Help for Tennessee Families

If you ever get requests from constituents for help and resources through the State, pointing them in the right direction just got easier. A new portion of the State of Tennessee's website entitled "Help for Tennessee Families" debuted recently. The state should be commended for setting up this central collection of links to helpful information for families facing tough times. Tennesseans have often complained about difficulty working their way through a maze of voice mail systems and bureaucracy when looking for assistance from their state government. This page cuts through the clutter and helps direct people to the programs they are looking for.

The site includes a job center, sections on mortgage and financial assistance, energy and transportation, health insurance, health care, food and nutrition, healthier living, financing college, small business assistance and more.

It can be found at: http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/gov/family-resources/

I'm adding this to the links section of this page as well.

Fiscal Review Presentation

The Fiscal Review Committee of the TN General Assembly held hearings on November 12 and 13 to examine the fiscal status of Tennessee's economy. I'm very greatful that Chairman Charles Curtiss invited cities and counties to present on the second day of the hearings regarding how the economy is affecting local governments in Tennessee. Chad Jenkins with the Tennessee Municipal League and myself made presentations to the committee and took questions. You can find a copy of my presentation here:

http://www.tncountycommissioners.org/files/Fiscal_review_presentation.pdf

As more data comes in, I will try to keep this information updated. You may be particularly interested in slides 5 and 6 of the presentation which show how local option sales tax collections performed for counties for the fiscal year ending June 2008 and for the first quarter of the curent fiscal year. Unfortunately the trend is not good.

Report on Social Security Numbers

The Office of Research and Education Accountability within the State Comptroller of the Treasury's Office has released a report on Safeguarding Social Security Numbers in Tennessee Government Records. This 44 page report is available on the Internet at this link for those who are interested:

http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/repository/RE/SSN2008.pdf

This issue is important as it relates to identity theft and the security of personal information of our citizens and county government employees. The report makes a number of findings regarding the current status of social security numbers in Tennessee government records and makes administrative and legislative recommendations.

TCSA Annual Conference a Success

It was good to see many of you in Memphis last week for the TCSA annual fall conference. We had a number of good meetings and informative workshops. During the conference, our association selected its new slate of officers for next year. We recognized out-going president Phil King of Greene County for his service this past year as our president and welcomed in Wallace Austin, White County commissioner as our new president for 2008-2009. Jim Westbrook of Weakley County who had been serving as association treasurer was selelcted as president-elect. Houston Naron of Williamson County was named to replace him as treasurer. Most of the board members are continuing to serve, but we have two new members: Scott Gillenwaters of Anderson County and Robert Barnwell of Williamson County. I look forward to working with all these good folks during the upcoming year.

State Revenue Collections Down Significantly

The State Department of Finance and Administration has reported that state revenue collections for September were $976.7 million, which is $85.5 million less than budgeted estimates. Even more sobering is the fact that this figure is actually 8.2% below September collections for 2007. For the state, this marks the second consecutive month in which sales taxes and corporate income taxes have shown negative growth rates from 2007 to 2008. So far this fiscal year, state revenue collections are off by $125 million over the prior year.

Great Save Program to Assist Homeowners with Adjustable-Rate Mortgages

As was discussed at our regional meetings, the Tennessee Housing Development Agency is now offering assistance to homeowners who are struggling with adjustable rate mortgage loans. As of October 1, THDA began administering "Great Save," a refinance program for certain homeowners who have ARM loans. The Great Save program provides a below market fixed rate mortgage to qualified homeowners. For information about this program and the other services offered by THDA, visit www.thda.org. More information about this program will be shared at the TCSA conference in Memphis.

Regional Meetings A Success

Thanks to all of you who came out for one of our regional meetings in September. We had good attendance and lively discussion of issues at the meetings. I hope those of you there found the presentation from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency timely and informative. With the housing crisis we are facing, the programs this agency administers are critical to our citizens and communities. If you are not already planning to do so, I encourage you to attend the Tennessee County Services Association Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show in Memphis October 29-31 at the Peabody Hotel. We will hold both Board and Nominating Committee meetings for TCCA at this event and will have a general membership meeting. In addition, there is a broad array of educational seminars and workshops available for attendees and excellent general session speakers. For more information about the conference, visit the TCSA website: www.tncounties.org.