Mason, now under the state comptroller’s financial control, may once again operate independently sooner than anticipated.
On Tuesday, Mumpower’s team and officials from the town met in Jackson to discuss the plan to get back in good financial standing.
“It was a very positive meeting,” Mumpower said. “We were able to come together on a plan moving forward that everyone agreed on.”
At a meeting of the board of mayor and aldermen Monday, it was announced the town has been paying $10,000 toward the utility fund’s deficit for years. Mumpower said that was not evident to his team as they did not have the financial records and audits showing such.
“That’s the importance of audits when you’re dealing with taxpayer funds,” he said.
Auditors will visit Mason this week to verify their finances and there may be a restructuring of the financial supervision agreement. Last week, Mumpower said the town would have to make payments of more than $22,000 per month for the next 27 months.
The Town of Mason intends to use $227,000 in American Recovery Plan funds to make a lump sum payment toward the deficit, then continue their monthly $10,000 payment for the requested amount of time in order to keep from straining the budget.
If they’re able to do that, and able to pass a balanced budget, Mumpower said they could be removed from supervision “sooner rather than later.”
Author: Echo Day
Echo Day is an award-winning journalist, photographer and designer. She is currently The Leader's managing editor.
