Skip to Content

TACIR Headlines

TCSA Conference October 2011

  • Appointment v. Election of Utility District Commissioners

    TACIR has completed a staff report on proposed legislation that would change the utility district commissioner selection method from appointment by county mayor to election by customers in the Bon De Croft Utility District in White County and in all the utility districts in Lawrence County. The staff´s recommendation in the report that the proposed legislation not be passed by the Tennessee General Assembly is consistent with the findings in TACIR´s 2003 report on utility districts and with the position taken by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. The Commission received the report at the December 2011 meeting. (More)

  • County Veterans Service Officer Compensation Study: A Study of SB 1336/HB 895

    TACIR has completed a staff report on proposed legislation that would have required that a county veterans service officers´ minimum compensation be no less than the average pay received by local department heads. The report offers no specific recommendations, but does provide options for consideration. The Commission received the report at its December 2011 meeting. (More)

  • Water Resources Regional Planning

    The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has released the North Central Regional Water Resources Planning Study produced by Commissioner Martineau´s Water Resources Technical Advisory Committee (WRTAC). The second of two pilot projects, this report is the result of a significant intergovernmental team effort involving multiple state and federal agencies, as well as local officials in the study area and members of the community. The study area centered on Portland, which sits on the edge of the Highland Rim, and involved both the area served by the city and adjacent areas served by other water utilities. Water sources on the Rim are small, headwater streams that have limited capacity to support growth and development. The study team´s preferred alternative, contracting with White House Utility District to purchase finished water, will improve water supply security for Portland-area residents and businesses. Moreover, compared with other alternatives, a contract with White House will be both easier to implement and more flexible. It can grow as Portland grows, through and well beyond the 2030 planning horizon. TACIR is a member of the WRTAC and supported this project by participating in the technical working group and assisting in the writing and editing of the report.(Full Report)

  • TVA PILOTs and the Effect of The Electric Generation and Transmission Cooperative Act

    The Tennessee Valley Authority has made payments in lieu of taxes of nearly $5 billion since federal fiscal year 2000 to the eight states affected by TVA power production. Of that sum, an average of 60% annually has come to the state of Tennessee and its local governments. For federal fiscal year 2012, 61.2% of TVA’s total $567.4 million PILOT or $347.3 million will be paid to Tennessee and its counties. A number of factors have the potential to affect these payments, including state legislation passed in 2009 and amended in 2010 allowing formation of electric generation and transmission cooperatives. The TACIR is charged with monitoring the effects of that legislation and recommending changes as appropriate. In discharging its duty, the Commission takes a broad look at factors affecting TVA’s payments in lieu of taxes and reports annually to the Tennessee General Assembly. Although a cooperative has been formed and is part owner with TVA of a power plant in Mississippi, there has been no effect as yet on TVA’s payments. A greater concern for the present is the potential effect of TVA’s plant modernization program, which could reduce its property ownership in Tennessee, which in turn could reduce its payments to Tennessee. TACIR’s latest report describes these issues and their potential effects. (More)

  • How important is transportation to Tennessee's economy?

    Tennessee’s location in the mid-South puts our state at the center of both the north-south and east-west distribution corridors, with four major interstates traversing the state, yet much of that traffic has both an origin and a destination outside of Tennessee. So, how important is transportation to Tennessee’s economy and how does Tennessee compare to other states? TACIR’s latest Fast Facts tells the story.(More)

  • Could property value declines affect future reappraisals and assessments?

    TACIR staff has completed a supplement to its web report on the continued impact of the recession on Tennessee’s local governments. It discusses how the declines in residential market values since their peaks in 2008 and early 2009 are expected to have a clear negative impact on taxable assessments beginning with reappraisals beginning in 2011.(More)

  • Tracking Tennessee's Economic Recovery

    TACIR has partnered with the Middle Tennessee State University Business and Economic Research Center to provide an Internet site to track the state economy during the recovery from the recession that began in December 2007. The site will permit the reader to follow labor force status including employment and unemployment numbers; housing data including a housing price index and construction activity; and sales tax collections. These data are available for the state and for 10 Metropolitan Statistical Areas across the state. Presented graphically, the data may also be downloaded for use at the reader’s convenience. (More)

TACIR Programs

TACIR Resources


TACIR: The Public Policy Research Standard

The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) was created to monitor federal, state, and local government relations and to make recommendations for improvement to the Legislature. The commission is comprised of representatives from the executive and legislative branches of state government, county and municipal governments, and the public. The commission serves as a bipartisan forum for the discussion of intergovernmental issues and may initiate studies resulting in legislative proposals and constitutional amendments. The commission responds to requests for technical assistance from the General Assembly, state agencies, and local governments.