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Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS)

Drug Fund

Reference Number: MTAS-98
Reviewed Date: 09/24/2021

NOTE: Content in this section was formerly distributed as the "Drug Fund Manual" publication. To print a copy of the entire section, click on the "PDF Version" link.

The Drug Fund is a special revenue fund. A special revenue account exists outside the city’s General Fund, and funds in the special revenue account do not revert to the General Fund at the end of the fiscal year. The Drug Fund special revenue account is similar to the special revenue accounts established for street aid funds and solid waste accounts.

The Drug Fund is where revenues and expenditures must be accounted for separately from the General Fund. There is no requirement that a city establish another checking account for the Drug Fund; however, a separate confidential funds checking account for expenditures for undercover operations is recommended. Funds for the confidential funds checking account come from the Drug Fund special revenue account. (See T.C.A. § 39-17-420.)

T.C.A. § 39-17-420 establishes the Drug Fund special revenue account and places it under the control of the city recorder. The same statute defines allowable expenditures from the Drug Fund special revenue account.