General Legislative Policy Statement

The Tennessee County Services Association, and its affiliates – the Association of County Mayors of Tennessee, Tennessee County Commissioners Association and Tennessee County Highway Officials Association – generally oppose legislation which has the effect of imposing additional unfunded mandates on Tennessee’s 95 county governments, or which further erodes the narrow tax base currently available to Tennessee counties.  Further, county associations will defend against intrusions into the already limited local autonomy vested in county governments. TCSA will support the legislative platforms of its affiliates when they promote the mutual missions of our affiliate associations.

Local Mandates

TCSA opposes any local unfunded mandates. Any change in law that costs county governments money that does not have a source of funding to offset that cost is considered a local unfunded mandate. Local mandates put pressure on an already stressed local property tax rate. Unfunded mandates are a leading cause of property tax increases. We also oppose the mandatory earmarking of any local revenue sources for specific purposes. This undermines the ability of county officials to make yearly budgetary decisions based on their needs and priorities as best determined by the local governing body. Just like the state opposes federal mandates, we oppose the state putting unfunded mandates on local governments.

Transportation Infrastructure

Maintaining a sustainable ongoing source of funding for county transportation infrastructure projects remains a priority for the Tennessee County Services Association and its affiliates as we work to preserve our critical infrastructure for current and future generations. The Associations recognize that the economic prosperity of the state is vital to its growth and fiscal success and want to continue the partnership between local governments and the state in meeting the growing demands that come from those successes. That being saidnoted, escalating inflation and workforce challenges are eroding existing county highway department resources and basic operational costs. We support the current study being done by the Tennessee Commission on Intergovernmental Relations as we look at how to adequately address these mounting stresses. 

County highway departments have already been able to utilize 85 percent of the $300 million in State Aid Road funds appropriated by the Administration and General Assembly when it passed the Transportation Modernization Act of 2023. That means that more than $198.9 million$254,224,973.48 is either under contract or completed in just 310 months since passage, showing the commitment counties have towards the long-standing partnership with the Tennessee state Department of Transportation (TDOT) in providing a world-class transportation infrastructure. This funding helps county highway department as they struggle to maintain more than 63,000 miles of county roads in an economic environment that is dramatically reducing the spending power of each dollar. Like the state, local governments continue to look for ways to mitigate some of the losses being experienced in traditional fuel tax collections, which are stagnating, despite the state’s booming tourism and population growth, and the growing pressure and demands on the local road system caused by that growth. 

County associations ask the state to continue to support the tools that local governments must have to adequately care for the safety and welfare of the motoring public, including being able to appropriately manage its rights-of-way, as local officials plan for increased demands on education, emergency management and transportation infrastructure to accommodate that growth. Assistance from the state legislature to manage that growth and mounting safety concerns on our local road systems is greatly appreciated, especially because the cost of county highway projects that remain to be addressed is estimated at more than $4.3 billion, including more than 7,890 bridges maintained by counties that are inspected by TDOT the state Department of Transportation and rated by the Federal Highway Administration in fair or poor condition.

As county highway departments work on that backlog, TCSA and its affiliates ask that the state Administration and, General Assembly, and the Tennessee Congressional delegation, work to ensure more stresses on the county infrastructure are not added. Specifically, we oppose any increases in vehicle sizes and weights unless dedicated, guaranteed funding mechanisms are provided for the improvement, maintenance and rehabilitation of all roads that will undoubtedly be adversely affected by such a dramatic change. Bigger Larger trucks accelerate the deterioration of highways, local roads and bridges, putting further pressure on local governments to find funds to repair these essential roadways. Every trip, truck or otherwise, both begin and end on a local road. This means any increases in the weight or length of trucks will have a major impact on the very roads and bridges least able to handle such increases. In particular, county bridges are susceptible to damage and failure due to weights that exceed their limits.

TCSA and its affiliates appreciate the Department of Transportation’s extraordinary efforts to coordinate and cooperate with local officials in the implementation and management of such programs as the State Aid program, the Bridge Grant program and the Hhigh Priority Bridge Replacement Program. These are programs that have provend themselves in providing for desperately needed repairs to help ensure the safety of Tennessee motorists and visitors, and they further preserve the efficiency of our Tennessee’s entire transportation network.

K-12 Education Funding

Understanding the critical role a quality public education system plays in the preservation of health and economic viability of our communities, TCSA supports the complete and full funding of K-12 education. TCSA appreciates the infusion of new funds that accompany the change to the new Tennessee Invests in Student Achievement (TISA) funding formula, but we would remind the state that county governments continue to invest far more than is statutorily required in our public education system. This commitment has been evidenced in the past by the hundreds of millions of dollars budgeted annually “above and beyond” the required local matching funds. We are concerned that TISA lacks many of the inflationary components that recognize the rising costs of education that were built into the BEP formula, with much of the formula now “subject to appropriation.” While the General Assembly and this Administration have consistently invested more funds in K-12 education in recent years, there is no guarantee that future General Assemblies will be as generous. This could shift more of the burden of funding K-12 education to county governments. In particular, TCSA has concerns that state funding increases over the next few years may not keep pace with the demands placed on school systems to meet the planned increases in the state’s minimum salary schedule and that funding for school choice scholarships to attend private schools that serve a small number of students will erode state funding for the K-12 public school system that serves nearly one million students.

