at the Mountain View Holiday Inn in Cleveland, Tennessee, on Tuesday night the 14th. That's our only meeting next week as we'll take a brief break for the Governor's Economic Development Conference in Nashville the end of the week. Then it's off to East Tennessee the following week for Jonesborough on the 21st, Knoxville on the 22nd and Baxter (Putnam County) on the 23rd.

Federal Education Jobs Program Funds

A new federal jobs program that impacts county governments was passed by Congress this summer and signed into law on August 10, 2010. It is not a part of ARRA (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), but will have similar reporting guidelines and similar purposes. Nationwide, the program authorized $10 billion in financial assistance to states to save or create jobs, specifically targeted to help protect jobs in K-12 education.

Tennessee’s allocation was $195.8 million. The state qualifies for the money under all known federal guidelines and the Bredesen administration has applied for the funds. Once received, the funds must be available to LEAs (Local Education Agencies) for the 2010-2011 school year. The funds must only be used for obligations made on or after August 10, 2010. LEAs may use the funds through September 30, 2012 (which is the end of the 2011-2012 federal fiscal year). However, for ease of administration and reporting, the Tennessee Department of Education is recommending that LEAs expend the funds by June 30, 2012 - the end of the state’s next fiscal year. Although eligible to retain a percentage of the funds for offsetting administrative costs, the state Department of Education is not retaining any of the funding and is letting it all flow through to the LEAs.

The state had the option to distribute the funds under either Title I or the state’s primary education funding formula (the Basic Education Program or BEP). Tennessee has determined that the funds will be distributed under the BEP. The US Department of Education guidelines indicate that a Governor may not direct how an LEA uses its education jobs fund. However, the Federal guidelines do require the funds to be spent in certain areas.

Education Jobs Program funds must be used only for school-level employee compensation and benefits and other expenses, such as support services, necessary to (1) retain existing employees, (2) recall or rehire former employees, and (3) hire new employees. Examples of permissible compensation and benefits include: salaries, performance bonuses, health insurance, retirement benefits, incentives for early retirement, pension fund contributions, tuition reimbursement, student loan repayment assistance, transportation subsidies, and reimbursement for childcare expenses. Besides teachers, examples of other school level employees who may receive these funds would include principals, assistant principals, academic coaches, in-service teacher trainers, classroom aides, counselors, librarians, social workers, interpreters, physical, speech and occupational therapists, security officers, maintenance workers, nurses, bus drivers, and cafeteria workers. The money can be used to restore reductions in salaries and benefits, implement increases or bonuses, or compensate teachers for previously scheduled furlough days. The important distinction is whether the employee is a “school level” employee or an “LEA-level” or “central office” employee. The federal guidelines do not allow the funds to be used for central office administrative personnel such as staff for the superintendent’s office or the board of education. The funds also cannot be used to pay for contracted services. The federal guidelines describe the funds as being for K-12 education. At this time it is unknown whether it is permissible to use the funds for Pre-K expenses.

These funds will have to be tracked, reported and accounted for separately. These are considered federal funds, but their use does not trigger federal non-supplanting guidelines. Additionally, as federal funds, these do not impact the required local match, or state-level non-supplanting or maintenance of effort requirements for LEAs. The funds are expected to be available for draw down in 2-3 weeks. The funds could be spent entirely in this budget year or an LEA could wait to spend the funds in next budget year or use them both years. They simply cannot be spent for obligations arising before August 10, 2010, and must be spent before September 30, 2012.

Economic Development Tool Kit

Need to know what incentives Tennessee offers new or expanding businesses, or what programs are available to assist Tennessee communities? Look no further than the newly updated Tennessee Tool Kit, which is now available online by clicking here.

The Tool Kit is a comprehensive guide to incentives and programs offered by the state of Tennessee through the Department of Economic and Community Development.

Power Point Presentations from COOP

The general session power points as well as the presentations on education and the functions of the beer board from the county commissioners break out session at COOP are now available through the CTAS website here. If interested, you can also see the presentations from other sessions for the various county offices.

UPDATE: Additional presentations and materials now available. You'll need to scroll down that page to get to the county commissioner section.

County Officials Orientation Program

This week was something of a whirlwind for me and I'm sure for many of the newly elected county officials as well. The County Officials Orientation Program was a tremendous success with hundreds of officials in attendance. For the opening session on Tuesday, the room was set for 560 and completely filled up. The hotel staff brought in 100 additional chairs and there were still people filing in and standing around in the back and at the sides of the room. There were hundreds of newly elected county commissioners in attendance. Even more impressive than the crowd was the energy and attention they brought to the meetings. The rooms stayed full throughout hours of training and speakers. Tennessee saw a lot of change in this recent election, but if the conference this week was any indication, the new officials joining public service in Tennessee bring a great deal of energy, interest and ideas to county government.

Thanks to all who made the effort to come to the conference and best wishes on your new term that starts next week.

Tennessee Eligible for Teacher Jobs Funds

According to an article in the Commercial Appeal (find it on-line here#), Tennessee is eligible to receive federal funds recently approved to help protect teacher jobs. Since the state did not cut funding for teacher salaries, there was a concern Tennessee would miss out on this assistance.

This excerpt from the article indicates that the money may be used for certain other specific needs:

"Under the federal Department of Education guidance circulated to U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen's office on Thursday, even states that have not reduced their support to elementary and secondary education are eligible for the funding.

"If a state's (local education agencies) do not need funds to recall or rehire former employees, they may use the funds for activities such as paying the salaries and benefits for teachers who provide instructional services in after-school and extended learning programs," the DOE guidance suggests."

See the article linked above for more details.

Comptroller Releases Report on Missing Funds in County Government

As part of a continuing effort to provide greater transparency in government, Comptroller Justin P. Wilson is making information about cash shortages reflected in the annual financial reports and special reports of Tennessee’s 95 counties available online.

The report provides information about cash shortages and other thefts reported in the annual financial reports for the year ended June 30, 2009 and certain special reports for Tennessee’s 89 county governments audited by the Comptroller’s Division of County Audit and for six counties audited by private accounting firms.

In addition to providing information about the amounts of the cash shortages in each county, the report also provides explanations about how the shortages were discovered, why they occurred, what steps have been taken to correct the problems and any judicial actions resulting from the cash shortages.

“This report serves a dual purpose,” Comptroller Wilson said. “First of all, it gives Tennesseans easy access to important financial information about their county governments, which serves the purpose of increasing transparency in government. Also, bringing this information to light may help reduce fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars in the future, which is one of the primary missions of the Comptroller’s office.”

