Municipal elections held in 204 cities Voters went to the polls in 204 municipal elections held to coincide with state and federal general elections. Two races – one in Hornbeak and one in Viola – ended in tie votes for the last remaining... Trump defeats Harris to become president; Incumbents sweep federal, state seats in Tennessee Incumbents won big on election night in Tennessee with returning candidates winning the vote in both federal and state races. Tennesseans voted to elect federal and state representatives along with... Liquor, transit, sales tax and charter amendments on the ballot in 27 municipalities In addition to 204 elections for city officials, referendums were held in 27 municipalities. Knoxville residents approved a charter amendment changing when the city’s fifth council district... TML holds autumn board meeting in Nashville The Tennessee Municipal League held its autumn board meeting on Oct. 30, 2024, at the offices of Spencer-Fane in Nashville. News Across Tennessee Cookeville sees improved bond rating, building permit growth Moody’s Investor Services has upgraded Cookeville’s bond issuer rating and outstanding General Obligation Bonds to Aa1 from Aa2. The city requested the rating on it $10.0 million General Obligation Bonds, Series 2024 which were concurrently rated by Moody’s as Aa1. This comes as Cookeville... 30 municipalities awarded share in $26.6M in CDBG funds Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter recently approved $26.6 million in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), which will assist communities with infrastructure improvements and health and safety initiatives.“Forty new... Cities share in $101.6M in broadband expansion grants The state will award 20 cities part of $101.6 million in funding as part of the second round of broadband and digital opportunity grants. Collierville opens expanded disc golf course The town of Collierville has opened the expanded disc golf course at Hinton Park. Holes 10 through 18 of the course are now open for play after the expansion project began in May. The project was completed primarily by the dedicated Hinton Park grounds maintenance crew alongside their regular day-to... DENSO to create 200 additional jobs in Athens DENSO officials announced the company is expanding its presence in Southeast Tennessee, establishing additional manufacturing operations in Athens. The expansion includes 54,560 square feet of new production space and renovations to existing areas. DENSO will add 200 jobs at its Athens location and... Crossville breaks ground on new fire station Officials with the city of Crossville have broken ground on the city’s new Fire Station No. 2. Located at Interstate and Cottonpatch drives, the new station will replace an aging facility on Industrial Boulevard. The $3.55 million project will allow more efficient service to the community with a... People David Townsend David Townsend David Townsend has been selected as the assistant chief of police for the Collierville Police Department. Townsend has been with the department for 29 years and has held numerous leadership roles, most recently as inspector over the Community Services Division. He is a graduate of session 249 of the... Randy Evans Randy Evans Randy Evans, chief of the Cookeville Police Department, will retire on Jan. 31, 2025, after more than 41 years of service to the department. Evans began his career as a patrol officer with CPD in 1983 and was promoted to sergeant in 1990, lieutenant in 1998, captain in 2007, major in 2010, and has... Will Wiley Will Wiley Will Wiley has been selected as the new public works director for Farragut. Wiley comes to the city from Poway, Calif., where he served as the assistant director of public works maintenance and operations for the San Diego suburb. Wiley will take over following the retirement of longtime Public... Nick Surre Nick Surre Capt. Nick Surre has been selected as the next assistant police chief for the Brentwood Police Department. Surre has 18 years of experience and will take over from new Chief Jim Colvin in February. He has been with the Brentwood Police Department since April 2007, serving as a crime scene technician... Jenneen Reed Jenneen Reed Jenneen Kaufman Reed has been unanimously confirmed as the finance director for Metro Nashville. Reed takes over the role from interim finance director Kevin Crumbo and comes to the city with 30 years of experience – including serving as deputy finance director and chief accountant for the city... Alicia Summers Alicia Summers Alicia Summers has been named the new assistant city manager for the city of Johnson City. In her new role, she will oversee the planning and development services and economic development departments. Summers has served as the city’s economic development director since 2022 and has nearly two... State Briefs Tennessee graduation rate breaks record Tennessee’s high school graduation rate broke another record in the 2023-24 school year. The rate was 92.1%, above the previous school year’s record-breaking 90.6%. Clay County Schools, McKenzie Special School District, South Carroll Special School District, and West Carroll Special District each... Tennessee’s Retail Accountability program produces sales tax compliance The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has completed an evaluation of Tennessee’s Retail Accountability Program (RAP) which is designed to ensure businesses remit the proper amount of sales tax revenues... Sports betting has generated $261M in tax revenue for Tennessee Sports betting has generated more than $261 million in taxes for Tennessee since its legalization in 2019. More than $14.7 billion in sports bets have been placed in Tennessee during that period with Tennessee being the first state to go fully online for its sports betting. The industry has... Tennessee September unemployment rate increases Tennessee’s unemployment rate increased in September but remained 1% lower than the national rate. The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said the state’s September unemployment rate was at 3.2%, up from 3.1% the previous month and a three-month record-low of 3% between May and... Tennessee's September revenues $101.2M above estimates Tennessee revenues exceeded budgeted estimates for the month of September. Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson reported total September tax revenues were $2.2 billion, $101.2 million more than the budgeted estimate and $18.9 million more than September 2023. The total tax growth rate... FBI to open new Nashville headquarters, continue field offices in Knoxville, Memphis The Federal Bureau of Investigation has moved its main Tennessee headquarters to a new office in Nashville, but said it will continue to operate “resident agencies” in Memphis and Knoxville. Instead of having two separate sets of leadership operating in Knoxville and Memphis, FBI Director Chris... TML Updates Charging Smart program to provide no-cost technical assistance to municipalities Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council opens funding for community grants Delta Regional Authority announces funding opportunities Federal departments announce deadlines for major grant applications Restore Return Relief Advocacy