TCSA asks the General Assembly and the Administration to be cognizant of the fact that the significant number of changes and educational reforms being implemented in Tennessee has placed tremendous stress on Local Education Agencies. These reforms have not always been accompanied by the resources to pay for these efforts. TCSA would ask that the state recognize cost increases and provide additional funding whenever educational reform efforts add new costs or programs to the local school system.

TCSA recognizes charter schools as one of many options available to school districts to address student achievement, but the association believes decisions related to charter school creation should be made with thoughtful consideration of the potential impact, both positive and negative, on not only the students eligible to enroll in the charter school but also the overwhelming majority of students who will remain in the traditional public schools. To that end, TCSA believes the local board of education, created by law and elected by the voters to manage and oversee public education in a county, should be the sole chartering authority for such schools and have clear decision-making authority relative to charter school applications, with board decisions having a presumption of correctness, and appeals granted only when there is evidence that a board operated in an arbitrary or capricious fashion.

Critical Staffing Concerns

Counties face tremendous personnel challenges, particularly in recruiting and retaining qualified staff in key positions within our public safety and highway/public works departments. Those positions include sheriff’s deputies, correctional officers, emergency medical personnel, firefighters, CDL drivers, truck/equipment mechanics, and general road laborers. Any resources and tools the state can provide counties to assist with these critical staffing concerns is greatly appreciated.

Additionally, while new state-funded grants to provide school resource officers (SRO) for every public school are greatly appreciated, TCSA would note however that there is a lack of available officers trained to fill these positions. Any flexibility the state can provide with regard to security resources for schools would be helpful as county schools and local law enforcement agencies attempt to address these needs.

Opioid Epidemic

TCSA is appreciative of efforts by the General Assembly, the Administration and the Attorney General’s Office to include county governments in the discussions relative to the appropriate distribution and uses of funds received through opioid litigation and settlements. The association supports a multi-faceted, targeted approach to preserve lives, protect public safety and provide resources to assist Tennesseans struggling with this addiction. In addition to the terrible impacts on individual lives and families in our communities, this substance abuse problem is putting increased pressure on our already over-crowded county jails. Without adequate substance abuse treatment programs in place to curb this addiction, counties are concerned that we will continue to see a “revolving door” as inmates leaving our local jails are still severely addicted to these drugs and will likely re-offend and return to the criminal justice system in a short time. These problems were only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disaster Response and Resilience

TCSA asks the General Assembly and the Administration to consider making additional resources available to local governments for disaster response and mitigation. Counties are increasingly suffering significant natural disasters that severely damage infrastructure and cripple communities for extended periods of time. While there are federal resources available to assist with these losses, they are often slow in coming and administratively difficult to navigate. Prevention, preparation, mitigation and response are crucial to protecting Tennesseans’ lives and property. Many of our rural communities lack the resources needed to be well prepared to face and recover from natural disasters. TCSA also recommends that the General Assembly consider measures to streamline the process of administering disaster assistance at the state level to allow for relief to flow more quickly to local governments.

Broadband

Internet connectivity has reached the stage where it is an essential form of modern infrastructure. Quality, high-speed internet is necessary for education, economic development, health care and general quality of life for Tennesseans. TCSA applauds the efforts of the Administration and the General Assembly to provide funding to expand access in our state and encourages the state to continue steps to ensure that this access becomes universal. 

Growth and Development and Housing Affordability

Tennessee has become a highly desirable state to live in, resulting in significant in-migration of population from other parts of the country. This trend has strained the resources of county governments who are trying to keep pace with population growth. In particular, rapid growth puts pressures on counties trying to fund school construction, adequate transportation infrastructure and emergency services. Counties need additional tools and financial resources to manage growth and address the demands placed on county services. TCSA asks the state to provide additional financial resources to assist counties with the demands created by growth or to give counties the necessary tools to raise the necessary local revenues to meet these needs.

Additionally, TCSA encourages the Administration and the General Assembly to look for ways to create and preserve safe, livable and affordable housing. In many communities in Tennessee, the rising cost of homes is making housing unattainable for many members of the workforce. Homelessness and housing insecurity has increased in many communities and will become a more significant burden on government services if this trend is not changed.

State Shared Funding and Revenue Sources

TCSA asks the Administration and General Assembly to recognize that counties provide critical and fundamental government services to the citizens of Tennessee.  While counties receive some forms of state-shared taxes to assist county governments in delivering these services, these funding sources are relatively stagnant and do not keep pace with rising costs of service delivery.  As the demands on county government continue to grow, TCSA asks the General Assembly to consider enacting a new state-shared funding source for county governments that will keep pace with these rising costs whenever the state experiences a windfall in revenue. TCSA also asks that the Administration and the General Assembly preserve the relatively limited funding sources we have in Tennessee to fund essential governmental services. Erosion of the tax base during positive economic conditions will result in even more drastic shortfalls in lean times.

Specific Legislative Initiatives