The report can be found on-line here.

Tennessee Ranked Best in the Nation in Debt to GDP Ratio

An analysis of the ratio of debt to gross domestic product for each state (and the District of Columbia) shows that Tennessee is lowest with a debt/GDP ratio of 1.95%. The next lowest state was Nevada with 3.58%.

You can find a slide show of all 51 figures at

the daily beast.

Thanks to Post Politics for the reference.

Lottery Scholarship Shortfall Not as Bad as Earlier Predictions

At one point during the last session, there was a concern that lottery revenues were not keeping pace with spending for the scholarship program. In reaction to rather dire predictions, the legislature created a task force to examine the issue. It met all day yesterday. The good news is, the projections have become much more optimistic, showing manageable shortfalls in the next few years. The lottery scholarship program has a large reserve fund which appears to be able to sustain it through a slight turndown. For more information, see this article by Richard Locker of the Commercial Appeal:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/aug/16/study-paints-rosier-picture-tennessee-scholarship-/

Education Standards - Understanding How we Got to Where We Are

In recent years, Tennessee has taken a number to steps to toughen up standards for K-12 education in the state. In the next couple of months, those changes will be felt as new assessments of the performance of our students and our schools are released. There is a general expectation and concern that the new higher standards will initially result in dramatically lower scores. But this hopefully is a necessary growing pain our state and our communities have to go through to get to the desired end result: a well performing and quality public educational system in Tennessee.

I recently read a good article on-line that succintly describes where we've been and how we got to this point. You can find it here on the Chattarati website.

Keynote Speaker at Governor's Economic Development Conference is President of Achieve

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber today announced Michael Cohen, president of the nationally recognized education reform organization Achieve, will keynote the Commissioner’s Luncheon on September 16, 2010 during the 57th annual Governor’s Conference on Economic and Community Development in Nashville, Tenn.

Founded in 1996 by a coalition of business leaders and the nation’s governors, Achieve is an independent, bipartisan organization dedicated to helping states raise standards and graduation requirements, as well as improve assessment and accountability. In 2005, Achieve created the American Diploma Project, of which Tennessee is one of 35 participating states. Governor Bredesen also serves as co-chair of the Achieve Board of Directors.

“Over the past seven and a half years, we’ve made substantial investments in Tennessee to push our state to the forefront of reforming our public education system,” said Governor Bredesen. “Tennessee recognizes that higher standards and greater achievement are key to a more competitive workforce and long term growth for our economy.”

For more, see the full press release here.

Comptroller Seeks Input on Debt Management Practices

To promote sound debt management practices, Comptroller Justin P. Wilson is encouraging Tennessee’s cities and counties to share what works best for them. The Comptroller is asking for comment on a draft statement on debt management. The draft is based on four guiding principles for Tennessee governmental debt issuers to consider while developing their own policies.

These principles are:

• Understanding transactions;
• Explaining to citizens what is being considered;
• Avoiding conflicts of interest; and
• Disclosing costs and risks

The draft sets forth specific language explaining these principles in greater detail. Included with the draft is a guide and checklist on best practices in debt management, which includes examples from current debt policies. And the Comptroller's staff has developed a list of recommended sources and resources for governments to reference.

Comptroller Wilson is inviting written comments and suggestions for these draft documents by Sept. 15. Comptroller Wilson plans to hold a public forum on debt management practices for Tennessee governmental debt issuers, tentatively scheduled to be held in Nashville Sept. 22. Further details on the forum will be posted on the Comptroller’s web site at a later date.

“Each local government’s debt policy should address each of the four guiding principles. Beyond that, it is not advisable or practical to try to create a ‘one-size-fits-all’ debt management policy,” Comptroller Wilson said. “Cities and counties throughout our state have different needs and different challenges relating to debt management. Once the basics are met, I believe it is best to create a general framework for sound debt management, but give governmental debt issuers the flexibility to adopt policies tailored to their specific needs. I want the Comptroller’s office to serve as a clearinghouse for the sharing of ideas about what works and what doesn’t.”

After receiving input from governments and interested parties, Comptroller Wilson will consider making recommendations to the State Funding Board regarding debt management. The State Funding Board has authority to adopt a model debt policy for Tennessee governmental debt issuers.

To view the documents prepared by the Comptroller’s office online, go here

Good News on Revenues

State sales tax revenues for July jumped with the largest monthly growth in over three years. Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz today reported July’s total revenue collections were up from July of last year. The last month in which sales tax collections exceeded this month’s growth rate was April of 2007.

“We believe the growth in both sales and corporate tax collections point to an economic recovery in Tennessee; however, we will continue to be cautious, keeping our budget in balance as we move forward,” Goetz said. “Franchise and Excise tax collections showed negative growth for the month, but this can be attributed to significant one-time payments received in July of 2009.The year-to-date growth in our corporate tax collections have shown considerable improvement over last year, posting a gain of over 4 percent,” Goetz said.

Overall, July revenues were $833.6 million or $22.5 million more than the state budgeted. Although sales tax collections were $1.0 million less than the estimate for July, the July growth rate was 5.94%. For twelve months revenues are under collected by $225.7 million. The year-to-date growth rate for twelve months was negative 2.25%.

Gasoline and motor fuel tax collections for July decreased by 0.36 %. For twelve months revenues are under collected by $8.2 million.

For more, go here
and here.

For Newly Elected County Commissioners

Congratulations to all those who were elected to serve on county commissions across the state last Thursday. Many are returning to continue their service to the communities. Many will be embarking on their first experience with holding elected office.

For those newly elected county commissioners, I strongly recommend you consider attending the County Officials Orientation Program in Nashville the last week of August. This event is a joint effort between the various statewide county officials organizations and the University of Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS). If you are not familiar with CTAS, it is a very valuable resource for county officials in Tennessee. Check out their website at http://www.ctas.tennessee.edu/. for a wealth of training manuals, statistical information and training opportunities. The County Officials Orientation Program for county mayors, county commissioners and county highway officials will be held the afternoon of August 24th and the morning of August 25th at the Nashville Airport Marriot. Registration is free for all newly elected county officials. For more details, see the registration brochure
here.

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants Workshops

The Department of Economic and Community Development's Energy Policy Office will host Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) Administration Workshops in August for communities who were awarded grants earlier this year.

The workshops will cover requirements related to Davis-Bacon, Buy American, historic preservation, reporting, receiving payments, waste management and procurement. Questions about the grants and expectations of the recipients will also be addressed.

