Hot Topic: The Recent Attorney General Opinion and Its Effect on the Availability of Development Taxes and Impact Fees to Municipalities

The attorney general’s opinion confirms that the new law nullifies the authority of cities to levy adequate facilities taxes after the effective date

A Profile of Selected Conservatorships in Failing Mississippi School Districts

The purpose of this study was to determine factors associated with the success of conservatorships as a method for school district improvement by analyzing school accountability ratings, results from an adaptive leadership instrument, and action plans of conservators. A sequential exploratory design was used to examine the action plans implemented by conservators to increase academic achievement in five failing school districts. The quantitative data from this study consisted of accountability ratings from districts under the control of a conservator within the 2012 – 2016 time period and data from the adaptive leadership questionnaire. This questionnaire was sent to administrators in the districts mentioned previously to rate the adaptive leadership behaviors of their assigned conservator. These data were then used to inform the qualitative portion of the study by helping the researcher determine which conservators should participate in the interviews. The historical accountability data revealed that only two of the districts reached and maintained a successful accountability rating. High adaptive leadership scores were not necessarily linked to a higher accountability rating. The lowest adaptive leadership conservator achieved a successful rating, while the highest adaptive leadership score did not meet that rating. Conservator interviews were conducted to determine what took place in each of the districts during the conservatorship. The interviews determined that some of the issues these districts are facing included: ineffective leadership, poor attendance, lack of standards-based teaching, and problems with data analysis. The action plans implemented by each conservator varied based on the issues they noticed after gaining control. Plans were set up to address issues with poor facilities, financial and personnel issues, and instructional concerns

Hot Topic: Changes to the Tennessee Municipal Purchasing Law of 1983 (2007)

This session the state legislature enacted Public Chapter No. 84, removing the universal application language of the 2006 bill and returning the applicability of the Municipal Purchasing Law to its original scope

Hot Topic: Local Government Electronic Technology Act of 2009

This act requires local governments to file a plan with the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury before implementing any new electronic technology with a financial component

Tennessee Public Acts 2012: Summaries of Interest to Municipal Officials

This publication summarizes the year\u27s public acts that have the most significant impact on municipal operations. Users of this publication are cautioned that much judgment is involved in determining which Public Acts to summarize and how to summarize them. Before taking action or giving advice based upon any Public Act summarized here, one should consult the act itself and not rely on the summary

Municipal Handbook (2011)

A comprehensive manual on municipal government in Tennessee. Updated through July 2011

Municipal Handbook (2010)

A comprehensive manual on municipal government in Tennessee. Updated through July 2010

Hot Topic: Posting of Charters on Municipal Web Sites Now Required

Public Chapter No. 808 requires each Tennessee municipality and county to post, no later than Jan. 1, 2009, its charter of incorporation on a Web site maintained by the municipality or county

Open Records: A Guide for Municipal Officials (2008)

This guide summarizes Tennessee’s open records laws as of October 2008 and includes practical applications for municipal officials and employees