The fight over who controls the finances of the West Tennessee town of Mason continues despite a Davidson County judge ruling last week that she won’t intervene in the state comptroller’s takeover.
WPLN Enterprise Reporter Damon Mitchell recently traveled to Mason to talk to residents about the ruling. He joined This Is Nashville host Khalil Ekulona in studio on Wednesday to recap the implications of the ruling and what’s next for the town.
Khalil Ekulona: So tell us more about (Davidson County Chancellor Anne) Martin’s decision to strike down the town’s motion to slow financial takeover. What are the implications of this ruling?
Damon Mitchell: She didn’t dismiss the lawsuit. She struck down a temporary injunction that would have kind of slowed the process of the takeover. So basically what that means is that Mason is in the comptroller’s hands at the moment. They have like a corrective action plan, which includes if (town leaders) have any expense over $100 that’s not for payroll, they have to contact the comptroller to get permission for that. They have to submit weekly expense reports of the comptroller’s office, bank statements with financial transactions, and also, they have to make a monthly minimum payment to Mason’s water and sewer department every month.
KE: State Comptroller Jason Mumpower claims the city’s finances have been mismanaged for a while. So, who’s responsible for the money problems Mason’s facing?
DM: So, that is true. It has been mismanaged for a while, but it didn’t start with the current administration, which is made up of mostly Black elected leaders. It goes back some time. As early as 2011, a town clerk pleaded guilty from stealing taxpayer funds from Mason. Then, in 2015, nearly all of the elected officials resigned because of fraud allegations. So, it’s a problem that started with the previous administrations, and it’s something that the new administration inherited.
KE: Town leadership brought in NAACP attorney Van Turner to help fight this. What are the NAACP’s next steps?
DM: So right now, they’re continuing the court case that hasn’t stopped at all. But while they’re in court, they’re also trying to come to an agreement or a settlement with the comptroller’s office so that they don’t have to have like this long, drawn-out process in court. And I think they’re just hoping that they can kind of step out of court and just come to an agreement and work things out that way.
KE: What’s at stake for Mason Vice Mayor Virginia (Rivers) if the state does take over?
DM: It’s that the town will lose its identity and kind of historical significance to that community. A lot of the people there are descendants of people who were enslaved in West Tennessee and then also people who escaped and fled to Mason. She thinks that that history could be taken away. And then there’s also what she discussed about how when she was younger, it was normal for people to grow their own food and had just, like, this … do-it-yourself structure. That’s already been lost, of course, with technology and things like that. So, Mason has already lost some of its heritage and history. She was saying that this takeover could erase what’s left.
KE: What did you hear from residents last week?
DM: Mixed feelings. A lot of people were less angry about the situation. You had some people who didn’t want to talk about it. There’s not a lot going on the Mason, and there has been, like, they’ve gone through all these leaders with that had financial mismanagement and just issues in the city. So, for some people, it’s kind of like, ‘Well, maybe we do need a change.’ And then also, people are kind of looking at Ford and what that could bring. So there’s a lot of mixed feelings about what’s happening right now.
KE: What role does the future Blue Oval City Ford electric truck and battery plant play in this?
DM: I don’t think we’re having this conversation if the Blue Oval City plant wasn’t going to be there. In the comptroller’s office, they’re pretty clear on not commenting while they’re in litigation. From the Mason’s perspective … they kind of control the water system there, so in their mind is like that makes them have the authority to say, ‘No, you can and cannot build this or that.’ Whenever you build … you have to have a supply of water for sewage and things like that. They feel that the Ford investment is going to bring a lot of development to the area and that by them having the control over the water system that they can kind of dictate what happens. With the financial takeover, they can’t have a say over that.
KE: What are you keeping an eye on as this moves forward?
DM: The comptroller isn’t very clear about what happens if they miss a monthly minimum monthly payment or if they don’t submit something (as part of the corrective action plan). I’m not sure what could actually happen to them, so I think I will be keeping an eye on if they do fall short. Mason leadership did say that they felt like they were being set up for failure. So if that happens, what’s next?
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