Davidson County Chancellor Anne Martin has struck down Mason’s motion for a temporary injunction, which would have slowed the town’s financial takeover by the Tennessee comptroller.
In a ruling, Martin declared the comptroller’s office was within its authority to provide oversight to local governments in financial trouble, including the majority-Black town of Mason.
Earlier this month, the state issued Mason officials a corrective action plan, or CAP, to address the town’s financial woes, which date back to previous mostly white administrations. Mason has been using cash from its utility department to finance its general needs.
The CAP included a repayment plan to lower its debt of $258,220. The terms require the debt to be paid off within 27 months. It also required that Mason officials seek approval for expenditures over $100 and weren’t for payroll. Other CAP demands:
- Making a monthly minimum payment of $9,564 to Mason’s water and sewer fund before dealing with any other expenditures.
- Submitting bank statements for every Mason account at the top of the month and seeking approval for financial transactions between accounts.
- Submitting a weekly expense approval request.
Mason Vice Mayor Virginia Rivers, however, told WPLN News that the CAP prevents elected officials from meeting the needs of residents in a timely manner.
“With those stipulations they have put on the town of Mason, it really is set there, to me and in my opinion, for Mason to fail,” said Rivers.
Rivers also said the new rules could cause the town to default on payments to outside entities.
“Not only that, with you setting that stipulation on Mason, you’ll make people that probably would have done businesses with us think twice,” she added.
The claim that Mason wasn’t given a fair shake isn’t far-fetched. In her 23-page ruling, Martin wrote “the Court recognizes the harsh realities of the 2022 CAP imposed upon an administration that did not contribute to the financial burden of the Town and the strain it places on leadership to govern.”
Still, Martin added that it was in the state’s interest to help get Mason out of the red, although she did say the process of doing so “must not be done in a discriminatory manner.”
But despite the ruling denying the temporary injunction, attorney Van Turner, who’s representing Mason, told WPLN News that the case wasn’t over.
“The judge did not dismiss the lawsuit. The judge did deny the injunction. We plan on continuing the litigation and entering into the discovery phase,” Turner said. “But in the meanwhile, we’re having good faith negotiations with the comptroller’s office to see if we can settle the matter. That will happen simultaneously.”
The denial means Comptroller Jason Mumpower will continue to have oversight of Mason’s finances, which he expressed support for in an emailed statement.
“I appreciate the judge’s decision that denies the motion for a temporary injunction. Our office’s interest has always been the restoration of the town’s financial health and improved financial management. We will continue to work with Mason so that it can pay back its debts, operate on a balanced budget, and deliver timely financial statements. The citizens and taxpayers of Mason deserve a financially sound government that is set up for success.”
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