Four workshops will be held across the state, as follows:

August 17, 1 - 4 p.m. CST, Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce, Jackson
August 24, 1 - 4 p.m. EST, Cleveland/Bradley County Chamber of Commerce, Cleveland
August 25, 9 a.m. - Noon EST, Walters State Great Smoky Mountains Expo Center, White Pines
August 26, 1 - 4 p.m. CST, Tennessee Tower, Nashville

Registration is required for the workshops. RSVP to 615-741-2994, 800-342-1340 or ecd.energypolicy@tn.gov.

The Tennessee EECBG program awarded $13.4 million in grants to 146 communities throughout the state to implement energy efficient projects. These grants are projected to produce more than 92 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy savings annually, resulting in an estimated cost-savings of $8 million per year for Tennessee communities. In addition, approximately 149 jobs will be created by the 146 grants awarded.

For more information on the EECBG program in Tennessee, visit http://tnecd.gov/recovery/eecbg.html.

Agenda for the County Officials Orientation Program

After this Thursday, there will be an entire new crop of elected county officials. One of the best things a newly elected county official can do is attend a workshop in Nashville later this month sponsored by the University of Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service. This training event is held from August 24th through 26th in Nashville. Different officials will attend different days. The program is set up so that an official would attend a general session one afternoon and an office specific program the next morning.

A basic agenda for the session can be found here.

FEMA Hazard Mitigation Specialists to Advise Middle TN Homeowners

Homeowners rebuilding after the spring floods can receive valuable information from hazard mitigation specialists with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at hardware stores in Middle Tennessee, beginning Monday, Aug. 2.

The specialists can answer questions about protecting homes from future disaster damage, as well as offer other home improvement tips and techniques. Topics will include mold and mildew cleanup and prevention, flood insurance, flood and wind-resistant building methods, wind straps and other measures to make homes stronger and safer. Publications on these topics will also be available.

FEMA mitigation specialists will be available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the following locations:

Aug. 2 through Aug. 6

•Mitchum True Value, 17 E. Front St., Erin, TN 37061.

Aug. 2 through Aug. 7

•True Value Hardware, 810 N. Locust Ave., Lawrenceburg, TN 38464;
•Lowe’s, 10 Campbell Road, Madison, TN 37115.

There is no cost to talk with the specialists.

Gov. Bredesen Signs Executive Order to Create STEM Innovation Network

On July 29th, Gov. Bredesen signed an executive order to create the STEM Innovation Network. The STEM disciplines are Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The Network is charged with promoting and expanding the teaching and learning of these four disciplines in K-12 public schools across Tennessee. The Network will be associated with the State Department of Education which is authorized by the Executive Order to enter into an agreement with Battelle to be the manager of the Network and its activities. Battelle (the Battelle Memorial Institute) is a global research and development enterprise which jointly manages the Oak Ridge National Laboratory with the University of Tennessee.

For more, see this article by Tom Humprhey of the Knoxville News Sentinel or click here for a copy of the executive order.

Early Voting by County

Secretary of State Tre Hargett has posted the numbers for early voting through the 28th and projects that we may set a record.
See the rate of voting by county and by day here.

What Every County Commissioner Should Know About The Jail

Jim Hart of CTAS shared a resource with me this week on jails. It is a 12 page article that highlights the things a county commissioner should know, and should ask, about the county's jail. The publication was written by Dr. Allen R. Beck who has worked as a consultant on correctional facilities since the 1970s and has a doctorate degree in Criminal Justice. The article is written from a national perspective and is not specific to Tennessee law. Nevertheless, it includes excellent common sense recommendations on what county commissioners should look for to ensure their jail is being managed in a cost efficient and proper manner.

County commissioners obviously have a different set of responsibilities from the Sheriff. The Sheriff is the individual chosen by the voters to manage the day to day operations of the jail. Commissioners should not interfere with these functions or try to micro-manage the Sheriff. However, as the author points out, the jail is one of the most expensive operations of the county and there is great potential for commissioners to be impacted by lawsuits and liability that can arise from a poorly managed jail. The article attempts to equip county commissioners with enough knowledge to be able to ask informed questions about jail operations and management to be able to evaluate current deficiencies and future needs. It can be found here.

In addition to the issues raised by this article, many counties in Tennessee have recently built new jails or additions or are in the process of evaluating the county's correctional needs. There are several more of Dr. Beck's articles available which relate to evaluating jail designs and needs. These articles can be found on the website for his Kansas City-based consulting firm called Justice Concepts Inc. at http://www.justiceconcepts.com/

Other articles include:

• A Proven Jail Design that Cuts Construction Costs by One-half or More
• Example of How We Rapidly Reduced a Jail Population
• Jail Bloating: A Cause of Jail Overcrowding
• Deciding on a New Jail Design
• Two Approaches for Determing Jail Needs
• Forecasting: Fiction and Utility in Jail Planning
• Misleading Jail Bed Costs
  

US Department of Education Approves Budget for TN Race to the Top Funds

(From a Press Release from Gov. Bredesen's office)

Governor Phil Bredesen announced today that Tennessee’s nearly $501 million Race to the Top budget has been approved by the U. S. Department of Education, allowing the state and all 136 school districts to move forward in implementing comprehensive school reform plans over the next four years.

Tennessee was just one of two states selected to receive funding in the federal government’s Race to the Top competition in March.

For more, go here.

Additional Federal Flood Assistance Coming to Tennessee Communities

A supplemental war funding bill passed by Congress and sent to the President this week included a provision to provide more than $200 million in federal aid for Tennessee communities impacted by the 2010 flood.

See this article
from the Tennessean for more information.

According to a spokesman from the Governor's office, one of the most significant provisions of the bill would be a reduction of the required local match for FEMA projects from 25% to 10%. During its budget deliberations, the State had pledged to split the 25% match with local governments. As reported in the article linked above, the Governor's office indicates it still plans to split this reduced local match. This means that a county now will only have to provide 5% of the funding for a FEMA project with the State providing 5% and FEMA picking up 90%.

This is good news for many Tennessee local governments that were overwhelmed by the May floods and facing extraordinary costs to rebuild roads, bridges, water treatment facilities, schools and other infrastructure.

Updates to the County Uniform Chart of Accounts

The Comptroller's Office has released an updated 2010 Chart of Accounts for county governments. The new version and a short summary of the changes are available from this website.

CTAS Index of Acts Available

The UT County Technical Assistance Service has released its 2010 Index of Acts Affecting County Government. This publication summarizes all legislation that passed the Tennessee General Assembly in 2010 that affects county government. It even includes summaries of private acts that only apply to a single county.

You can access or download a copy of the publication here.

