Tag: Tennessee Comptrollers

Tennessee Comptrollers this week scolded members of the Marion Natural Gas & Board of Water Works and Sewers, a public utility in South Pittsburg, for not having their finances in order.

  Members of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association must apply the provisions of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act to regional meetings of member schools and committee meetings, according to a report Tennessee Comptrollers released this week. According to its website, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association administers the junior and senior high school athletic program for an estimated 110,000 participants, 426 schools, an estimated 6,000 coaches, 5,000 officials, and almost 5,500 teams. The organization has a state office in Nashville, the website went on to say. But TSSAA officials said in a written response to the report that their organization is not subject to the Open Meetings Act. In their report, Comptrollers said the TSSAA provided adequate public notice of the regional meetings of member schools, including the dates and locations of the meetings. “However, TSSAA staff provided no prior notice of the Finance Committee and Sports Medicine Advisory Committee meetings on its online or print calendar. TSSAA staff provided prior notice of TMSAA Committee meetings but did not include the location of the meeting,” Comptrollers wrote. TSSAA did not publish minutes of its regional meetings of member schools that occurred in November of last year. They also did…

  The Tennessee Department of Health Care Finance and Administration took in more federal taxpayer money than any other state agency in 2018, a sum of $7.2 billion, according to a report Tennessee Comptrollers released this week. In 2017 that same department took in less federal taxpayer money, a sum of nearly $6.9 billion, said spokeswoman Sarah Tanksley. But the amount of federal money the same department takes in will likely decrease next year, Tanksley went on to say in an emailed statement to The Tennessee Star. “Under current federal law, Medicaid is financed on a matching basis. The rate at which the federal government will match state dollars is based on the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage. In TN the ratio is approximately 65 percent federal dollars and 35 percent state dollars,” Tanksley wrote. “As mentioned in several budget hearings during the most recent legislative session, in FY2020 we anticipate that federal match rate will decrease by approximately 0.48 percent, which will result in a decrease in federal funding of approximately $42.1 million.  Our federal match rate is declining because of a federal formula based on state’s average per capita income. Tennessee’s per capita income has increased relative to other states…

A former Fentress County Commissioner made more than $13,000 by overseeing a court-ordered sale of property, and he did so while serving in office, according to an audit Tennessee Comptrollers released this week. Doing so violated state law, specifically the County Financial Management System of 1981 conflict of interest statute, auditors wrote. The law says county officials may not have a financial or personal interest in the purchase of supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services for the county. County officials contracted former commissioner Jeff Green to do the work, according to the audit. Green’s proceeds included an 8 percent commission ($8,960) on the sale of the real property, a 10 percent commission ($197) on the sale of the personal property, and a reimbursement for auction expenses ($3,887). An unnamed county official concurred with the finding in a written response to Comptrollers. “Mr. Jeff Green of Green Acres Real Estate and Auction Company had previously been court-ordered to assist me in selling property. Due to this fact, and in trying to be fair to the local auction companies which I am ordered to select auction companies to assist me, I chose Green Acres Real Estate and Auction Company,” the county official…

Claiborne County sheriff’s officers and county inmates sold scrap metal to a private vendor for personal gain while on litter patrol and got more than $20,000 for it, according to an audit Comptrollers released Friday. That’s against Tennessee law. Investigators reviewed records from July 1, 2016 through June 30 of last year, the audit said. “Sheriff’s litter patrol officers and inmates told investigators it was a long-established practice for the litter patrol to gather scrap metal from county convenience centers, road rights-of-way, and residents’ property, and sell the scrap metal to buy inmates on litter patrol lunches, snacks, drinks, and tobacco products,” auditors wrote. “We could not locate and interview all prior inmates who worked on litter patrol about this practice; therefore, we could not verify the exact amount of cash that was received and how it was always used. The scrap metal vendor kept records of most litter patrol transactions, listing the names of the inmates and sheriff’s litter patrol officers that received cash from the sales.” Comptrollers said they determined cash transactions often occurred several times a week and ranged in amounts from $2.10 to $385.70. “According to inmates and sheriff’s officers interviewed, usually one inmate would collect…

Members of the Grundy County Highway Department used some of the Tennessee gas tax revenue to work on other people’s private properties, and that’s against state law, according to a state audit released Thursday. One of those properties was a farm where the highway superintendent kept cattle — even though he didn’t own the land. This work, which included bulldozing stumps, among other things, went on for nine years, Comptrollers said. “The highway superintendent did not lease the farm nor did the owner charge him rent on the farm for the period he has used it,” according to the audit. “The highway superintendent stated that he began using the farm when he purchased the individual’s cattle.” Highway Department employees also bulldozed a wooded area at another farm. The owner of that property, Comptrollers went on to say, was acquainted with the highway superintendent. Comptrollers said they didn’t know if the property owner paid the highway superintendent for the work. Grundy County Mayor Michael Brady told The Tennessee Star he only learned of the findings Thursday morning. “It’s a mayor’s job to be a good steward and be compliant with Grundy County’s assets and funds,” Brady said. “I’m sure the county…