MTAS asked fifteen Tennessee cities about their meter readers and what the responsibilities are in that job.

A study conducted by the MTAS Research and Information Center at the request of the Tennessee City Management Association. The purpose of this study is to analyze Tennessee municipalities’ ability to recruit and retain police officers. Many cities in Tennessee have hired and made significant investments in entry level police officers only to see them leave employment in the first three years. This short turnover impacts the cities financially and decreases their ability to maintain adequate staffing in their departments. By analyzing police officer recruitment practices and retention levels, this study can explore the factors affecting police recruitment and retention and offer insights into what works and what does not work when attracting and keeping talented police officers.

MTAS Human Resources Consultant Richard Stokes designed and executed this survey regarding firefighter physicals and janitorial staff in May 2018.

MTAS was asked to provide the Town with a resolution naming the Sevier County Veterans Facility in honor of Mr. Dannie Carr.

MTAS was asked for assistance to resolve a 911 Communications complaint.

A survey of selected cities regarding whether they have a building inspector on staff, and if not, do they contract for those services.

Municipalities in Tennessee are continuing to experience growth and development that in some instances is unprecedented placing significant demands on municipalities in the areas of plan review, permitting and inspection services. Often municipalities are not periodically reviewing fee schedules to ensure they are current and providing sufficient fee revenues to cover related expenditures for plan review, permitting, and inspection services. Municipal leaders desiring to ensure development is paying sufficient fees to generate revenues that cover related expenditures need an objective methodology for performing the necessary financial analysis to determine what, if any, adjustments may be necessary to generate sufficient revenues along with having tools to organize the often scattered and obscure adopted fees into a more comprehensive compilation that can be efficiently and periodically reviewed and amended as needed. A guide has been prepared that outlines an objective process for preparing a financial analysis to evaluate plan review, permitting, and inspection fee revenues to corresponding expenditures. Templates and a sample ordinance are provided to assist consultants with preparing the various tabulations, exhibits and ordinance documentation. Example fee schedules from studies completed for Shelbyville, Signal Mountain, and Lakesite are included to demonstrate how the templates were utilized and customized to fit the specific fee structures of each municipality. MTAS consultants should work collaboratively with municipal staff to prepare the financial analysis and if sufficient disparity between revenues and expenditures exists, to prepare a comparative exhibit of the existing fee schedule with an adjusted fee schedule that can provide the opportunity for increasing permit revenues. Where significant disparities may exist, a phased or incremental approach is suggested where adjustments may be spread over an extended period of time.

MTAS was asked to provide some samples of vehicle use policies.

MTAS was asked whether the city can make appropriations to nonprofit organizations and, if so, what is the proper procedure.

MTAS was asked whether a police officer may be assigned additional duties as a codes enforcement officer.