Regional Meetings for This Fall

After the August County General Election, the Tennessee County Commissioners Association will once again be holding a series of regional meetings across the state. These meetings are one of the most important functions of the association. They are an excellent opportunity for county commissioners to meet, network over a meal and discuss issues impacting county government. The meetings also play an important part in formulating the association’s legislative platform for the next year. We invite state legislators and our congressional delegation to the meetings as well and it becomes an opportunity for county officials to express their views to these important governmental partners.

In order to allow participation by newly elected county commissioners, all meetings this year will be held after September 1 when the new term begins. The meetings begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. local time with a dinner, followed by programs and discussions and usually wrap up around 8:30. Two of our locations have changed this year. For the meeting in Putnam County, the Leslie Towne Center was not available and we will instead be meeting at the DelMonaco Winery in Baxter, Tennessee. Additionally, we are moving the Northern Middle Tennessee meeting that had been held on the Vol State Campus the last two years to the Robertson County Courthouse in Springfield. The dates for the meetings are listed below. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for the meeting in your region.

September 7th UT AG Center, Jackson, Madison County

September 9th Henry Horton State Park, Marshall County

September 14th Mountain View Holiday Inn, Cleveland, Bradley County

September 21st Visitors’ Center, Jonesborough, Washington County

September 22nd Knoxville City/County Building, Knox County

September 23rd DelMonaco Winery, Baxter, Putnam County

September 28th Robertson County Courthouse, Springfield

September 30th Paris Landing State Park, Henry County

Tennessee Ties for Economic Development Award

Southern Business and Development magazine’s annual "Top Deals and Hot Markets" rankings have been released, and Tennessee is at the top of the list. The Volunteer State, alongside Louisiana, has been named the Co-State of the Year for the second year in a row.

“I am pleased that Tennessee has received this recognition for our success in economic development,” said Governor Phil Bredesen. “We’ve worked hard to bring better paying, high skilled jobs to Tennessee, and this award reflects the success of our efforts.”

To determine these rankings, SB&D considers only companies making public commitments of 200 jobs or more, or $30 million in capital investment.

“Despite the economic downturn, Tennessee welcomed more than 21,000 new jobs and almost $6 billion in new capital investments in 2009,” said Matt Kisber, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. “It is rewarding to see Tennessee acknowledged for our economic development wins in light of what Southern Business and Development recognizes as a challenging time.”

For more information, see the full press release here

State Revenue Collections for June

The revenue report for June once again includes mixed news. Total state tax collections for the month were below budgeted estimates, but recorded positive growth in sales and corporate taxes. Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz announced that overall June revenues were $1.062 billion, which is $6.2 million less than the state budgeted. June sales tax collections represent consumer spending that took place in the month of May.

““This marks the third consecutive month in which sales tax collections recorded positive growth over the same month a year ago,” Goetz said. “While the positive growth for June is small, remember that consumer spending was depressed in May as a result of the unprecedented flooding the state endured. Although we believe that Tennessee is in the early stages of economic recovery we will continue to be diligent in monitoring the state’s spending in order to keep our budget in balance on a recurring basis.””

The general fund was under collected by $9.3 million, and the four other funds were over collected by $3.1 million. Sales tax collections were $16.8 million less than the estimate for June. The June growth rate was 0.73%.

Year-to-date collections for eleven months were $225.5 million less than the budgeted estimate. The general fund was under collected by $179.3 million and the four other funds were under collected by $46.2 million.

For more information, click here.

Webinar for Local Building Permit Issuing Agents

The State Fire Marshall's Office is holding an informational webinar on July 29th for persons who may be interested in serving as local building permit issuing agents.

In October of this year, the State Fire Marshal’s office will begin permitting and inspecting new construction of one and two family residences and townhomes. The state program will not apply in jurisdictions that enforce their own building codes (having elected to continue local enforcement) or that opt out of state residential building code enforcement. The State Fire Marshal desires to contract with local government officials and electrical permit issuing agents to serve as issuing agents for these permits.

Under contracts with the state, local issuing agents will be paid a fee of $15 for issuing a building permit and collecting and transmitting permit fees to the state. The State Fire Marshal’s office is seeking issuing agents in every county participating in the state program. Issuing agents could be electric departments or other issuing agents currently serving as electrical inspection issuing agents, or a city or county office. All inspections will be scheduled through the State Fire Marshal’s office using an automated system and not through the issuing agent.

The State Fire Marshal’s office will be conducting an informational webinar to outline the process for building permit issuance for any who might be interested in becoming an issuing agent. You may pre-register for this interactive webinar or ask questions relating to the webinar by emailing greg.adams@tn.gov. Written materials for the webinar will be emailed to you for printing prior to the webinar’s start time.

If you want to participate, on July 29, log on to http://stateoftennessee.na6.acrobat.com/residentialpermits/ at 9 A.M. (CST) to attend the webinar. To hear audio for the webinar, call 615-532-2242 (outside area code 615, call 877-436-2482). While additional training will be offered for issuing agents, anyone who is possibly interested in serving as an issuing agent should participate in this informational webinar.

If you have never attended a Connect Pro meeting before:

Test your connection: http://stateoftennessee.na6.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

Get a quick overview: http://www.adobe.com/go/connectpro_overview

Class Action Suit that Counties May Wish to Join

Earlier this year a class action lawsuit was certified against several on-line travel companies for the under payment of local hotel/motel taxes. For details, see this Nashville Post article here.

If your county levies a hotel/motel tax, it may be entitled to a portion of the damages that could be awarded in this suit. A similar class action in Texas resulted in an initial damage award of more than $20 million.

UPDATE: According to additional information I have received today, the certified class in the litigation already includes all Tennessee cities and counties that levy a hotel motel tax. No action is necessary for them to be a part of the suit.

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants Awarded to 42 Cities and Counties

Governor Phil Bredesen and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber announced today that 42 additional Tennessee cities and counties were awarded around $3.8 million in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This announcement comes just months after $9.2 million in EECBG grants was distributed to 100 Tennessee cities and counties. The grants will enable communities to implement cost-effective strategies which reduce total energy expenses and save taxpayer money through improved energy efficiency in buildings and transportation systems, creating an estimated 45 new jobs in the process.

For more on this award, click here.

For more on the EECBG program in general, click here.

Tennessee Makes Education Gains - But Battling Growing Poverty

According to an article from the Commercial Appeal out of Memphis (click here for the full article), Tennessee has made gains in high school graduation, average ACT score and other education measures. However, these gains are at risk due to growing numbers of children living in poverty.

