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.

New Association of County Mayors Site

The Association of County Mayors has debuted a new Internet site at www.acmtn.com. This site, together with the Tennessee County Services Association website and the Tennessee County Highway Officials Website, rounds out a family of information resources for policy making officials in county government. Links for these sites, plus the County Officials Association of Tennessee and the Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers can be found in the links section on the right hand side of this page.

New Material Available under the Legal Issues Tab of the Main Page

Back on the main association webpage http://www.tncountycommissioners.org/ we have added some new material to the Legal Issues section of the website. Click on the tab for "Legal Issues" to access this information or use the links below.


One item is a flow chart of the procedure for adoption of a resolution of the county legislative body. This chart covers the basics and gives citations to the Tennessee Code provisions related to the approval and veto process. Depending on your local rules, there may be some additional steps or details in your county. The chart can be found here: http://www.tncountycommissioners.org/files/resolution_flowchart.pdf

The second item is a set of Samples Rules of Procedure. These sample rules for a county legislative body were drafted by the County Technical Assistance Service. Many counties operate in accordance with Robert Rules of Order. But if you are interested in a set of rules more specifically designed for the functions of a county commission, you may want to consider these rules. These rules also appear in the appendices of the County Government Handbook, one of the many CTAS publications. A direct link to these rules is here:
http://www.tncountycommissioners.org/files/sample_rules_county_commission.pdf

I hope these materials are useful to you. If you know of resources or items that would help you in your service as a county commissioner, do not hesitate to ask. Send me an e-mail or post a comment and I'll see what I can do.

Mutual Aid: The Next Step in Coordinating Disaster Response

The University of Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service is offering a course entitled "Improving Mutual Aid in Tennessee" on several dates in the month of September. Their brochure describes the class as follows:

"No community, regardless of size, can handle a huge disaster without help. Working together in disasters will result in significant cost savings for government entities. In 2004, Tennessee passed the "Mutual Aid and Emergency and Disaster Assistance Agreement Act" which allowed all government agencies to participate in statewide mutual aid during disasters. Most local government entities are aware of the "Act" but not aware that UT is working with the International Fire Chief's Association to achieve "The Next Step." This next step involves an organized way to inventory, track and deploy resources when a disaster occurs. This course will introduce the concept, demonstrate how it works and offer important information that can be used by all local departments within city and county government including police, fire, EMS, public works, schools, utilities, finance and management. As the federal government improves the national response process, states and local agencies need to be prepared to effectively deploy or even receive mutual aid resources. Regardless of the type of agency, this program works and is the "next step" in Improving Mutual Aid in Tennessee."

If you or someone in your county could benefit from this class, contact CTAS at (615) 532-3555 or on the web at www.ctas.tennessee.edu. for more information. The scheduled dates and locations are as follows:

• Sept 4 Collegedale
• Sept 8 Franklin
• Sept 9 Jackson
• Sept 10 Bartlett
• Sept 17 Johnson City
• Sept 18 Knoxville

New AG Opinion on Filling a Vacancy on the County Commission

Below you will find a link to an Attorney General opinion that was issued August 19, 2008. It relates to the proper method for filling a vacancy on a county commission when the vacancy occurs after the regular August election, but more than 60 days before the November election. The short answer is that the vacancy is filled in a special election held in conjunction with the November 4th state and federal general election. Political parties may choose nominees for the position by way of a countywide nomination convention. The county commission in these circumstances may appoint a temporary successor to fill the vacancy until the November election, but is not required to do so.
http://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/op/2008/OP/OP138.pdf