MTAS was asked to develop a bid package for demolition of a structure containing asbestos materials.

A sample ordinance providing for the licensing and regulation of adult-oriented businesses.

A performance evaluation performed by MTAS for the new Town Manager following the first year of employment with the Town of Nolensville.

MTAS responded to several code enforcement related questions on the topics of downed trees, repeat offenders, and tire storage.

A review of areas of Spring City where residents had complained about drainage problems, as well as a recommendation against the town doing drainage work on private property due to various legal, liability and risk management issues. Other measures to address the complaints include cleaning out or replacing drainage tiles and/or obtaining easements in order to grade ditches.

According to the National Volunteer Fire Council, volunteers make up 67% of our nation’s fire service. In Tennessee, volunteers account for 69% of all firefighters, but the number of volunteer firefighters in Tennessee is decreasing. There were 17,122 volunteer firefighters in Tennessee in 2013, and that number dropped to 15,833 in 2015. Many communities today face volunteer recruitment and retention issues, as volunteers strive to balance work, home, personal time needs, and the fire department in a depressed economy when many people have more than one job or manage a single-parent household. Many people do not have a lot of free time, and if they spend their free time helping their community, they want to know that their time and effort has value. Here are some examples of volunteer recruitment and retention efforts that have proven successful in communities across Tennessee. Not every idea will work in every community or situation, but these resources may provide ideas for programs that will work in your community.

There are many municipalities including many small municipalities across Tennessee that do not have a capital improvement plan. There are a variety of obstacles often noted by municipal officials for not having a capital improvement plan ranging from lack of staff resources to the process being too complicated and cumbersome to not having easy-to-use tools for the preparation and adoption of a capital improvement plan. A capital improvement plan is an essential long-term financial planning tool that can assist a municipality in identifying, prioritizing, and implementing capital projects including ensuring existing capital assets are being properly maintained to optimize their useful life. The preparation of a guide and templates that can be utilized and customized for use in preparing a capital improvement plan by a municipality removes many of the perceived barriers and provides a step-by-step process for a municipality to follow with input and guidance being provided by MTAS consultants. A collaborative project was initiated by Chuck Downham, Municipal Management Consultant to prepare a guide for preparing and adopting a capital improvement plan along with sample templates that could be utilized by municipalities. Joining in the collaborative project in the preparation of the guide and templates was Travis Bishop, Finance and Accounting Consultant, Eric Spencer, Finance and Accounting Consultant, and Tonya Travis, Finance and Accounting Consultant.  

The guide explains the importance of a capital improvement plan and a detailed explanation of the steps to be undertaken by a municipality in preparing a capital improvement plan such as the preparation of an asset inventory and debt management policy including links to MTAS resources as well as the preparation and adoption of a capital improvement plan policy with a corresponding sample resolution to adopt the policy to further guide a municipality in the preparation of a capital improvement plan. As an internal resource for use by MTAS consultants, the guide and corresponding templates can be utilized to facilitate the preparation of a capital improvement plan.

The templates are intended to be utilized by consultants to aid municipalities in the preparation of a capital improvement plan by providing sample tools that can be shared with the municipality while working directly with municipal officials to gather information and data and input into the various worksheet templates. The templates can be modified and customized as needed to align with the organizational structure and types of capital projects to be included in the plan. An asset inventory template has been provided that includes a worksheet for general fund assets as well as utility assets for those municipalities that own and operate a utility. For communities that may already have incurred various forms of debt, the summary template includes a debt table to show decision-makers the current debt obligations of the municipality. A sample capital improvement plan policy has been prepared that can be shared with a municipality to assist local officials with formalizing a process to be followed in the preparation, adoption, and periodic updating of a capital improvement plan. A sample resolution has also been provided to assist municipal officials with adoption of the plan as a long-term planning tool.

Given the number of small municipalities across Tennessee that have not undertaken the preparation and adoption of a capital improvement plan, it is important that consultants work closely with municipal officials in the preparation of documentation during each step of the process to ensure thoroughness and accuracy rather than just providing the resource materials directly to a municipality. Having a guide and corresponding tools available provides an opportunity to teach municipal officials not only the importance of having such a long-term planning tool in place but how to prepare the plan and the various components that comprise a capital improvement plan and to update the plan periodically as part of a municipality’s annual budget preparation process. The process of gathering input from municipal departments on capital projects, completing/updating an asset inventory on capital assets, identification of funding sources and financial strategies for capital projects, prioritization of capital projects, and the preparation and adoption of the actual capital improvement plan can take several months to complete while working collaboratively with municipal officials each step of the way. Consultants should plan for numerous meetings with municipal staff and members of the governing body. The process of preparing and adopting the plan should also include public engagement at various milestones to ensure transparency and to build consensus and public support for the plan and the various capital projects contained in the plan.

Included with the attachments is an example of how the project worksheet and summary template was utilized by the City of Mount Pleasant to prepare and adopt their first capital improvement plan. The plan was organized by municipal departments and the various capital projects were ordered and prioritized based upon input from department heads. The plan was presented to the governing body by the City Manager and a resolution containing the capital improvement plan was prepared and adopted by the governing body.

An interlocal agreement between the Town of Mount Carmel and the City of Kingsport for certain residential solid waste collection services.

A a resolution to opt out of the statewide building codes enforced by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to the 2009 energy code legislation.

MTAS was asked to develop a policy for the city council of Madisonville to regulate and manage its meetings as an amendment to the municipal code.