Tennessee Ranks 46th in K-12 Education Funding

(From a Nashville Business Journal Article)
Tennessee ranked 46th in the country for its per pupil spending and was about $2,500 below the national average, according to a report released Monday from the U.S. Census Bureau.

As a state, Tennessee spent $7,739 per student in elementary and secondary public schools in the 2007-2008 school year, the report said. The national average was $10,259.

In the U.S. Census’ Public Education Finances 2008 report, the average pupil funding in Tennessee came from $873 in revenue from the federal government, $3,853 from state government and $3,635 from local sources.


To see the full article from the Nashville Business Journal, click here.

To access the entire U.S. Census Bureau report, click here.

New Tennessee Laws Taking Effect July 1, 2010

The General Assembly has a listing available on their website of new laws and changes to laws that take effect July 1 of this year. Much legislation that passes takes effect at the start of the new fiscal year, particularly if it relates to finance or taxation. Other bills may take effect immediately (i.e. when signed by the Governor) or, in rare cases, at some later date established specifically in the legislation.

Here is a link to those laws taking effect on Thursday, July 1.

New laws effective 7/1/2010.

If you have questions about these lawss or how to get full copies of their text, e-mail me and I can help you find what you need.

Follow Me on Twitter

As an experiment in working with social networking media, I've set up a Twitter account and begun following local politics and national news. I'll admit, I'm not sure I see the value in providing constant brief updates on where I am and what I'm doing. Still, I see potential for creating a network among TCCA membership and getting out quick notices about updates, events, developments, etc. With the Legislative Session concluded, the slow season of summer is upon us and most counties are focused either on budget, elections, or both so this isn't a critical time for hearing from me.

But if you are interested, you can follow me @TCCADavidConnor on Twitter. You'll have to set up a Twitter account to do so. Association members have raised concern before about providing information to county officials through sites like Twiter or Facebook where you have to set up an account in order to get information and updates. Don't be concerned. Anything of substance or importance to county commissioners that I need to get to you will go on this site or out by e-mail. Those other sites will probably just be used to let you know when new content is posted here.

If you have ideas and suggestions about how to effectively use that service, this blog, our e-mail newsletter or other resources to provide useful information, let me know.

Electric Car Charging Stations to Begin Opening in East TN

(material from Knoxville News Sentinel)

East Tennesseans driving electric cars will soon be able to charge up their vehicles at a network of 350 stations throughout the Knoxville area. The publicly accessible electric vehicle (EV) charging stations will begin to open in September.

The project is being supported by the city of Knoxville, Knox County, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Knoxville Utilities Board and the Tennessee Valley Authority. The partners are part of an EV project involving ECOtality, Nissan North America and General Motors/Chevrolet that calls for the deployment of more than 8,000 new Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt electric vehicles and about 15,000 charging stations across the nation.

For more on this topic, see the full Knoxville News Sentinel article
here.

Jobless Rate Falls in 86 Counties

Tennessee’s unemployment rate for May was 10.4 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from the April rate of 10.5 percent. The national unemployment rate for May 2010 was 9.7 percent.

County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for May 2010, released today, show that the rate decreased in 86 counties, increased in seven counties and remained the same in two counties.

Lincoln County registered the state's lowest county unemployment rate at 6.6 percent, down from 7.1 percent in April. Scott County had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 19.8 percent, down from 20.2 percent in April, followed by Marshall County at 16.7 percent, down from 17.3 percent in April.

Knox County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate of 7.7 percent, down from 8.2 percent in April. Davidson County was 8.9 percent, unchanged from the April rate. Hamilton County was at 8.6 percent, down from 9.0 in April, and Shelby County was 10.0 percent, down from 10.2 in April.

For more detail click here.

Deadlines for FEMA Assistance Programs Extended

From a State of Tennessee Press Release

Governor Phil Bredesen today announced Tennessee has requested and received a 30-day extension of deadlines for FEMA assistance programs that will assist individuals in the 46 counties eligible for Individual Assistance as a result of the extreme weather and flooding that struck the state April 30 – May 2.

“I’m extremely pleased people will have more time to register to get the help they need as Tennessee recovers from these historic and devastating floods,” said Bredesen. “I appreciate the support Congressman Jim Cooper, members of the Tennessee delegation and FEMA have provided as we’ve worked in partnership to assist affected Tennesseans.”

FEMA has approved the state’s request to extend the registration deadline for Individual Assistance to August 5, 2010. Disaster survivors in the counties designated for Individual Assistance may apply online anytime at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or call the FEMA HelpLine at 800-621-3362 (FEMA) or (TTY) 800-462-7585 for those with speech and hearing disabilities. Assistance is available in all languages.

Two other deadlines have also been extended:
• The deadline for filing a proof-of-loss statement under the standard flood insurance policy from FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program has been extended for an additional 30 days. Proof-of-loss is usually required within 60 days from the date of loss. This extension provides policy owners an additional 30 days to file.
• The deadline to submit a loan application to the U.S. Small Business Administration has been extended to August 5, 2010.
Filing an SBA loan application is a key part of the FEMA registration process. While no one is required to take out an SBA loan, a loan denial may open up other opportunities for assistance to an applicant. To date the SBA has approved nearly $89 million in low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and nonprofit organizations.
In Tennessee, 63,633 people have registered for Individual Assistance, and FEMA has approved more than $141 million in aid to individual households in Tennessee.
The federally declared counties that have been approved for Individual Assistance are: Benton, Carroll, Cannon, Cheatham, Chester, Clay, Crockett, Davidson, Decatur, DeKalb, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Giles, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis, Macon, Madison, Marshall, Maury, McNairy, Montgomery, Obion, Perry, Putnam, Robertson, Rutherford, Shelby, Smith, Stewart, Sumner, Tipton, Trousdale, Wayne, Williamson and Wilson.
Affected individuals must register with FEMA to receive federal disaster assistance. Filing damage reports with state or local county emergency managers or voluntary agencies will not start the process.

Association of Flood Plain Management Annual Conference

Over the past few months, the Department of Economic and Community Development's Local Planning Office has worked with the newly formed Tennessee Association of Flood Plain Management in the development of its first state conference. This conference will be held on July 21 - 23 at Montgomery Bell State Park in Burns, Tenn. The conference will be directed toward local community floodplain administrators, but anyone interested in floodplain management is invited to attend. In addition to presentations from FEMA, there will be technical sessions involving private consultants, TDOT, TDEC and ECD.

Information concerning registration or the conference agenda can be found online at www.TNAFPM.com.

New Training in Grants Administration

The State of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Research and Strategic Planning Division, and Grant Writing USA will present a two-day grant management workshop in Nashville, July 19-20. This training is for grant recipient organizations across all disciplines. Attend this class and you'll learn how to administer government grants and stay in compliance with applicable rules and regulations.

