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Trezevant Loses Board Member

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TREZEVANT (May 14) — The Trezevant Board of Alderman learned at the start of their monthly session, Tuesday, that Pam Bryant had resigned her seat that morning. No reason was publicly given for the resignation.
Mary Crocker, a Trezevant Citizen, approached the board about a second adjustment on her water bill. She had plumbing issues that carried over two billing cycles. The board approved a $70 adjustment to Crocker’s water bill. The board approved a recommendation from Police Chief Mike Mulligan for the town to increase the driving school fee to be more in line with what other towns were charging. The board approved an increase from $100-$125 on driving school fees.
The second reading of an ordinance to fix the salaries of the Mayor and Alderman was passed with little discussion. Board members will receive $75 per month while the mayor will receive $150 per month. This does not go into effect until after the 2020 elections.

There was discussion but no action taken on whether the town needed to form a water board. The discussion centered mostly around the fact that while a water board could make recommendations to the Board of Alderman, the actual decisions would still be made by the Board.
Mark Butler, from the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts (TAUD), gave a lengthy assessment of their water system and how to proceed. Butler indicated that there were a number of policy and procedure items that need to go into effect but didn’t have to be done immediately. His presentation focused on water department/sewer department assets and how they were aging and the amount of money needed to keep everything from going downhill. Butler pointed out items that were depreciated too long or capitalized incorrectly but also said that all these things can be fixed with adjustments.
Butler emphasized the need to establish a 5-year plan in order to be able to borrow money or apply for grants. With Trezevant having no debt service at this time, they might be able to borrow the money rather than use their reserve money. He recommended borrowing sooner than later because it would be cheaper now than later. He also indicated that the city needed to start making incremental increases to the water rates because their water rates had not changed since 2008.
After hearing Butler, the board scheduled a water/sewer plant walk-through for June 4 at 5:00 p.m. It was determined that an extra meeting would be needed to get the new fiscal budget passed prior to July 1. The regular June meeting is scheduled for June 11 during which the first reading of the budget will be discussed and acted on. A called meeting has been set for June 27 to act on the second reading of the new budget.