Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower said Tuesday he will be taking control of the finances of Mason, Tenn., a majority Black town of about 1,500 people located within 5 miles of the future site Blue Oval City, the Ford electric truck and battery plant that represents one of the largest manufacturing investments in the state's history.
"I'm sad for the taxpayers of Mason," he said. "We will be working hard to step in and get their finances in shape."
The comptroller's move comes over the objections of Mason's elected officials, who have been fighting to maintain control over their town since Mumpower issued an ultimatum last month: either cede control of Mason's 153-year-old charter or face a financial takeover by the state.
In practical terms, a financial takeover will give the comptroller veto power over every town expense of $100 or more. Benefit, workforce and other budget cuts may soon follow.
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Relinquishing their charter would place the majority Black, majority Democrat town under control of largely white and Republican-led Tipton County.
On Monday night, Mason's mayor and board of alderman held an emergency meeting, approving a resolution to keep their charter, Vice Mayor Virginia Rivers said Tuesday.
It was that final decision that the comptroller said led him to act. Mumpower's staff will likely finalize their takeover plans by the end of the week.
"This has always been a decision for the board of aldermen to make," Mumpower said.
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Rivers said local officials had received no word from Mumpower on his planned takeover. Rivers hurriedly ended the call, saying she and other town officials will need to discuss their next moves.
Mumpower has pointed to a 20-year history of fiscal mismanagement by town leaders that has left it with deep debt and crumbling infrastructure. Mason leaders, he said, are ill-prepared to take advantage of growth and new investments to come with Blue Oval City. Town officials say the problems predated their tenure.
Mason officials have pushed back on Mumpower's assessment.
The town ended up in a half-million-dollar financial hole caused in large part by fraud and embezzlement during prior administrations, Rivers said. Rivers said she and other officials have been working hard to pay off those debts.
Rivers and other town officials have questioned why Mumpower or other state officials did not intervene then. Mason, which still serves as home to descendants of freed slaves, was led by white officials for more than a century. Its first Black mayor assumed office in 2015 after allegations of fraud and mismanagement led to the resignations of nearly all city hall officials, who were white. Mason's current mayor, vice mayor and five of its six alderman are Black.
On Tuesday, Mumpower said he acted after "a lot of empty promises over the years" from town officials to get their books in order. City officials have relied on income from their utility district budget for their general fund, contrary to Tennessee law. Paying back the improper utility budget transfer is Mumpower's first priority, he said.
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Mumpower will also immediately review or eliminate discretionary spending and require town officials to submit financial statements on a weekly basis, he said.
"Every expense will have to be viewed or reviewed by the comptroller," Mumpower said.
Read more at TennesseeLookout.com.