Tuition is $595 and includes Grant Writing USA's 450-page grant management workbook and reference guide. Seating is limited, online reservations are necessary.

Full details are available here.

Tenessee Job Losses 6th Worst

Tennessee is among 33 states that have fewer private-sector jobs today than they did 10 years ago, according to new figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Tennessee lost 147,500 private-sector positions between May 2000 and May 2010. The loss of 6.32 percent of its private-sector jobs made it the sixth-worst performance by any state.

For more, including a breakdown of all 50 states, see this article from the Nashville Business Journal

State Seeking Input on State Health Plan

The State of Tennessee is seeking input on the State Health Plan through an on-line survey and through a series of public meetings. The first edition of the plan was released in 2009 and is available on-line here.

Tennesseans are invited to give their opinions for the 2010 edition of the State Health Plan. To give your opinion, click here to take the online survey. The survey results will be incorporated into the 2010 State Health Plan, a document of common goals and promising strategies to improve health and health care in Tennessee.

In addition, the Division of Health Planning will hold meetings across Tennessee to discuss goals and strategies for a state health plan. The following meetings have been scheduled with more to follow.

July 9, 10 am – 12 pm Murfreesboro, MTSU
July 13, 10 am – 12 pm Nashville, Tennessee State University
July 15, 1-3 pm Jackson, Tennessee Technology Center
July 16, 1-3 pm Martin, UT Martin
July 20, 10 am – 12 pm Memphis, UT Health Science Center

Additional meetings to be announced in:
Tri-Cities, ETSU
Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga
Cookeville, Tennessee Tech University
Knoxville, UT Howard Baker Center for Public Policy

The Plan establishes Five Principles for Achieving Better Health and outlines a public process for developing goals and strategies for each of the Five Principles. The following Five Principles for Achieving Better Health are based on the Division's enacting legislation:

The purpose of the State Health Plan is to improve the health of Tennesseans;
Every citizen should have reasonable access to health care;
The state's health care resources should be developed to address the needs of Tennesseans while encouraging competitive markets, economic efficiencies, and the continued development of the state's health care system;
Every citizen should have confidence that the quality of health care is continually monitored and standards are adhered to by health care providers; and
The state should support the recruitment and retention of a sufficient and quality health care workforce

Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery

The recent widespread flooding that impacted over half of Tennessee's counties highlights the importance of having an up-to-date disaster recovery or business continuity plan. While many communities are still in the recovery process, those that are not may want to take this time to review and analyze their plans. There are many resources available on the Internet related to disaster recovery and business continuity. One detailed publication developed by the National Fire Protection Association sets standards for development and management of a disaster/emergency management plan and business continuity program. That resource is available here.

May Revenue Report - Mixed News

State tax collections for May were less than budgeted, yet included positive growth in state sales tax collections. Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz reports that overall May revenues were $767.1 million, which is $18.6 million less than the state budgeted. May sales tax collections represent consumer spending that occurred in the month of April.

“May is the second consecutive month this fiscal year in which sales tax collections posted positive growth over the year before; and before April, we had not seen positive growth since May of 2008," Goetz said. “This is encouraging and we hope this marks the beginning of economic recovery for Tennessee. However, we will continue to closely monitor collections and do whatever is necessary to end this fiscal year with a balanced budget and leave the next governor with a balanced budget on a recurring basis.”

The general fund was under-collected by $16.5 million, and the four other funds were under-collected by $2.1 million. Sales tax collections were $6.1 million less than the estimate for May. The May growth rate was positive 3.70%. For ten months revenues are under-collected by $207.9 million. The year-to-date growth rate for ten months was negative 3.38%.

For more information, go here

Department of Corrections Study on Recidivism

The Tennessee Department of Correction has discovered some encouraging news in its latest study on recidivism. The just released report shows that felons released from TDOC prisons are now less likely to return to custody.

The return rate for ex-felons dropped 3% in the latest survey. For 2005, the recidivism rate stood at 38.8% for offenders who had been out of prison for three years. That's compared to a 42% rate in 2001. While there is no recognized national average for recidivism, return rates range as high as 65% for individual states.

For Tennessee taxpayers, a 3% drop in return means an annual savings of $3,933,502.80 based on the $64.92 daily rate to house an inmate.

Even better news is that the TDOC is maintaining extremely low return rates for felons convicted of violent crimes such as murder, rape and assault. Three years after their release, these offenders were only 25% likely to return to prison compared to the nearly 44% return rate for those convicted of property offenses.

Unfortunately however, (as documented in an article from Nashville Public Radio found here) the rate went up for felons serving their time in county jails. Commissioner Gayle Ray says prisons have the advantage of programs to rehabilitate inmates. But she says not all county jails can afford to do the same.

“Counties are really strapped for the amount of money that’s given to jails, and especially some of the rural counties, they’re barely able to hire correctional officers, much less put in programs – They just don’t have those resources.”

The study also found recidivism was lowest among felons released after serving their full sentence, compared to probation or parole. The full report is available on the TDOC website here.

Local Parks and Recreation Fund Grant Workshop

In the 2010-2011 budget, the General Assembly appropriated $3.7 million for the Local Parks and Recreation Fund (LPRF). On Wednesday June 30, 2010, the Department of Environment and Conservation will host a grant workshop at the Fleming Training Center at 2022 Blanton Drive in Murfreesboro on how to apply for these grants. The workshop will begin at 10:00 AM central time. The grants are intended to help communities create and expand parks and recreation services. These grants may also be used for trail development and capital projects in parks, natural areas and greenways. LPRF grants have a maximum possible award of $200,000 and require a 50% match. Each county and municipality may submit one application per grant cycle. Cities and counties may also apply jointly for one additional project. The department has begun accepting applications for grants from the LPRF and will continue to do so up until the application dealine of August 13. Grants recipients are expected to be announced this fall.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Changes

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Household Hazardous Waste Program is making changes for the coming Fiscal Year and into the future to provide mobile collection service to a greater number of counties and to capture the most hazardous household chemicals throughout the State. In an effort to achieve this goal the HHW Program will no longer accept paint or electronics at the mobile collection events. These two categories of waste have comprised almost three-quarters of the material collected at these events in the past, but are considered minimally hazardous wastes. TDEC says experience indicates that when these two waste streams are diverted away from the mobile collection events, participation and idle times in long lines decrease tremendously. This makes these events more effective at recovering and disposing of the most dangerous household chemicals and wastes.

For paint, the State’s contractor will collect oil-based paint only, at fixed locations. They will continue to provide storage containers, box liners, and milk run pickup service. This service will continue to be provided at no cost to the County. Refer to the Household Paint Management Guidance and Policy on TDEC’s Web page for details. That policy can be found here.

The Household Hazardous Waste Program is available to discuss options that can best meet the needs of each County. If you would like to participate and need technical assistance in launching a local program for the collection of batteries, oil, paint, antifreeze and electronics, you can contact Paula Mitchell at 615-532-9265 or by email at paula.mitchell@tn.gov for more information. TDEC will be soliciting HHW requests for the fall season at a later date.

Session Adjourns - Legislative Conference Concludes

The lack of posts here are more a reflection on too much activity rather than too little over the last month. As the legislative session wound to a close, meetings often extended late into the day. Hopefully I can resume providing new information here now that my schedule is more normal.

The General Assembly adjourned for the year on Thursday, June 10th in the wee hours of the morning. Earlier that week, the TCSA Legislative Conference wrapped up in Gatlinburg on Wednesday morning. The conference was a success even though some legislators scheduled to speak were unable to attend due to the continuation of the legislative session. Thanks to all of you who attended and participated in the conference.

Over the coming weeks I hope to make more information about the outcome of the legislative session available to you here. As for association functions for the upcoming summer, I have already begun planning and development on our 8 TCCA regional meetings for this upcoming September and hope to have all dates and locations finalized soon. I will also be working with the UT County Technical Assistance Service on training sessions for newly elected county commissioners for the County Officials Orientation Program offered this upcoming August after the county election.

Thanks for your continued support of the association and its activities.

Update on Disaster Registrations and Funding

FEMA announced that, as of Friday, the agency had approved more than $80 million in relief aid for flood victims across Tennessee.

Registration by flood and storm victims across the state is now close to 29,000 households. Of those, almost 14,000 are in Metro Nashville/Davidson County.

Statewide, the agency has completed over 16,000 home and property inspections.

To register with FEMA, visit www.disasterassistance.gov or call 1-800-621-FEMA.

Middle Tennessee Regional Summit May 26th

On May 26th, Cumberland Region Tomorrow, the Nashville Area MPO and TDOT are hosting the 2nd Annual Convening the Region Summit: A Region Pulls Together Through… The Power of Ten.

This regional event will focus on the 2010 Regional Key issues of Transportation/Transit and Open Space Conservation. The meeting follows last year's summit where the Middle Tennessee Mayors Caucus and Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee called for a unified effort from leaders of the ten Nashville area counties to focus efforts and build collaboration toward Top Regional Issues and Opportunities:
• Regional Transportation/Transit
• Regional Land Use/Quality Growth and Sustainable Development
• Regional Infrastructure
• Regional Open Space Conservation
• Regional Air and Water Quantity and Quality
• Regional Economic Competitiveness

If you are an official from a middle Tennessee county and are interested in attending this event you can find more information about the summit at http://www.cumberlandregiontomorrow.org/Summit.

After Two Years, State Revenue Collections Finally Begin to Improve

Tennessee revenue collections improved in April with a net positive growth of 2.23% over April collections one year ago. Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz reported today that overall April revenues were $1.243 billion, which is $43.4 million more than the state budgeted.

"April is the first positive sales tax growth month in almost two years - since May of 2008," Goetz said. "Sales tax collections started their downward spiral starting in January of that year and, beginning with the month of June, recorded an unprecedented 22 consecutive months of negative collections."

On an accrual basis, April is the ninth month in the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

The general fund was over collected by $51.4 million, and the four other funds were under collected by $8.0 million.

Sales tax collections were $9.7 million more than the budgeted estimate for April. The April growth rate was positive 5.62%. For nine months revenues are under collected by $201.8 million. The year-to-date growth rate for nine months was negative 4.11%.

Governor Bredesen Comments on Use of Race to the Top Funds

In an article on the Nashville Public Radio (WPLN) website, the Governor comments on the recent award to Tennessee of federal education funds. Governor Phil Bredesen is reminding people that federal “Race to the Top” funds can’t be used to plug budget holes. That’s after Tennessee was chosen to receive a federal $500 million for classroom innovation.

Bredesen says he hopes some of the money establishes new programs that a future governor would want to continue, even after the federal money goes away. But he says Race to the Top doesn’t tie anyone’s hands in future budgets.

“One of the great things about this money is it really can’t be used to fill budget holes. It goes for the kinds of things that are really important for the long run but really easy to push back each year.”

For more on this story, click here.

First Week of Recovery

FEMA DISASTER ASSISTANCE TO TENNESSEE TOPS $28 MILLION IN FIRST WEEK

NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen and the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced today more than $28 million in disaster assistance has been approved to help with recovery efforts just one week after a federal major disaster declaration was requested for severe storms and flooding that struck Tennessee.

“We’re very pleased with the pace of recovery operations, but we aren’t letting up,” said Bredesen. “State agencies and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency will continue working hand-in-hand with FEMA and local partners to make sure those affected by the flooding have access to the resources they need to help rebuild their lives.”

Individuals can register with FEMA online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 800-462-7585 for those with speech and hearing disabilities. The toll-free numbers are staffed seven days a week, 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. CDT until further notice. Help in all languages is available.

“We strongly encourage Tennesseans to register for assistance as soon as possible,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Gracia Szczech. “Registration only takes about 30 minutes and once we hear from people, we can help them receive the assistance they may need.”

To date, 42 counties have been designated for assistance in Tennessee, including Benton, Carroll, Clay, Crockett, Cheatham, Chester, Davidson, Decatur, DeKalb, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis, Macon, Madison, Maury, McNairy, Montgomery, Obion, Perry, Robertson, Rutherford, Shelby, Smith, Stewart, Sumner, Tipton, Trousdale, Wayne, Williamson and Wilson.

Recovery Assistance by the Numbers
• More than $28 million has been approved to help disaster-affected Tennesseans with temporary housing, home repairs and other needs through FEMA and state disaster grants programs.
• Nearly 18,000 people in the 42 designated counties have registered with FEMA for Individual Assistance.
• More than 4,400 inspections have been completed and 14,000 inspections are scheduled.

Disaster Recovery Centers
Two Disaster Recovery Centers are now open in west and middle Tennessee. Hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CDT seven days a week until further notice.
• Hickman County - Centerville Church of Christ - 138 N. Central Ave., Centerville, TN 37033
• Davidson County - 100 Oaks Mall (near the Hollywood 27 Theatre) - 719 Thompson Lane, Nashville, TN 37204

Additional Disaster Recovery Centers will be opening soon.

Disaster Unemployment Benefits

Counties Now Authorized for Disaster Unemployment Benefits

NASHVILLE - Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits are available to workers in Chester, Clay, DeKalb, Hardin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis, Macon, Robertson, Smith, Stewart, Trousdale, Wayne and Wilson counties as a direct result of severe storms, flooding, straight-line winds, and tornadoes that began April 30, 2010, and are continuing, Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development James Neeley reported today. This amends the declaration for the State of Tennessee (FEMA-1909-DR).

These additional counties eligible for DUA are added to the previously 27 declared counties of Benton, Carroll, Cheatham, Crockett, Davidson, Decatur, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Haywood, Henderson, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Madison, Maury, McNairy, Montgomery, Obion, Perry, Rutherford, Shelby, Sumner, Tipton and Williamson.

“This is a direct line of assistance for those who are out of work due to this natural disaster,” said Commissioner Neeley. “These counties are the starting point, and we’ll open this assistance to other counties as they are declared disaster areas by FEMA.”

For more information, click here.

FEMA Conference Call

Some good information was provided by State and Federal agencies during a conference call for local elected officials earlier this afternoon. A summary of the information is available from reporter Tom Humphreys on the Knoxville News Sentinnel Website here.

What may be most useful for you to pass on to people in your community is the need to start the recovery process by registering with FEMA. Individuals can register with FEMA online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 800-462-7585 for those with speech and hearing disabilities. The toll-free numbers are staffed seven days a week, 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. CDT until further notice. Help in all languages is available.

"We strongly encourage Tennesseans to register for assistance as soon as possible," said Federal Coordinating Officer Gracia Szczech. "Registration only takes about 30 minutes and once we hear from people, we can help them receive the assistance they may need."

Urgent - FEMA Conference Call for Local Officials Monday Afternoon at 1:00

I received this information earlier this morning:


Tennessee Recovery Teleconference

At the request of the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has been travelling throughout the state of Tennessee this past week following last weekend’s severe weather and flooding. Administrator Fugate has reviewed the damage, met with officials, and received on the ground briefings on the response efforts.

Please join Administrator Fugate and representatives of TEMA for a conference call with locally elected officials to discuss the ongoing response:

Monday, May 10, 2010

1:00PM – 1:30PM CST

Call-in number: 1-866-524-3160
PIN: 27892



Thank you,

Gwen Camp
Director, Intergovernmental Affairs

Federal Emergency Management Agency
500 C St, SW
Washington DC, 20472

Additional Disaster Declarations

Twelve more counties have received disaster declarations. These are Chester, Clay, DeKalb, Hardin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis, Macon, Stewart, Trousdale and Wayne counties. This brings the total to 42 of the 52 requested counties so far.

Tennessee Crime Statistics Available On-Line

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has a collection of crime statistics available on line for the public. If you are interested, you can find this information at http://www.tncrimeonline.com/

The database includes four major categories: crime data, arrest data, victim data and property and drug crime data. You can examine statistics within these categories related to the type of offense, jurisdiction where it occurred, time and day of the week of the crime and many other factors.

A Guide to the Disaster Declaration Process

The link below connects you to a document on the FEMA website that describes the disaster declaration process and the types of assistance available from FEMA. The assistance falls into three general categories: Individual Assistance, Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Assistance. The document provides an overview of each of the programs.

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/rebuild/recover/dec_proc.pdf

Thanks to Adair Schippers on the Cheatham County Commission who forwarded this info on to our office.

Additional Disaster Declarations

Designations have now been made for Carroll, Crockett, Decatur, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Haywood, Henderson, Houston, Madison and Obion counties. This brings the total to 21.

Finding and Listing Available Housing

Many Tennesseans have been displaced from their homes after heavy rains swelled the Cumberland River and other Tennessee waterways. To help these displaced residents find housing quickly, the Tennessee Housing Development Agency is urging all property providers to list available rental housing on the free, statewide housing locater service www.TNHousingSearch.org as soon as possible. If you hear of constituents in your county who are searching for available housing, you may wish to refer them to this listing to assist in locating rental property.

Additional Disaster Declarations

Ten counties in Tenessee have now been declared disaster areas in the wake of recent flooding. Gov. Phil Bredesen has requested such status for 52 counties. The others are being evaluated by FEMA. The declaration clears the way for federal aid to areas damaged by flooding. Four of the counties are in West Tennessee -- Tipton, Shelby, Dyer and McNairy. The other six to receive the designation -- Cheatham, Davidson, Hickman, Montgomery, Perry and Williamson -- are in middle Tennessee.

One-Page Guide for Homeowners From Congressman Cooper

Congressman Jim Cooper representing Nashville has posted a one page step by step guide to help homeowners work their way through the different types of disaster assistance available. This guide is available on-line here. The handout includes contact information for staff persons with the Congressman's office who can assist with applications for relief. If you live in this congressional district and need help or know of individuals in that situation, you may wish to contact his office. Even for those living outside the district, the handout contains useful information and phone numbers or e-mails for contacting FEMA.

Additional Disaster Declarations

NASHVILLE – The federal government today authorized a major disaster declaration for two additional Tennessee counties. On Monday, Governor Phil Bredesen asked President Obama to declare 52 counties federal disaster areas following the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that struck the state beginning Friday, April 30.

Today’s action makes federal funding available to individuals in Montgomery and Dyer Counties. Four counties – Cheatham, Davidson, Hickman and Williamson – were authorized yesterday. Declarations for additional counties requested by the Governor are expected in coming days.

“President Obama and the federal government continue to move quickly in their response,” said Bredesen. “As people begin to rebuild their homes and their lives, this assistance will be an important resource for Tennesseans.”

Flood Assistance

Many counties in Tennessee are struggling to recover from the devastating flooding that struck the region this week. The National Federation of Independent Businesses has been gracious enough to set up a web page with many important links to help businesses and families affected by the flood and has passed this link on to share with other organizations. Categories of information include financial aid, humanitarian relief and business and employee resources.

That page of information can be found here.

As I hear of other information resources, I will try to make those available.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have suffered losses in this event. I know personally of several people who have lost their homes and virtually all their possessions. In the midst of this hardship, there have been encouraging stories of neighbors, public safety employees, volunteers, and community leaders reaching out to help those suffering. This will be a long and challenging recovery, but that can be seen as a great opportunity to reach out and help others. Lastly, I want to remind and encourage all those living in the middle Tennessee area that are serviced by an impacted water utility to please make every effort to conserve water resources in order to reduce the stress on over-taxed systems.